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January 28, 2003

Grand Rapids Commissioners Meeting

Today at City Hall, Dottie Rhodes, spokeswoman for our group, formally presented the petition to the city commission. The good news is that most commissioners were in favor of a dog park! Thank you to everyone that made it to this important meeting!

Now, it doesn't stop here. We need to start thinking about where and what the dog park(s) or areas will look like. We will be scheduling another meeting soon and we can address these next steps as a group. Congratulations and thanks for all the good work!

As a side note, the leash law was discussed and approved by the city commissioners. Mayor Logie insisted that the ordinance will not directly affect responsible dog owners exercising their dogs and that the ordinance may be reviewed or revised at a later time. He also made note that it was bringing Grand Rapids in compliance with Kent County's laws that are already in place. There will be much discussion over this in conjunction with our issue as well. Stay tuned on that.

If you'd like to see the points that Dottie presented at the meeting, click on the extended entry to read more.

Mission:
Quite simply our goal is to add Grand Rapids to the list of progressive communities that recognize the value of dog parks in socializing our pets and strengthening our neighborhoods. We want an enclosed off-leash park for our canine companions, one that’s formed in cooperation with the city and that acknowledges our rights as taxpayers.

Ideal Dog Park:
Three acres minimum (5 to 6 acres desired) surrounded by a 5’ to 6’ fence
Poop scoop stations with appropriate bags provided
Covered trash receptacles with regular trash removal
Shade areas
Running water for the dogs to drink
Grass area with routine mowing
Regular maintenance of the park
Lighting
Adequate parking
Handicap accessible
Message board for communicating “Lost and Found” info and important announcements

Suggested areas for our ideal dog park: (Suggestions were gathered from our site)
Riverside Park
John Ball Park
Fuller Park

Points:
Some of the many Community Benefits
> Socializes and exercised dogs in a safe environment.
> Promotes responsible pet ownership.
> The Park could be used to host animal behaviorists, training sessions, information about neutering, local adoption day with several animal adoption shelters participating, Frisbee competition
> Provides elderly and disabled owners with an accessible place to exercise their companions.
> Enables dogs to legally run off-leash.
> The ability to share activities with canine family members at a dogpark is important, and increasingly recognized by cities.

Summary:
We are taxpayers and voters, and will support candidates who understand that dogs and their people have the right to use the public recreational facilities for which they help pay. We are legitimate park users.

Posted by Gwen at January 28, 2003 04:51 PM

Comments

I want to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to attend the meeting today.
I thought we did a great job demonstrating how much support this petition has in the community and how well organized and vocal we are.
Check our site daily for a posting of our next meeting and how we as a group should proceed.
I'll be contacting the city manager this week inquiring as to how we can get involved in the decision making process regarding the location of the park.
Once again thanks to everyone!

Posted by: dottie at January 28, 2003 05:20 PM

Sorry I couldn't be there. I'm glad the issue was so well-received. Thanks to everyone who showed up and to Dottie for speaking for the group!

Posted by: Lori at January 28, 2003 06:11 PM