Dog Park unlikely at this time, says Parks and Rec commissioner

Interest in a city dog park was shown at a recent Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, and the interest was shared by commission chairman Jeff Pattison. However, Pattison said on Monday that the creation of a such a facility, while a good idea in and of itself, is not pressing enough to find a place on the commission's list of priorities.

"Great ideas and putting something into work are two different things," he said. "I don't think it's going to get immediate attention from the Parks and Rec Commission."

Pattison, who counts himself as an animal lover, has seen dog parks in other parts of the state and country, and says "they are heavily used." However, the commission chairman wants to be sure that the department has the resources and staff to maintain what it already has before it adds another facility to the mix.

With the singular exception of the high school football field, Parks and Rec workers maintain every public field in the city. Their list of facilities includes 18 parks and playgrounds, five park buildings, several beaches and the community center on Union Ave.

Pattison said the Parks and Rec staff has had difficulty keeping up with the fields and facilities, and he would not support any additional responsibility without additional staff. That's why the department's budget request for this year will include a request for a new grounds position. "Our concern is with what we have now," he said.

Many of the fields are in good shape, such as the relatively new Robbie Mills complex, but Pattison knows that it only takes a short lapse of maintenance for a good field to go bad. "Robbie Mills is a beautiful facility, I don't want to see that destroyed."

Additionally, Opechee Park is now a partly a construction zone, but will soon become fields again when the Memorial Middle School building project is completed. "That will be a huge responsibility," he said.

Even if the city were to make an acre or two available for a dog park, and if the amenities — fencing, signage and parking — were paid for through private donations, Pattison said "I don't see any way that there would be no cost to the city." That extra cost would come in the form of lawn mowing and other maintenance tasks, extra duties that Parks and Rec staff cannot absorb without more workers. "There's a lot of things Parks and Rec has to worry about."

If Pattison and the department get their budgetary druthers, and are able to grow their staff, then he said the commission would be in a position to consider a dog park proposal. Until then, he said, the department will focus on maintaining the current facilities.