Thank you to the fourteen Somerville Dog owners who came to the Parks and Open Space Committee meeting Monday evening, February 22, to hear the committee discuss options for an off-leash recreational area in West Somerville! Great turnout! There were real exciting developments for off-leash recreation in West Somerville! The City will be revisiting two proposed sites for off-leash recreational areas along the Community Path, at Cedar Street and at Willow Avenue. Mark your calendar: The Committee will reconvene on March 8 at which time, Carlene Campbell, Director of Community Relations and the City's liaison to the Dog Owners Task Force, will have found out whether the City owns any land at three additional sites that were discussed, one each in ward five, ward six and ward seven.

Ward six Alderman, Rebekah Gewirtz, who chairs the committee, and ward two Alderman, Maryann Heuston, who is one of the other two members of the committee, were present. Ward four Alderman, Walter Pero, also attended.

Campbell reviewed the City's previous efforts to propose an off-leash recreational area (OLRA) at one of three locations along the Community Path (at Cedar Street in ward five, at Lexington Park on the border of ward five and ward six, and at Willow Avenue in ward six). These locations were proposed to the community at a public meeting in May 2006. The community meeting in May 2006 was contentious, and, as Alderman Gewirtz observed, the site adjacent to Lexington Park was especially "problematic". The City decided, for the time being to look for possible locations for off-leash recreational areas in other neighborhoods. "It's okay," Campbell said "to leave a project for a little while and to come back to it."

Since 2006, the City has opened an OLRA at the Ed Leathers Community Park, and construction will begin this Spring on an OLRA at Zero New Washington Street—both in East Somerville. Alderman Heuston, observed that 2006 was "a long time ago." Acknowledging "issues" at Lexington Park, Alderman Heuston suggested that the City go back to the community with the proposals for the Cedar Street and Willow Avenue locations.

The Hodgkins-Curtin Park renovation and strategies for increasing green space were also on the agenda for the Meeting.

The Committee discussed the significance of the name of Hodgkins-Curtin Park and of ensuring both that plaques memorializing Donald Curtin are preserved in the park and that that the name of the park is retained through the renovation process.

The committee received a status update from the Administration regarding its four strategies for increasing green space: 1) Acquiring land owned by the Commonwealth, 2) Purchasing property, 3) Zoning, and 4) Making existing parks more green.