Riverside Dog Park gets city nod
But funding dollars needed before maintenance agreement will be signed –
Riverside Avondale Preservation Executive Director Carmen Godwin said she spent an entire day last month at City Hall advocating for the neighborhood’s four-legged residents. The group’s efforts were successful – both the city finance and recreation committees unanimously passed a bill (2012-461) calling for “a memorandum of understanding between the city and the state Department of Transportation for the city to utilize and maintain a parcel under I-95 in Riverside as an extension of Riverside Park for the installation of a dog park and other amenities.” The Jacksonville City Council passed the legislation at its late October meeting.
The project’s future, however, is leashed to one critical caveat: money.
“They passed a bill that says the city will sign a maintenance agreement under these conditions – that RAP will raise the money in advance and cover our portion of the expense and that we can pay for the first five years of grounds maintenance,” Godwin said. “They want to make sure we have the money before they sign and construction begins.”
RAP and the Five Points Merchants Association already have dedicated $25,000 for the design and engineering phase of the project. Designs are in the works for the two-acre site in the park’s northwest corner. Eric Lycke, a landscape architect with The Haskell Co., helped design a plan that includes several different areas for different size dogs. According to plans outlined on the RAP website, the park will include space for large and active dogs and another for small or passive breeds. The larger dog area ground cover will be made of decomposed granite. A walking path and shade pavilion are also part of the more than one-acre section. The small dog section, also just over an acre in size, includes tree coverage and bench seating.
Godwin said RAP has tried to mitigate financial concerns about the project by agreeing to a 50/50, dollar-for-dollar match for the park expenses with District 14 bond funds.
“We let them know we have $25,000 already for engineering and design and this doesn’t cost the taxpayers any extra money,” Godwin said. “Then we’ll match District 14 bond funds dollar for dollar – that’s money already dedicated for projects in District 14.”
Initially, RAP’s dog park committee had considered the option of making the off-leash park a paid-access park – a plan that would require users to pay an annual fee. However, the cost to build an entry gate and other associated infrastructure outweighed the anticipated $2,000 annual maintenance fee to mow, edge and facilitate waste disposal at the park.
“The system itself ended up costing $45,000,” Godwin said. “Ultimately, we’d really like the park to be the public’s no matter what people’s means are. That’s our goal – if we can raise the money on the front end, we’d like for this park to be open to the public.”
During the past year, RAP has been working behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for a Riverside Park dog park. The state Department of Transportation had to release a maintenance agreement for a portion of the park and RAP has been working on fundraising for the project. With city approvals in hand, the group can now begin pursuing designs and fundraising efforts more rigorously. The group plans to sell bricks for the park as a fundraising effort and hopes to attract corporate sponsorships for name recognition at the park.
By Susanna P. Barton
Resident Community News
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