Eastpointe City Council on Tuesday voted to repair the city dog park and retain the fenced park’s current membership fob access system after multiple residents urged maintaining the fob requirement for safety and vaccination verification.

The vote followed public comment from residents and from Tony Lipinski, who identified himself as executive director for the Recreation Authority (Eastpointe). Lipinski said the Recreation Authority has handled registration, verification of dog licenses and vaccination records since the park opened and that the authority has purchased key fobs and forwarded registration revenue to the city. “Since 02/2019, we’ve sent $10,445 to the city for the dog park,” Lipinski said during the public-comment period. He also said the authority’s land-use agreement with the city requires the city to “remediate, repair, and place any damage or vandalism done to the park.”

The nut graf: Residents described safety and sanitation problems they say worsened when the park’s gate or access hardware failed, including an incident in 2023 when a dog entered wearing a spike collar and allegedly attacked another dog. Several speakers said a nominal annual fee and a fob system provide accountability and encourage responsible ownership; others said the park has problems with nonmembers entering and with overnight camping and discarded needles.

Council discussion emphasized three points: keep vaccination and membership verification, restore reliable access hardware, and avoid opening the park to unrestricted, non-member access. “I think having a fob system is good,” Councilmember Curley said during debate. Councilmembers noted that a cloud-hosted replacement system would be less vulnerable to local power surges than the park’s previous panel.

The council acted on a motion to repair and maintain the dog park infrastructure and to retain the fob-based access system. The motion referenced immediate repairs and indicated the total near-term cost would be under $5,000; administration indicated the system vendor and repairs “are ready to roll tomorrow.” The roll call recorded all present councilmembers voting yes, and the motion passed.

The council did not adopt a substantive change to the land-use agreement or alter the Recreation Authority’s role; Lipinski and residents asked the city to follow the agreement’s maintenance and vandalism-remediation provisions. Council members also said they would discuss park naming and other longer-term park matters separately.

Ending: The repairs will proceed under the authorization given at the July 1 meeting; the council did not set a public timeline for additional capital work or formal amendments to the land-use agreement. Residents urged continued communication with the Recreation Authority about maintenance responsibilities and financial flows tied to fob registrations.