An Open Letter to the Community from Gone to the Dogs
June 5, 2009
Fellow Dog Owners and Dog Lovers,
The purpose of this letter is to update you on the efforts to establish the Cordova Recreation Park District’s (CRPD) first off-leash dog park. The effort, spearheaded by the “Gone To The Dogs!” Committee, has received a temporary setback after five years of hard work because of recent actions by the Cordova Recreation and Park District Board of Directors (CRPD Board). The Dog Park Committee’s only objective is to establish CRPD’s first off-leash dog park with grass-roots community support.
The Committee, comprised of volunteers from our community, carefully examined, with CRPD staff, all the park areas within the CRPD boundaries and unanimously recommended Hagan Park as the most feasible place to establish an off-leash dog park. This occurred in 2004-2005. Two years ago the CRPD Board voted to approve the CRPD’s first off-leash dog park in Hagan Park and provided $25,000 and an authorization for the Committee to proceed.
With that promise in hand, the Committee relayed that commitment to the public and you, community members, responded with gifts, contributions, and many volunteer hours. The Dog Park Committee organized fundraising events and successfully raised enough money for a Hagan off-leash dog park to be established. We are grateful for your support. Your contributions for the dog park are made through Friends of Cordova Park Charitable Foundation, a 501 (C) 3 charitable organization. In early April, 2009, a feasible site at Hagan Park was decided upon and a design was finalized. The Dog Park Committee and CRPD were ready to begin building the Hagan Dog Park.
Recently, however, a new CRPD Board, at a public hearing on April 22, 2009, has rescinded that commitment, declaring that no site has been determined at this time, and in essence, wants to reexamine all CRPD parks to see if an off-leash dog park should be built elsewhere in CRPD. They have directed the District Administrator to analyze alternative site locations once again, including those outside Hagan Park, for future recommendations to the CRPD Board. The CRPD Board’s decision was at least partly based on a few citizens’ concerns over the proposed Hagan Dog Park site and its proximity to community events such as the 4th of July, Kids ‘N The Park, and Kids Day.
At the CRPD Board meeting, the Dog Park Committee informed the CRPD Board and these citizens that the Hagan Dog Park would not affect these community events since it would be closed for special events such as the 4th of July. The Committee advised that all other CRPD parks had been evaluated, researched and analyzed and that is how the recommendation for Hagan Park was developed. The Committee also advised the CRPD Board and these citizens that this recommendation was based on a combination of legal, facility/infrastructure and financial constraints after reviewing each CRPD park.
These unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances will delay the planning and building of CRPD’s first off-leash dog park. While the Dog Park Committee is confident that our dog park will eventually be established, we are unsure when and where. Basically, we are back to square one in terms of finalizing a dog park location in CRPD.
You have generously and enthusiastically provided moral and financial support in the past and we ask for your help once more. We ask that you please write a short letter or send an e-mail to the CRPD Board and voice your concern. Please tell them that establishing the first CRPD off-leash dog park is long over-due and we need to take action now. If you wish to suggest or recommend Hagan Park as the preferred site for CRPD’s first off-leash dog park, that is your choice.
Please send your comments to:
Board of Directors
Cordova Recreation and Park District
2197 Chase Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
E-mail may be sent to:
Any or all CRPD Board members at the CRPD website, http://www.crpd.com
or
trish@crpd.com
Trish Lindvall General Recreation Supervisor
Thank you for your continuing support.
Sincerely,
“Gone To The Dogs!” Dog Park Committee
/Signed/
Brian Fansler
Sacramento
Morton M. Rumberg
Gold River
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Posted by Brian Fansler
on Jun 6 2009. Filed under Lifestyle.
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Brian, Mort, Alice, Candy and all the others who have tirelessly invested their time and money for five years deserve to see their dream fulfilled. My hope is that the CRPD board in their wisdom will see in hindsight that these volunteers have invested too much time and so much of their heart into this effort that it would be a tragedy to deny them the building of their off leash dog park. They have planned and held numerous fundraisers, dealt with numerous setbacks on the road to building the park, it would be such a shame to stop that momentum now.
I will check out the website in a few minutes so I may answer my own question…exactly where in Hagan Park would this be? I am one of the Girl Scout Troop leaders that help staff the Hagan Park Barn. I know from experience, we have enough issues with the dogs on leash with the animals at the petting zoo. Sometimes these incidents occur with my girls in the middle.
If this proposal means drastically changing the make up of Hagan Park than I would be very opposed. I am not opposed to the idea of a dog park, just the location. I have lived in Rancho Cordova most of my life. I grew up here and I’m now am raising my kids here. This community has seen MANY changes in the last few years. Some of them have been for the better, and some I have cringed and thought to myself they probably should have left that alone. Our communities strength is in our shared history. With it’s proximity to Cordova High, Hagen Park is one of those places that are a symbol of what Rancho Cordova used to be before it started expanding. The American River Parkway, the petting zoo, the ponds, the pools and the community events taking place there should maybe suggest another location.
Maybe the committee has found an out of the way location at the park in which case I will have to reevaluate my opinion, but I can’t imagine where would be out of the way. If it is changing the whole thing, I guess it’s time for me to start paying attention. I have also seen too many irresponsible dog owners the last few years. A dog park should be away from everything else. I just don’t see room for that at Hagan.
There is a reason most people mistakenly call Hagen Park, Cordova Park. It used to be the heart of our community, and for some of us it still is. I think it should be left alone. I would support another location for the dog park.
Brandy – the proposed location is behind the CRPD building between the CHS tennis courts and the small pond. The previous proposed location closer to the American River Parkway was denied by advocates during the Parkway Plan revisions last year.
I need to clarify something. There is no current proposed dog park site at Hagan Park. There have been several sites at Hagan Park discussed but no specific site has been approved at this time. The Park District Board and the “Gone To The Dogs!” committee will re-evaluate each District park to determine again where the District’s first off-leash dog park should be. It is possible the dog park might be at Hagan Park if a feasible site is found and it is also possible the dog park might be at another park location if a feasible site is found. Please read the letter I sent to Geoff which he posted here, it explains everything to date. Thank you.
Yes Brian I meant to say the second proposed site was behind the CRPD building prior to the CRPD Board rejecting that location after approving it 2 years earlier and directing staff to research other potential sites.
I am not clear on why anyone would think that a dog park is a negetive to a park? There are dogs in a park whether there is an enclosured area or not. The complaints about having a dog park are not resonable. They say the dogs will make a mess, well they already do that all over the park why not concentate it in one area instead? Brandy (above) mentioned about dogs near the petting zoo, well the dog park will also help that by giving the dogs a place to go in the park and interact with other dogs instead of going after the wild life or near the petting zoo.
I am amazed how a “committee of one gets things done” but a committe of 5 of more can’t seem to get anything done. Five years, what is that all about….? Talk about government in action.
If feel sorry for you, Brian and all the others and how much work you have done but nothing seems to happen. I witnessed the committee in action and they don’t care one way or another. One committee member has been on The Board those 5 years and she acted like it was a waste of her time because she doesn’t have a dog she said. Her job is not to take an interest in only her desires but the desires of the community as well. I think the committee misses the point of all of this and finds that it is easier just to stall and placate all of you. I will talk to my neighbors to see if I can get them to pay attention. Keep up the good work.
Sent an email to trish@crpd.com. Hope it helps. I urge others to do the same.
A link to e-mail the CRPD board and Director – http://www.crpd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory§ionid=4&id=22&Itemid=49