Orange Beach Dog park home site decided

Originally Published by the Mobile Press Register

Link: http://www.al.com/news/press-register/baldwin.ssf?/base/news/1247130943152750.xml&coll=3


City Council sets aside section of vacant Terry Cove tract

Thursday, July 09, 2009
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter
ORANGE BEACH — Unless a more suitable site arises in the coming months, the city will build its dog park on part of a Canal Road tract once eyed for a municipal marina.

The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to designate about two acres of the property's northwest corner as a dog park.

Construction — essentially the installation of a fence, trash cans and water lines — will begin as soon as a committee of volunteers and city officials finishes raising the estimated $21,000 it will take to build the park and buy supplies.


Councilwoman Joni Blalock, who was absent from Tuesday's meeting but has led the fundraising efforts, has said that about $11,000 has been gathered so far and that several other donors have promised money once a site is selected by the council.

Once built, Orange Beach's canine park would join similar facilities in Gulf Shores, Daphne and Fairhope. Like Orange Beach, city officials in Mobile are working with dog devotees to raise funds to build a park on municipal property.

On Tuesday, two residents argued against putting the dog park on the former Walker Marina property, which the city acquired in 2005 for $9.6 million. City officials originally eyed the five-acre Terry Cove property as a place for a municipal marina, but with Orange Beach's current budget woes, plans for the $17.2 million facility were placed on indefinite hold.

Should the city decide to sell the property, or eventually build the marina, the dog park can be relocated, Mayor Tony Kennon said.

Iris Ethridge, a former councilwoman and mayoral candidate in last summer's election, asked the council Tuesday to consider putting the dog park on land near Orange Beach's new sewage treatment plant.

"One of my objectives when I ran for mayor was to have a dog park, but I want us to be very careful where the dog park is put," Ethridge said. "Why build it and move it when you could build it in one place and leave it?"

Said Kennon: "That's not even an option at this point. We haven't looked at it, we haven't discussed it."

Allen McElroy, who lives at Mess-About-Marina, which is just east of the city marina property, said the dog park could hurt his property value. He suggested putting the canine park behind City Hall or near Orange Beach's teen center.

City officials said that the open space behind City Hall is an important landing spot for emergency helicopters and that the land around the Teen Center has already been reserved for community gardens. And they maintained their preference for the marina property.

"We've got that beautiful property down there at the marina, tons of beautiful trees, and it's not being used for anything," said Councilwoman Pattisue Carranza.

Kennon said that the best alternate site for the dog park is the Canal Road property where the city's current wastewater treatment plant sits, but it will be spring before the new plant is finished and the old tract can begin to be prepped for any new use.

But the mayor said the fundraising efforts will likely be complete before then, and that work shouldn't be delayed: "At this point I think we owe it to the 120-odd contributors who have already donated to the dog park."