After a 'ruff' go the first time around, a Sicamous resident's second request for a small dog park within the existing facility on Solsqua Road was successful.
At the May 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, Mary-Ann Easton brought back her request originally submitted at the April 23 meeting that she had been unable to attend, but her later viewing of the meeting recording indicated that her “ask” had been misunderstood.
Appearing as a delegation this time, Easton explained her vision of having a little area fenced off within the existing dog park that would be specifically for small breeds under approximately 40 pounds.
“A number of small dogs have been severely frightened or injured while being exposed to larger exuberant or aggressive dogs in the off-leash area. Even a large friendly dog can be intimidating and unintentionally harm a small dog when trying to play.”
Having done some research on the cost of chain link and posts she estimated the needed materials would be $1,200 to $1,500 for an approximately 2,500 square foot area, adding “I think it could be accomplished quite easily, and be constructed very quickly.”
“I’m also confident that a lot of small dog owners in our community would appreciate this project being approved to ensure the safety of their fur babies, and not endure the costly expenses of vet bills,” she concluded. “Therefore, I am respectfully asking council if you will kindly reconsider the approval of this project and proceed with construction for the enjoyment of our pups as soon as possible.”
Coun. Gord Bushell supported the proposal, noting that council has had numerous such requests and suggested they have staff look into the details, figure out the costs “and come up with a small dog park for our residents.”
When asked for a quick cost estimate, operations manager Darrell Symbaluk said that with what’s proposed, they could use one existing fence, maybe two, “so there could be some savings there.” He added that a standard four-foot high fence is $25 to $30 per lineal foot, but to keep it consistent with the rest of the park, the black chain link is $40 per foot.
“So it’ll come in around four grand, and then you’d be looking at a gate, so you’d be sold for $5,000.”
The committee directed staff to work out some options and bring those back to council for final approval at an upcoming meeting.
