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Parks staff outlines dog park plan, fence timeline and membership options
Summary
Parks staff described progress on a Columbia City dog park—contractor Justin Beal has begun post layout, weather has delayed finishing, and staff proposed resident/nonresident membership fees, key-fob/phone entry (vendor Proxis) and vaccination verification. Board will review rules and revisit next month.
Parks staff told the Columbia City Parks Board that work has begun on the long‑planned dog park but rain and limited staff have slowed completion. The fence contract was awarded to Justin Beal and posts and layout are in place, but staff said rain and concrete cure time will likely extend installation from a best‑case "about a week" estimate.
The board reviewed proposed dog‑park rules modeled on Lebanon's procedures and discussed membership levels, with staff citing comparable towns that charge $30–$65 per year. "I think $40 for a year is a good price," Parks staff said, adding that the board should consider resident and nonresident rates and whether to prorate midyear signups.
Staff described planned access control: Proxis locks with a local installer will both install gates and train staff on software so members can use phone codes or backup fobs. "They gave me a local dealer... he's going to come up and install and teach me how to run it," the staff member said. Staff emphasized retention of a backup fob option for residents who do not use smartphones.
The board pressed operational details: whether vaccination dates should set the pass expiration, how the software would enforce dates or prorate fees, whether housesitting guests could use a member's pass, and how incidents or aggressive‑dog complaints would be handled. On liability, staff read rule language that owners are "legally and financially responsible for your [dog's]" actions and noted cameras are planned for monitoring. "If there is an incident, exchange contact information and leave the dog park," staff said, adding that park users should report incidents to the parks department.
Staff asked board members to review the Lebanon model documents and return next month for a formal vote on rules, fee levels and signage. The board did not take final action on fees or operating rules at the meeting.
