By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Dog park advocates have marked their territory in Bowling Green.
A lease agreement between the city and Citizens for BG Dog Parks was approved Monday evening by a council committee. The lease will next go before City Council as a Whole, likely at the April 1 meeting.
After two years of pushing for a dog park which is more walkable than the county’s dog park on the east side of Interstate 75, the pieces came together in a lease agreement between the city and the dog park group.
Under the plan, the northern portion of Ridge Park will be fenced in to be used as a dog park. While the city was open to leasing the land, officials wanted the dog park group to be responsible for the maintenance of the site.
City Attorney Hunter Brown explained that the three-year lease with the non-profit organization will require the group to adequately fence the site, pay for installation of utilities, mow the grass and clean up dog poop that owners have not picked up.
The lease amount was not yet defined in the agreement.
Utilities Director Brian O’Connell said the city can absorb the costs of water used on the site. The city will also maintain the rest of Ridge Park, including the playground area to the south, the parking along the west side, and the grass around the fenced dog park.
The hours of the park would be the same as other city parks, from sunup to sundown.
Citizen comments were taken during the meeting, beginning with Jenny Swope, who asked who will set the standards of the dog park maintenance. Swope, a dog owner, asked if there would be consequences for poor maintenance.
“That would be a breach of the lease, and we’d have to evict the dog park,” Brown said. It will be up to the Citizens for BG Dog Parks to monitor the site, he said.
Dale Arnold, who lives next to the proposed dog park, said the majority of dog walkers he has encountered are pleasant. “Ninety percent of the dog owners are courteous,” he said.
But Arnold expressed concerns about there being enough parking for the dog park patrons.
“I would expect a good portion of those using the park would arrive on foot,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said.
Brown reiterated that the city has leverage to make sure the dog park is a good neighbor.
“If it goes south, we don’t have to renew the lease,” he said.
Enrique Gomezdelcampo spoke in opposition to the dog park, saying he was a “bit surprised” to have not heard about the lease agreement before.
“I’m concerned the lease has been worked on behind closed doors,” he said.
Gomezdelcampo opposed the use of Ridge Park – the only park land in Ward 1 – since he predicted most of the dog owners would come from Wards 3 and 4 to use the site. He suggested that city residents use the existing dog park, which is located east of Interstate 75.
Though about 38% of Bowling Green residents own dogs, he said only half would use a dog park because of concerns about diseases from other dogs, and worries about mixing big and small dogs.
By putting a dog area in Ridge Park, Gomezdelcampo said the city would be serving just 20% of city residents rather than the 100% served now by the park. He urged council to make the “best decision for all the residents of the city – not for a few.”
Gomezdelcampo asked council to consider the unintended consequences – such as people petitioning not to allow dogs in other city parks, or people demanding refunds of park donations.
Rose Drain, president of Citizens for BG Dog Parks, assured Gomezdelcampo that the lease had been discussed many times at public meetings. She also pointed out that the county dog park is only open to members. And she explained the plans for two fenced in areas at Ridge Park – one for small and one for big dogs.
The park will have a card access gate. Those entering must scan a QR code and sign a waiver acknowledging the rules, vaccination status of their dog, and willingness to pick up poop. There will be no fee or pass required to get into the park.
Wendy Manning said the park will have a double gate system, to prevent escapes.
Council member Damon Sherry, who lives in Ward 1, said he sees a lot of people walking their dogs in his ward. “This is a great use of the space,” he said.
“This is a topic of conversation that has been ongoing for years now,” Council President Mark Hollenbaugh said, before making a motion for the dog park.
Citizens will have another chance to share input at the next council meeting.
