Undeveloped Naranja Park is set to get an archery range after the Town Council voted to approve an agreement between the town and another government agency to create the Oro Valley Archery Park.

The council voted 7-0 at its Jan. 4 regular meeting to approve an intergovernmental agreement between Oro Valley and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to develop an archery facility at the 213-acre town-owned park, at 660 W. Naranja Drive near North La Cañada Drive.

When it's completed, the archery park will feature a two-acre fixed range and two walking courses.

One 35-acre course is planned for the southwest corner of the park and a second course would sit on 20 acres on the southeast corner.

A group of archery supporters first pitched the idea of an archery park to town officials some 18 months ago.

Oro Valley resident Gerry Perry was part of an archery working group that worked with the town to develop the park.

"I think the community will like the facility when we get it in there," he said.

Construction of the archery facility will likely move forward in phases as funds become available.

The fixed range would be built first.

Funding from private sources, grants, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and other agencies will be sought to build the archery park.

Through the intergovernmental agreement, Game and Fish can provide $5,000 in seed money, technical assistance, training and other services to the town.

The Archery Trade Association and the Pusch Ridge Archers also have expressed interest in making monetary contributions to the project.

Perry said it's difficult to say when construction on the new archery park will start.

"We are in the process right now of seeking the funding that has been verbally committed to us," he said. "Once we have that, I would anticipate we would buy the backstops for the long-distance range and that would key other things getting started."

The local archery community also is committed to helping Oro Valley maintain the park by holding workdays at the park to clean up the courses and fix targets.

Eight people spoke in favor of the park at the Jan. 4 meeting.

Dozens more archery enthusiasts attended the meeting, but didn't speak before the council.

"I am thrilled that the council passed it," SaddleBrooke resident Ed Snyder said.

Snyder is president of the SaddleBrooke Archers Club and said club members are eager to shoot at the park.

"We will be first in line to pay our fees," he said.

User fees for the park will be $5 for a daily pass or $50 for an annual pass.

Once the park opens, passes will be sold on site at a pay station or through the Oro Valley Parks and Recreation office.

Oro Valley resident Matt Cannon said the sport is a backyard activity for his family, but they can't wait to use the new park when it opens.

"I am really excited," he said.

He has four children who range in age from 3 to 13 and all have grown to love archery - they even asked for new archery equipment for Christmas, Cannon said.

Perry told the council that some 4,500 schoolchildren participate in archery programs offered at schools in Oro Valley and the surrounding area.

The archery park won't conflict with Naranja Park's master plan.

The plan calls for a community center with an aquatics facility, a theater with a lobby and concession stands, a music pavilion, athletic fields, dog parks, a skate park and other park amenities.

Voters rejected a $48.6 million bond issue that would have kick-started the project.

Oro Valley councilman Steve Solomon said the archery park is an incredible example of a positive public/private partnership.

The worst-case scenario, he said, is that revenue for the park will be neutral to what the town will pay to operate the park.

The town estimates that annual maintenance and administrative costs will add up to $10,000 and annual revenue from daily and yearly passes will bring in around $9,500.

Those projected revenues don't include any fees the town would generate from tournaments or events.

Honey Bee acquisition

In other parks news, the town has acquired 62-acre Honey Bee Park in the Rancho Vistoso area from Pima County.

The town council approved the transfer of Honey Bee Park from the county to Oro Valley at its Jan. 4 meeting.

The town did not have to pay the county to take over the park.

The annual costs to operate Honey Bee Park are estimated at about $17,500.

Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at arivera@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.