The regular meeting of the Dog Owners Task Force at City Hall, on March 9, 2006, was attended by twelve residents representing Wards 1, 2, 5 and 6. In addition to Carlene Campbell, the City's Liaison to the Task Force, Ward Six Alderman, Rebekah Gewirtz, attended the meeting.

Due to an illness in the family, Arn Franzen, Project Manager, Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, was unable to attend the meeting. Members of the Task Force are looking forward to a future meeting to see the designs for off-leash recreational areas in the new park at the Kemp Nut site in Ward 1 and the renovated Perry Park in Ward 2.

Campbell announced that the City has selected the the Dogipot DogValet™ waste receptacles and dispensers for biodegradable bags for the Off-leash Recreation Area at Nunziato Field.

On behalf of dog owners who live in the Community Path neighborhood, a Ward Six resident presented a detailed slide show to facilitate discussion about potential sites for off-leash recreation on and around the Community Path. The presentation focused on eight sites and included maps, photographs and schematic drawings as well as pros and cons for each site. Much of the information in the presentation is available in the Community Path forum (click on the links for the individual sites below, links open new browser windows):

• three sites on the existing Path (at Lexington Park, at Cedar Street, and at Willow Avenue)
• three sites in existing parks in the vicinity of the Community Path (in Trum Field, in Albion Park, and in Nathan Tufts [Powder House] Park)
• two sites along the proposed extension of the Community Path (at Warwick Street and at Lowell Street)

Campbell will request approval from the Aldermen from Ward Five and Ward Six, the Mayor, and the Commissioner of Public Works to schedule a public meeting about potential sites for fenced-in areas for off-leash recreation in the Community Path neighborhood.

A Ward One resident requested a status report about a proposed Off-Leash Recreational Area (OLRA) in Cobble Hill on New Washington Street at Inner Belt Road. Campbell reported that the area is on track to open simultaneously with the OLRA at Nunziato Field in April, however, because of previous arrangements with businesses on Inner Belt Road, an area of about eight feet deep at the Inner Belt Road end of the property will be excluded from the OLRA and will have seating and a sign welcoming visitors to the Inner Belt business district.

Update: Revised presentation materials are now available in .pdf format. These files are large and are best viewed by first downloading them. To download the files, right-click on the links below and select "Save As" (in Microsoft Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As" (in Mozilla Firefox).

• possible sites for fenced-in areas for off-leash recreation at Lexington Park, Cedar Street and Willow Avenue on the existing Community Path [30.7 MB]
• possible sites for fenced-in areas for off-leash recreation in Trum Field, Albion Park and Nathan Tufts [Powder House] Park in the vicinity of the Community Path [21.5 MB]
• possible sites for fenced-in areas for off-leash recreation at Warwick Street and at Lowell Street along the proposed extension of the Community Path [14.7 MB]