Disc golf guy denies being connected to Joliet dumping

A man being allowed to carve out a disc golf course on wooded state prison land leased by Joliet denied being involved in any dumping on the site.

Mark Grabavoy also told the Joliet City Council Prison Committee on Tuesday that his disc golf course could be playable before the end of this year.

Grabavoy’s project has become a controversy in the past week as neighbors demanded more information about what he’s doing on land directly behind their homes.

Their complaints led to the city developing its first written agreement governing what Grabavoy can do on the site. But the committee tabled a vote on the agreement until June 2 because it first received the document at the Tuesday meeting.

The agreement does prohibit dumping and open burning.

Grabavoy acknowledged burning on the land but described the burns as controlled and aimed at getting rid of invasive species.

“I don’t burn anything but brush honeysuckle,” Grabavoy told the committee.

Grabavoy denied doing dumping, which he said has been going on long before he arrived in July 2018.

“The entire space has been abandoned for 70 years,” Grabavoy said. “There has been dumping forever.”

Grabavoy said he is using about 50 acres of the wooded area on the east side of Collins Street and part of the Joliet Correctional Center property. The city since 2018 has leased the property from the state and partnered with the Joliet Area Historical Museum in turning the prison, closed in 2002, into the Old Joliet Prison for tours and events.

The Grabavoy project is seen is seen by city and museum officials as one more step in turning the prison site into a destination spot for travelers, history buffs and eventually disc golfers.

But Alma Montero and other neighbors went to the City Council last week to call for transparency about what Grabavoy is doing.

Montero told the Prison Committee on Tuesday she became suspicious because Grabavoy did not want her to talk with city officials about any problems. Meanwhile, she said, both Regis and Mayor Bob O’Dekirk have told her that they either did not know Grabavoy or were unaware of what he was doing. She said Regis at one point told her that the city did not want publicity about the project because it “is not a done deal yet.”

Monrtero said she also was concerned about Grabavoy’s ability to operate without oversight.

“I’m not against the disc golf course behind my house,” Montero said. “My issue is how the city has gone about this.”

Grabavoy said the the project has progressed to the point that he believes he will install disc golf baskets by October or November. Tournaments, however, are unlikely until 2022 at the earliest, he said.