Written by After many years of discussing the pros and cons of a dog park, we finally have a proposal with real teeth 🙂
I like the work the Dog Park Task Force has done so far, and I will personally be advocating for a way to find the funds as soon as we can. I think dog license fees, which we have kept to the lowest levels in King County (ten bucks a year for spayed/neutered animals, twenty bucks for unaltered), could sustain a small increase to pay for the park. I also think the dog park would be a great way to help enforce the liscensing requirements; we should post the requirement that all dogs must be licensed to enter the park, along with information on how to obtain a license. That step might also help with revenue, since we still have non-compliant dogs out there.
Here is a Renton Reporter article about the work done so far on the dog park proposal. Click Here
My hat is off to the Dog Park Task Force, the Parks Commission, the city staff, and the Mayor, who have progressed this proposal to the council approval/funding stage. Thank you all.
Can We Afford This Now?
While $50k may seem to be a smallish amount, with the tight budgetary situation is it really the right time for a two-year “test” park? What happens after two years?
Of course, the whole $100k could be raised by the proponents of the park. I’d fully support that.
Arf!
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
This shouldn’t be a priority in the city’s budget right now.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
I disagree… the more services we have for the regular working people the better.
We gave “the landing” millions of dollars in improvement money, and a bunch to Paul Allen in variances for his sea hawk fiasco.
We have the money.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
Good points, RentonBen and Meeganp. RentonBen (and others), do you agree with Meeganp about the City offsetting the costs by raising a City collected fee for the park? Or do you think the City should just pay for it?
The Landing and the Seahawks’ HQ could be considered investments by the City. Could you make the same argument about an off-leash dog park?
I’m not against the park–I think it would be an asset–but this seems like an example of “pay to play”–let the proponents raise the funds and the City will give (or technically, loan) them the property and help run it for them.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
I’d be just fine to limit access to the park to licensed animals – but generally the benefits for having the park – increased exercise, open space, community – far outweigh the meager costs. If Renton could crack down on unlicensed dogs, that would go a long way to funding the park if you’d like to make a direct correlation from taxpayer to resource.
Does Renton requite dog license tags to be on the collar of all dogs? If not, I can think of about eight dogs in about a 400 foot radius from my house that aren’t licensed. If Renton made the address of Licensed animals public on the web – I’d be easy to figure out who’s not licensed and turn them in.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
what the heck does “regular working people” mean anyway? As opposed to irregular working people. If you make $180,000 you aren’t working? This phrase always annoys the heck out of me.
And, even though I’m a dog lover, I do not think this should be a priority right now.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
>>regular working people
I define is as you’re average taxpayer who doesn’t soak up a bunch of government services – the “producers”, not the “takers.”
We have all sorts of government services if you’re a disabled minority transvestite with seven children – if you’re just a guy trying to walk your dog, then there’s nothing.
If you’re a fat rich scum-bag who (allegedly) rapes people – like Paul Alen, then the city will help fund your stupid hobbies – again, if you’re just a guy trying to walk your dog, then there’s nothing.
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
As owners of two dogs, I am excited about the prospect of a dog park in Renton. I like the idea of increasing the cost of dog licensing fees, and I doubt there would be much push back from dog owners. You can double or triple my fees in exchange for a dog park. 🙂
Re: Can We Afford This Now?
Has S.O.D.A. been involved in the planning and cost estimates? They have a great volunteer organization, which could help minimize costs and permit dog owners to contribute towards making this a reality. The dog park idea has a lot of support from everyone I’ve talked to, so we could probably come up with a lot of volunteers.
I would gladly pay usage fees for a dog park, and would volunteer to help maintain the park. Maybe the CIty could help set up a website where citizen could make monetary contributions toward building the park and sign up to volunteer? It could advertise the website in the monthly newsletter that comes with the water bill.
Dog parks are not only great for dogs, but they also foster positive interactions between people. It’s amazing how people from different backgrounds engage each other when their pooches are romping around.