Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014 -Mason County Journal- Page A-5
No timeline yet for
establishing park
By GORDON WEEKS
gordon@masoncounty com
Spot and Fido will have a
place to roam in Shelton and
so will their human compan-
ions.
The Shelton City Commis-
sion on Monday agreed in prin-
ciple to establishing a fenced,
off-leash dog park at the city's
Kneeland Park. The proposal
from the city's Parks and Rec-
reation Department calls for a
dog park of almost a quarter
acre on the southwest end of
the 3.9-acre park bordered by
Front Street and Turner Av-
enue.
For the past year, the City
of Shelton's Parks and Rec-
reation Advisory Committee
has been discussing the de-
velopment of an off-leash dog
park in the Shelton area. Pets
are not allowed in city parks.
Owners can walk their dogs on
leashes on the city's Huff 'n'
Puff Trail on Shelton Springs
Road.
Dogs are required to be on
leashes in the city.
The closest dog park is in
northeast Thurston County,
a 5-acre site that formerly
served as part of the landfill in
the Hawk's Prairie area.
Mark Ziegler, the direc-
tor of the Shelton Parks and
Recreation Department, on
Monday told the commission
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
A plan from the city of Shelton's Parks and Recreation Department calls for a fenced,
off-leash dog park on almost a quarter acre on the southwest end of the 3.9-acre Kneeland
Park.
that a support group called
Friends of Shelton Dog Park
that formed as part of a parks
advisory meeting is committed
to helping design, raise funds,
advertise, develop rules for
and monitor the park.
No one mentioned a time-
line for establishing the park.
Kneeland Park already has
the infrastructure to support
such a park, including park-
in_g, sidewalks, water, rest-
rooms and closeness to other
attractions that will attract
families, Ziegler said. Activity
at a dog park would have little
or no effect on surrounding ar-
eas, he said.
The dog park would have
a separate entrance, Ziegler
said.
Ziegler said city staff and
volunteers could complete the
improvements, and materials
such as the chain-link fencing
could be donated.
At the park, dogs would
get exercise and learn to bet-
ter socialize with one another,
Ziegler said. Also, =It's really a
social activity for the owners
themselves," he said.
Ziegler said he was simply
seeking "general approval"
from the commissioners.
=I vote yes," said Mayor
Gary Cronce. =I think it sounds
like a great idea."
Commissioner Tracy Moore
called Kneeland Park "a supe-
rior location ... It looks won-
derful."
=Greenlight it," said Com-
missioner Mike Olsen.
"(Going to dog
parks is) rea||y
a sociaJ activity
for the owners
themselves,"
Mark Ziegler, director of
the Shelton Parks and
Recreation Department
City Administrator Dave
O'Leary said the city will have
to sign a contract with the
Friends of Shelton Dog Park
on the fundraising and park-
monitoring rules.
? rell put all the pieces to-
gether ... and come back," he
said to the commissioners.
Friends of Shelton Dog
Park have established a Face-
book page to keep residents in-
formed of its efforts.
Group member Debbera
Coker told the commission she
is disappointed that she can
only take her dog, on a leash,
on the Huff 'n' Puff Trail. She
said she visited off-leash dog
parks in Thurston and Kit-
sap counties and saw a lot of
socializing and the policing of
cleaning up animal waste.
The group favors Kneeland
Park because of its central lo-
cation and existing facilities,
Coker said.
=(We're) ready to start fund-
raising as soon as you give us
the go ahead," she said.
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