Ward Canyon Dog Park

Good News! The Ward Canyon Waggers are officially a voting member of the Adams Ave Advisory Council. Our designated point person to attend meetings is Vickie Everich. If she can't attend a meeting, we can send another member of the group in her place. And we continue to encourage ALL dog owners who want to see the permanent off-leash area completed, and a larger separate interim space for the larger dogs - to come to the meetings as well. The more we are there to show suppor...t for our 4-legged buddies, the more the city will respond. If you want to be on the email list for announcements, either sign up at this link, or leave your name here or in a private message. http://eepurl.com/gHCtzX

Wouldn't it be nice to have GRASS for the dogs? Let's keep our group active and stump for better for our dogs! (And send us a photo so I can update the Cover Photos with shots of our neighborhood pups!)

Dog owners - affectionately now called Ward Canyon Waggers - we have been invited to become a voting member of the Adams Ave Advisory Council. We need to identify a primary contact person for this group. I (Connie Terwilliger) am happy to continue doing social media and emails, but it would be great to get a couple more active committee members and an "official" point person to attend meetings and help vote on dog park issues Can we do a Zoom call this Tuesday at 6PM for abou...t a half hour to discuss this? I will send out a link to the email list, but want to alert people here that this will be happening. If you are NOT on the email list, please click here to start getting Ward Canyon Dog Park updates. http://eepurl.com/gHCtzX

Quick thank you to those who were on the Zoom call with the Adams Advisory Group on the 22nd. In addition to the 4 or 5 people who spoke on behalf of reopening the Large Dog Area, several others wrote in to support the idea. The resident who lives next to the park also spoke against reopening with the same reasons as before - that the Off-leash area should never have been built there in the first place. Please continue to write our City Council reps and the Park and Rec cont...acts, asking for the Permanent Off-leash area to be finished and for an acceptable option for the temporary area. Most of the dog owners who have spoken and written are in support of reopening the original temporary Large Dog area. One advisory council member would like to see the Park follow through with fencing in the area next to the basketball area. Bottom lines: cost - and the neighbor complaint. Please continue to stump for a better solution for our dogs!

More on the Upcoming Meeting - PLEASE Note the Process for Public Comments for this virtual meeting!! Please email Michele: 1. Ask for an invitation to the meeting AND 2. State your position on opening the Large Dog Area in Ward Canyon.... If you cannot make it to the meeting, then get your voice heard through your written comments. ***************** Public Comment Process Public speakers that wish to provide public comment at the meeting must contact me via email or by phone at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. I will provide public speakers with a phone number and access code to call in to the meeting. In addition, community members may provide written comments (via email) which will be read by staff at designated times during the meeting or submitted into the written record as prescribed by City meeting protocols. 5. Questions I know this is quite a bit of information with lots of moving parts. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions you have. We will be meeting 15 minutes prior to the start of our 6:00 pm, Tuesday, September 22nd meeting to run through the basic functions of the platform. Each member will have a chance to practice commenting, muting themselves, etc. I hope that you all can make it. Thank you in advance of your time. Thank you, [email protected]

Update on the Upcoming Meeting, At the present time, the city has decided to use Microsoft Teams for the meeting and is limiting it to invitation only. This is unacceptable as the meeting should be open to the public. I have sent Michele (and the rest of the other invitees) a note letting them know this. I also spoke to Area Manager Kathy Castello at (619) 235-5903 - who is taking calls and emails for Yzaguirre, Becky today and explained our concerns. Until we are able to get... this addressed, please email Michele and the rest of the people listed below and ask to receive an invitation to the meeting on September 22, 2020. I am including some updated suggested language. (Note that there was a typo in the last suggested language that has been fixed.) *************************** "As part of the Normal Heights/Kensington dog lover community, I am writing to ask for an invitation to the September 22, 2020 Adams Avenue Advisory Council meeting. My statement at the meeting will be to encourage the reopening of the Large Dog Area in Ward Canyon. Now that there is a curfew, the larger community of dog owners should be given the chance to prove that reopening this area will not be a hardship on the 3 homeowners whose property is next to the park." Chicarelli, Michele [email protected] Balingit, Ashley [email protected] Field, Andrew [email protected] Soundara, Maneevanh [email protected] Weise, Brett [email protected] Councilmember Christopher Ward [email protected] Yzaguirre, Becky [email protected]

If you are in favor of the City reopening the Large Dog Area, then please write to Park and Rec employees and City Council Members with your thoughts. Here is some suggested language and some email addresses. " As part of the "community," I am writing to encourage the reopening of the Large Dog Area in Ward Canyon. Now that there is a curfew, the larger community of dog owners should be given the change to prove that reopening this area will not be a hardship on the 3 homeown...ers whose property is next to the park." Chicarelli, Michele [email protected] Balingit, Ashley [email protected] Field, Andrew [email protected] Soundara, Maneevanh [email protected] Weise, Brett [email protected] Councilmember Christopher Ward [email protected] Yzaguirre, Becky [email protected]

I posed a question to Park and Rec about the possible re-opening of the large dog area - due to the custodian attempting to clean the area. Here is the response: ************ As of now, the large dog park area will remain closed until the City can find a solution to accommodate the community needs. Maintenance staff will continue to clean the large dog park area to avoid overgrowth. Hope this helps. Thanks. Michele ... ******************* If you are interested in supporting the reopening of this area, please drop Michele a note. Chicarelli, Michele

Greetings, an Event has just been posted for the next official Adams Avenue Advisory Board Meeting - please check it out when you get a chance. The chair is telling us that the major hot-button issues which currently concern the group are: + dog park -- the large dog area is scheduled to remain closed until further notice... + joint use -- action at Normal Heights Elementary has been implemented; the Agreement with Adams Elementary has expired; problems remain with regard to public access at both locations + Ward Canyon GDP -- funding for the next phase, completion of the park Additional issues of concern include: + membership recruitment + November elections + interface with the other groups + community park mural + securing the bronze plaque + future of the non-profit

Baxter wants to get back in the Big Dog area - want to help him do that!? Then let's get on the agenda for the next Advisory Council meeting asking for this to happen! It is the ONLY no money solution to getting more room for our dogs.

The Ward Canyon Waggers have an email address now - [email protected].