With a large crowd of dog lovers in attendance, the City of Renton’s Parks Commission Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal for an off-leash dog park in Renton.
The Parks Commission is requesting the City of Renton include $50,000 for the dog park in its capital improvement budget. The proposal goes to the City Council’s Committee of the Whole for approval Oct. 27. The public is welcome to attend the Oct. 27 meeting, but may not be able to comment. If approved, the dog park will become a 2009 city project.
The dog park was proposed to the Parks Commission by a Dog Park Task Force. The city formed this group this spring after years of dog-park requests. The closest dog parks to Renton are Grandview Park in SeaTac and Marymoor Park in Redmond.
Getting the City Council to approve the $50,000 for the dog park is not a given, Community Services Administrator Terry Higashiyama said at Tuesday’s meeting.
“The council may say we have to wait a year,” she said during the presentation.
Kris Stimpson, recreation manager for the City of Renton, later explained the possible funding delay. “The economy isn’t great, and there’s probably a lot of programs out there that may need funding,” Stimpson said.
Even if the City Council approves the $50,000, an additional $50,000 would have to be raised before the dog park could be constructed.
Increasing pet-license fees could help fund the park, the Dog Park Task Force said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Renton’s pet licensing fees last two years and are $10 for a spayed or neutered animal and $20 for an un-spayed or neutered animal. Most of Renton’s pet licenses are issued for spayed or neutered animals. Neither of the two fees have been raised since the 1970s. King County’s fees last only one year and are $20 for a spayed or neutered animal and $60 for an un-spayed or neutered animal.
Local and regional pet businesses, such as groomers, walkers and daycare providers, could also help raise money to build the park, the Dog Park Task Force suggested.
If approved, the dog park would be a two-year project, located at Narco, the former brick plant adjacent to the Cedar River and the Cedar River Trail that is now a 4 1/2-acre open field.
The dog park could not stay at the Narco field long-term, because under a city master plan, that field is slated to become soccer fields in about 2025.
The Dog Park Task Force looked at
other possible park sites, but settled on Narco for its easy access to Interstate-405, its abundance of parking and its relative isolation from neighborhoods.
“The closest people are 300 feet up a huge cliff,” a task force member said during Tuesday’s presentation.
Parks Commission members raised some concerns about the proximity of the possible dog park to the Cedar River Trail and the Cedar River. Task force members said the dog park would be fenced. Dog parks also tend to be self policed, they said.
Task force member Amy Dickau said many Renton residents have volunteered to help maintain the potential dog park. Many of these volunteers indicated their interest in the dog park in a survey distributed during Renton River Days. About 190 people filled out this survey.
The City of Renton may also be able to get maintenance and support from Serve Our Dog Areas (S.O.D.A.), a nonprofit that aids Marymoor and Grandview parks.
Michelle Pulsifer is a S.O.D.A. member. She spoke in support of a Renton dog park at Tuesday’s meeting.
She said she’s known not as Michelle, but as “Max and Annie’s mom.”
She says her dogs, Max and Annie, are well-behaved because she lets them play at Marymoor. A downtown Renton resident, Pulsifer would love to have a shorter dog-park commute.
To get a Renton dog park, she would help maintain the park, pay higher license fees or pay for parking, like she does at Marymoor.
“No problem,” she says. “We’re so passionate about it.”
Before City Council
The City Council’s Committee of the Whole will hear a proposal from a dog park task force for an off-leash dog park Oct. 27. The public is welcome to attend the meeting, but may not be able to comment.
