Resident says district dog park use is causing parking, trespass and safety problems near Minden office

A Douglas County resident told trustees he could find no record of formal approval for an off-leash dog area behind the district office and urged the district to take immediate steps to reduce neighborhood impacts.

Jim Valentine, who said he owns a home on H Street that faces the Eighth Street side of the property, told the board the dog-park users have repeatedly parked and—he said—behaved rudely, at times blocking driveways and damaging district staff cars. Valentine said the district’s decision to lock some gates and post directional signs pushed users to the Eighth Street side, which adjoins a street-facing single-family home.

Valentine asked the board to (a) unlock the Seventh Street gate and remove directional signage, (b) install a gate on the county roadside, and (c) lock the Eighth Street gate. He also asked whether the district’s insurer had been informed and whether the district had an approval process or community input for designating the site as off-leash when dogs are otherwise prohibited on school grounds.

Board members thanked Valentine for bringing details and said staff would follow up and that staff would collect his contact information for further discussion. The board did not take immediate action at the meeting.

Valentine’s comments flagged neighborhood parking and access concerns connected to a district property used informally as an off-leash area; trustees asked staff to follow up with additional information and next steps.