At the Feb. 10 meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission, staff presented the outcome of nearly two years of work on adding a new dog park to Windsor, including two options for new locations. However, concerns about the chosen locations and communication with the public and potentially impacted neighbors ultimately saw the commissioners sending the plan back to staff for further outreach and analysis.
In a presentation by Mike Kovanis, Parks & Recreation analyst, the commission learned about staff’s process and the two sites brought forward for consideration.
History of the dog park
The current dog park, the Charles “Chuck” Williams Memorial Dog Park, was included in the original construction of Pleasant Oak Park in July 1997. In 2010, the park’s footprint expanded from 6,600 square feet to almost 14,000 square feet.
However, complaints have dogged the site, with concerns about the bark footing and single-space design, and in response, the town began exploring alternatives to add a second dog park in Windsor. The Fiscal Year 2019-2021 budget included a Capital Improvement Project for $50,000 to add a new dog park within Windsor. The money came from Measure M funds, and is already allocated.
According to the agenda, in the fall of 2019, town staff engaged in a community outreach process to identify priorities for this new park. An online survey was conducted and had over 645 responses. The survey highlighted a few key factors for consideration:
- Separate play areas for large and small dogs
- Prefer turf and grass as opposed to dirt or bark
- Trees and/or shade structure
- Southwest or Northeast location in the Town
- Benches, dog poop bags and receptacles need to be included
- Respondents expressed concerns with dogs off-leash and loose within parks
In November, staff hosted a community meeting to review survey results and further prioritize the amenities desired in the new dog park. Approximately 40 residents participated in the workshop and the feedback included a strong desire for the new park to have turf/grass as a primary play surface. There was also strong support for creating a footprint large enough to include separate large and small dog play areas.
A Parks & Recreation Commission Subcommittee was formed to review the survey results, community feedback and to work with staff on developing a location and design utilizing the following criteria.
• Turf/grassy area which is currently mowed (avoiding an increase in mowing cost)
• Ability to utilize existing park infrastructure during construction to reduce added costs
- Under-utilized park space
- Existing programming and usage within parks
- Impact to residents/neighbors
- Parking options
Based on site visits, a review of park usage, review of police dispatch calls regarding dog-related issues and maintenance concerns, the subcommittee has recommended the following two locations for the new Windsor dog park:
Starr Creek Park
Starr Creek is located at 481 Decanter Circle, on the northwest side of the Vintana subdivision. Starr Creek is connected to Keiser Park by the Starr Creek Trail and is adjacent to the Windsor High School Stadium and Windsor Creek. Parking would be located on the street. This location does not have any scheduled programming by the town, however, is utilized by the neighbors for drop-in and passive activities. A majority of the turf area would remain for the neighborhood. There is also another park (Old Vineyard Park) with a large field, three blocks from this location.
This site could support a 20,000-35,000 square foot park which would be broken into a small and large dog area. Starr Creek Park is currently irrigated with recycled water, however potable water is also available.
The estimated construction costs for this site in 2019 were $60,000. Existing curbing will be utilized for the mow band, minimizing the need for concrete work. Additional amenities such as benches, hose bib and spigot, and dog bag dispensers would be an additional $15,000 to bring the estimated total to $75,000.
Lakewood Meadows Park
Lakewood Meadows Park is located at 9150 Brooks Road South, adjacent to the Windsor Community Center and is across the street from the Brooks Creek subdivision. The park is utilized for the town’s preschool and summer day camp programs. There are lighted basketball courts, bocce courts, two playgrounds, a walking path and field area. There are currently no formalized sports groups which utilize the field. Parking would be located on Brooks Road or in the Community Center parking lot. Entrance to the dog park would be located at the northwest corner.
This site could support a 25,000-35,000 square foot park which would be broken into a small and large dog area. Lakewood Meadows Park is currently irrigated with potable water.
The estimated construction costs for this site in 2019 were $100,000. This includes adding a concrete mow band around the entire site to support maintenance requirements. A fence would be installed into the concrete band. Additional amenities such as benches, drinking fountain, and dog bag dispensers would be an additional $15,000 to bring the estimated total to $115,000.
Concerns about finances and outreach
It became immediately apparent that two major concerns were going to prevent any forward movement at the meeting.
First was concerns about outreach, with both emails and public comment being made regarding a lack of outreach to potentially impacted neighbors. Most of those complaints came from those near the Starr Creek Park site, in the Vintana neighborhood, though there were comments from Vintana residents excited by the prospect of having a dog park in walking distance.
Neighbor concerns focused primarily on parking/traffic, and safety of nearby residents, though the Starr Creek location did raise additional concerns about impacts on wildlife and watersheds, since a protected creek does run through the park.
However, an additional outreach concern was that it appeared an incorrect Zoom link had been published for the meeting, and many commenters stated they were not able to get into the meeting until the managed to get a hold of someone at town hall, or when eventually another participant posted the link on social media.
“I don’t think you’re getting the full picture of comments,” one caller said, after stating it took him 25 minutes to get into the meeting and that “he was puling (his) hair out.”
In addition, the cost of the two proposed sites was significantly over the current allotted budget of $50,000, one by $25,000 and one by $65,000. Given the recent concerns about budgets within the town, several callers and several commissioners felt strongly that all proposals should fit within the $50,000.
Ideas floated include making the proposed second park smaller, using the money to alter and upgrade the existing dog park, or simply allowing off-leash dog hours at a variety of parks around town.
That final item is used in other municipalities, and is being considered by Windsor, but it brings an insurance and liability burden that has to be considered.
“The liability to the town is increased significantly when have dogs off-leash, even when hours are allocated, said Parks & Recreation Director Jon Davis. “Which is not to say it’s not something other communities are doing, or staff is not interested in investigating, but we are working through this step first and then we’ll be working through that.”
More than one public commenter suggested using neighborhood parks for dog park locations was not ideal, and that using community parks (like Keiser or Hiram Lewis) or even vacant town-or county-owned land would be better.
With the Keiser Park Master Plan in the process of being created, adding a dog park to that park could potentially be rolled into the master planning process for consideration.
Ultimately, it was decided that more work needed to be done.
“I recommend we bring this back to staff for further consideration on other locations based on community feedback,” said commission chair Meredith Rennie. “We might need an additional survey now that these concerns have been brought to light and maybe now it can gain some traction beyond dog owners. Let’s have some additional research and analysis on locations and I wonder if we can consider recommending this as part of Keiser Park Master Plan or if this needs to be a separate project going forward.”
“I concur with addition of being fiscally minded and staying under our measure M funds,” said Gina Fortino Dickson.
“I concur with both, including staying in budget, and would like to see different sizes and options to make better decisions and stay fiscally responsible,” said Tanya Potter.
