Sam Hart, parks operations manager, updated the Open Space Conservancy Trust on July 17 about off-leash dog issues and outreach in trust properties. Hart said the presentation was for discussion only and that staff had restocked informational pamphlets for dog owners.

Hart told trustees that Mercer Island Police Department records showed four dog complaints and three reports of lost dogs in 2024 tied to the Pioneer Park area, and that since January police logged four calls related to dogs. He described the city’s dog-owner pamphlet and said different park properties have differing rules: Pioneer Park northwest and southeast quadrants include voice-control areas, while the northeast quadrant requires dogs to be on leash. He noted South Mercer Playfield (a joint city–school district property) allows no dogs.

Trustees discussed outreach, signage and enforcement. Hart said the pamphlet could use updating and that staff periodically conducted education and outreach; he reported fewer behavioral complaints in recent years compared with earlier periods and that Pioneer Park “doesn't get any more complaints than the rest of the park system.”

No formal action was taken; trustees and staff discussed focusing on updating pamphlets and signage and continuing routine coordination with police on complaint tracking.