Iola will develop a dog park in the south part of town, if enough financial support is pledged by advocates.
City Council members voted 5-3 to pursue the park, provided costs are limited to $20,000 or less, and that at least $10,000 is generated through private donations.
In making his motion to build the park “somewhere down south,” Councilman Kendall Callahan pointed to large areas of green space vacated by the flood of 2007. He asked city officials to set up alternatives either near the intersection of State and Irwin streets or farther east near South Washington Avenue.
The proposal came after Iolan Don Snavely, who lives just west of the proposed State-Irwin dog park site, grilled councilmen with a number of questions about the dog park.
Snavely asked about the cost of such a park and how it would be funded; how much it would cost the city to extend water service and maintain such an area opposed to the current contract mowing; the city’s liability in case of dog bites, particularly for vicious dogs; how dog waste would be handled; and whether any of the council members would want such a dog park outside their front door.
City Administrator Judy Brigham said the city’s share of the dog park likely would come from its capital projects fund, generated through a portion of its 1-cent sales tax. The city already has water service to either of the two sites on the south part of town, as well as a spot near the Elm Street water tower.
Brigham said the city could set up waste disposal containers or other facilities in which the waste could be deposited into the city’s sewer system.
Vicious dogs already are strictly controlled. Pit bulls, for example, must be muzzled when in public. Other vicious animals are banned, Brigham said.
Iolan Wilma Krokstrom said dog owners largely police themselves when using dog parks, for waste cleanup and preventing dog fights or attacks.
The now defunct Iola City Commission focused its sights on the Elm Street site because it already had fencing in place. Fencing looks to be the most expensive element of developing the dog park.
However, the Elm Street site has obvious disadvantages, including its size and lack of shade.
“The Elm Street location is barely bigger than a back yard,” council member Steve French said.
French said an anonymous donor has approached the city with a $4,000 offer if the dog park is built in the south part of town. He said that Thrive Allen County would also contribute some, although that amount has not been established.
Council member Don Becker said he, too, has heard from advocates for a dog park.
“I would like to find out how much interest there is,” Becker said, adding that those who fully support such a venue would be more likely to contribute financially.
Council members Jim Kilby, Ken Rowe and Joel Wicoff voted against the motion. Rowe and Wicoff both said they would not support a dog park until more definite cost figures were available for construction and maintenance.
Rowe and Brigham also offered opposing views on maintaining a dog park.
Brigham said she was told by Parks Superintendent Berkley Kerr that the difference in mowing and regular upkeep of the dog park would be negligible from the current contract mowing of open green space.
“That’s the exact opposite of what I was told,” Rowe said.
Callahan based the $20,000 price limit in part on a proposal submitted by Iolan Ray Shannon to the city in September. That proposal for a dog park near State and Irwin streets would have cost about $17,000 last September, with more than half of the expense dedicated to fencing.
“We don’t know if those costs have changed since September,” Brigham said.
Callahan, French, Becker, Franklin and Scott Stewart voted in favor of the dog park motion.
Split council backs dog park as would-be neighbor growls
