PROPOSED DOG PARK: Focus Shifts to 24th Avenue: Vacant Lot Near Columbia Mall Would Have Few Residential Neighbors
By Ryan Bakken, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.
Jun. 7–Grand Forks tried another dog park location on for size Tuesday. At first look, it seemed to be a better fit than the old one.
The focus of the city and Park District governments has shifted from the Greenway to a four-acre plot that is just north of Columbia Mall. The lot, at the corner of South 34th Street and 24th Avenue South, is home to a lift station, young trees and two soccer nets.
The nets may be replaced by a fenced-in dog park, where the canines can run off the leash.
Only about one-third of the plot’s circumference is lined with residential property and it’s all apartments.
“The location is as removed as you can get from residential in the city,” said Steve Mullally, Park District superintendent of parks.
The idea and the site, owned by the Park District, met the approval of the commissioners at Tuesday’s monthly meeting.
“What we’re trying to do is have something for everybody, whether it’s ballparks, tennis courts or places to walk through the park and look at flowers,” board president Bill Hutchison said. “Dog owners want this, and I think this is a good place to start.”
Commissioner Jeff Panzer agreed about a dog park, which would allow dogs to run off a leash in a fenced area. “The city wants to do this, so we should be good neighbors,” he said. “Plus, our fiscal responsibility will be as minimal now as it ever will be.”
The Park District’s only contribution will be the land. The $80,000 cost, mostly for fencing and a parking lot, would be handled by the city.
Leash law
Other details are being worked out by the city. The City Council on Monday referred to a committee an amendment that would allow dogs to go off leash in a dog park.
But it may be that the law is not necessary.
City attorney Howard Swanson said Monday he’d prefer the law be passed but, legally, the council could just adopt a resolution.
Laws take a month to pass, with two public readings, while resolutions take half as long.
The council also passed a resolution that said it will not tolerate a fenceless dog park.
The Park Board on Tuesday agreed with City Council members that the park should be fenced. Fencing wasn’t possible at the first site considered, in the Greenway near downtown.
Public reaction
Seven neighbors of the park attended an information meeting Tuesday night in Century Elementary School. Only one household objected to the location, although announcement of the project’s $80,000 cost caused a stir.
“We recently bought out there with the idea of having a clear view of the coulee and the park from our patio,” neighbor Dan O’Shea said. “Now, we’ll have a clear view of a fence. We already get a lot of debris collecting in the coulee and I imagine there will be more debris collecting on the fence.”
O’Shea suggested the dog park should be located at Ulland Park, which is a mile south of 32nd Avenue South.
The meeting also was attended by several supporters.
“I work at Petco, and our customers want a dog park real bad,” Erin Schill said. “I’ve been to a dog park in Fargo, and it works.”
Fargo now has three dog parks.
“The Fargo director told me he thought it was the dumbest thing he ever did when he put in a dog park,” Mullally said. “After he saw how it went, he said it turned out to be the smartest thing he ever did.”
Bakken reports on local news and writes a column. Reach him at 780-1125, (800) 477-6572 ext. 125, or rbakken@gfherald.com.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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