| Background:
On the heels of the closure of the unofficial dog park at the Narrows Airport,
area dog owners have a wonderful opportunity to establish a facility in south Kitsap County,
on property already in the hands of the Kitsap County Parks and Recreation department.
(map)
County officials are supportive of the idea, and partners in a local legal firm are
completing the task of establishing a non-profit group to maintain the site. A public
hearing on April 8 (2003) elicited supportive responses from the community. The proposal received
a favorable recommendation from the citizens' advisory committee on April 23, and now the
elected officials have responded positively and are ready for us to get our act together
and take this on.
As you can see from this aerial photo, there is already a large cleared area within the
30 acre tract. There are no wetlands, and the soil is good and sandy to keep
doggie feet from getting too muddy. Volunteers have already removed a lot of trash, cleared
brush from the parking area, and done some preliminary trail work.
Once the non-profit organization is an official entity, there will be a need
for volunteers to formally establish the organizational bylaws and rules and
serve as officers and board members. A meeting was held at the site to do some
preliminary work along these lines to include in our proposal to Kitsap County.
(Meeting photos) This process continued toward formalization
at the July 1st meeting, when the first members signed up.
Communications timeline
July 2, 2003:
We are very close to having a finalized agreement with the county. They are
scheduling the moving of the gate closer to the road to discourage dumping, and then will
remove the ecology block so that one of our volunteers with heavy equipment can get in
and clear some play areas and a parking lot in the untimbered Scotch broom area. After that
we will need to fence the car zones from the dog zones (possibly with temporary constuction
zone fencing until we can get something more permanent) and we'll be ready for a major grand opening!
We have started collecting dues and donations, and have opened a bank account at West Sound Bank.
September 25, 2003:
Well, here we are, way past the time we expected to have a park open. Membership
continues to grow, but we haven't been able to get over the hurdle of the liability
insurance requirement imposed by the county. Several members have connections with
various county officials, and the attorneys are still talking, so we're hopeful the
issue will be resolved favorably, and sooner rather than later!
October 31, 2003:
We have a little progress to report. Kitsap County has lowered the amount of required
liability insurance coverage from 3.5 million to 1 million. Stan has gotten one quote and
is shopping for something better, but it looks like it might be affordable.
March 22, 2004:
The BONES park project was unanimously approved by the county commissioners this morning.
Watch this site or the yahoo group site for upcoming work days, planning meetings, and
last but not least, CELEBRATIONS!
Play day April 3 Photos
Current status (as of May 11, 2004):
The gate is repaired and secured, and the ecology blocks have been removed. Brush removal will be
starting in a week, and one of the members is working with the sheriff to get the junk cars declared
officially derelict so that they can be towed away. Fencing will start soon!
Grand opening July 3, 2004!!
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