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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Common Areas for Dogs Committee - 01/09/2024 Common Area for Dogs Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 9th, 2024 Members Present: Betty Milizia, (Chair), Robyn Birgisson, (Vice Chair), Elan Curran, Jason Smith, Lisa Yankowski Staff Present: Adam Matth (Director of Recreation and Parks) City Council Liaison Present: Helen Riehle (City Council Chair) Public Present: None Betty called meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 1. Adopt Agenda There were no changes to the agenda. 2. Public Comments (Unrelated to Agenda) No comments. 3. Review and Approve December 12, 2024 Minutes Lisa motioned to accept, Elan 2nd. Approved unanimously by the attendees. 4. Adam Matth – Updates: Dog related funds: CIP (FY’24 & FY’25) Special Dog License funds Farrell Dog Park: Adam reported there has been no progress regarding Farrell Dog Park. The project involves drainage mitigation and relocation of the rec path. Fencing is to be repaired or replaced where needed. Concern was expressed about whether the funds included in the fiscal year 2024 budget for this project would be set aside for the next fiscal year or will they be used on a different DPW project. Adam will check on this. Wheeler Dog Park: The committee asked for an update on items identified for Wheeler. An email had been sent to Adam Cate, in August. There has been no response, to date. The prioritized items include additional benches, additional dog bag dispensers and some solution to drinking water and addressing the ongoing issue of mud inside the entrance to the park. The items were again identified during a committee visit to the park and listed in October minutes. It is not clear if any of the items are included in the Rec Dept or DPW budgets. We need to find out when this work will be done. The committee suggested accessing the Special Dog License funds, to expedite the installation of the items and addition of benches at Wheeler and the addition of benches. It is very important for the city to address these items as soon as possible. Park users have already started addressing issues. Someone has installed a couple of water bowls on the fencing without the city’s approval or guidance. In addition, park users have been adjusting the gates when it is not functioning. We will have to rely on DPW to address the issue of mud at the gate. Helen will try to get our inquiry onto one of the next two agendas for the city council to bring before to the attention of Jessie Baker, (City Manager). In the meantime, Adam will look into how the Recreation and Park Dept can order the benches and dog bag dispensers for Wheeler. In addition, Adam will discuss with DPW, the issues of mud and adjusting the gate. Suggestions were made for wood chips or sawdust be used to temporarily help with the mud and pooling water. However, these materials have been found to pose health risks as they present a health risk by absorbing dog urine, bacteria and insects. It was suggested pea gravel could be used, so water can drain through. It is possible that DPW has a supply of stone, that could be used. Helen is going to see if we can get definitive answers. 5. Dog Bag Dispensers: There are funds in the FY 2024 CIP budget for dog bag dispensers to be added in locations in the city, known to be frequented by dogs. DPW has not put them on their list of projects. It was suggested that if DPW is unable to do this, an outside company do the work. This is a project that was identified as a priority of the council. Adam will look into this. 6. Update on the QR Code at Wheeler: The committee has requested a QR Code be installed at Wheeler, allowing users of the dog park to make donations. It was suggested that another one be installed at Farrell Dog Park. We have not had any updates on this item. Helen will have this item addressed with the council. Members recently appointed to the committee expressed frustration that all of these issues have been discussed every month without any progress. It was pointed out that several committee members have resigned for the same reason. 7. Annual Dog Registration: Betty reported that Holly Rees (city clerk) has offered to schedule a Saturday in March, to “table”at Wheeler for people to register their dogs. This could be beneficial for those who can't get to city hall during the work day. We are looking at Saturday, March 23. The registration deadline is April 1. We could post ithis in "The Other Paper", and the bulletin board at Wheeler and Farrell Dog Parks. Betty will follow- up with Holly Rees. 8. Discussion: " To Leash or Not To Leash" survey results. The committee discussed how to ensure the information is clear and accurate, by looking further at the number of replies and percentages for some of the data. Discussion was also on how to interpret some of the replies. Several members will work on this further and bring another draft for the committee to review. 9. Next Meeting – Scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 6:00pm MOTION TO ADJOURN AT 8:07 PM PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.