WELLINGTON NORTH – Officials here are not ruling out the possibility of opening a dog park in the township in the future but are not moving forward with any plans as of now, given the current department workload.
At a July 6 recreation, parks and leisure committee meeting, members voted to recommend that council reconfirm that the township’s priority recreation projects for this year remain the Donald Family Ball Diamond upgrade and the request for proposals for the design of the Mount Forest outdoor pool.
Members also voted to recommend council to direct staff to bring the off-leash dog park project back as part of a future capital budget.
“The priorities are set, and I think we have good priorities to keep (township staff) busy as well,” said councillor Steve McCabe, who serves as chair of the committee.
“We still have it in the periphery, but that’s where it is, in the future.”
A dog park was identified as a recommendation in the township’s 2018 recreation master plan. While not part of the current capital budget, it is still being considered for the future.
Township staff project Wellington North could see a dog park in Mount Forest in 2025, and in Arthur in 2026. Both dog parks would each have an estimated budget of $50,000.
A presentation was made at a previous committee meeting by Joe Wettlaufer, seeking information on the township’s consideration of an off-leash dog park in Mount Forest.
After a discussion about possible Mount Forest locations, there was a direction to staff to prepare a report on possible locations and forming a committee to help with the planning process.
A report from township staff notes the establishment of an off-leash dog park will require both site evaluation (to consider appropriate site characteristics, compatibility, impacts and design), and identification of an organization to sponsor the park and oversee its management.
CAO Mike Givens raised concerns over future processes to determine a location for dog park sites.
“The anticipation is that we’re going to pick the site, then a committee would be formed,” Givens said.
“That’s not necessarily what we were thinking about, leading into this type of program.”
Givens added that the township needs to establish expectations around who is going to be responsible for the operation of the dog park.
“If we choose a site that’s 20 miles away from the people who want the dog park, they’re not going to be very committed to offering to maintain it,” he said.
“There’s always interest in dog parks, but when the rubber hits the road about who’s going to actually maintain and operate the dog park, that’s when you run into a challenge, and the site location is part of that, in my mind.”
The issue is expected to be discussed at the July 12 regular council meeting.
