Plans for an off-leash dog park are on the docket for Irricana’s 2016 IdeaFest, allowing residents to give input and voice whether the benefits to community are worth the cost.
Using a recent off-leash dog area strategy developed by the Town of Blackfalds, Alta., for reference, Interim Chief Administrative Officer Dawn Mosondz told council during the May 25 meeting, the national average of households owning a dog is 30 to 35 per cent.
With 495 households in Irricana and 228 dog licences issued as of May 11, Mosondz said the average in the community is most likely higher than the national average.
“Having a place to walk your dog and exercise them would definitely be beneficial,” she said.
Blackfalds focused on five guiding principles in the development of an initial off-leash park as well as future parks to accommodate growth, Mosondz said.
“The town is fairly accessible by walking, biking and cars,” Mosondz said. “It’s not a large distance residents would have to travel if we were to set up a dog park somewhere.”
With a minimum requirement of 1.8 acres for an off-leash dog park, she said the Town would need to consider having an enclosed area for running and playing, a double-gated entry for minimizing loose dogs, dog agility areas, multi-purpose areas for obedience classes, a dog wash station and bio-waste disposal with sanitation.
At this time, Mosondz said Harold Knight Park and Walker Park are not big enough to accommodate such an area.
“It wouldn’t provide adequate parking without infringing on the residents in that area,” she said.
Having the public involved throughout the process is key to the successful development of an off-leash dog park, Mosondz added.
Establishing whether the value the parks adds to the community is worth the tax dollars is critical information and she said a park improvement tax levied for a couple years to cover the cost could also be addressed.
“It’s important to make sure we get public buy-in on it in order to mitigate conflict and issues early on,” Mosondz said.
Mayor Dennis Tracz was in favour of having a plan ready for residents to review at IdeaFest – the date of which is pending – that laid out what the Town’s thoughts are and how much it would cost.
Councillor Mavis Hallman suggested residents could also sign up to be on a steering committee to help guide the project through if it turns out an off-leash park is something the community wants.
“There’s a lot of dog lovers in town. Somebody might be willing to be on a committee,” Hallman said.
