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August 19th, 2007, San Luis Obispo, Telegram Tribune
Dogs get new place to play in A.G.
Arroyo Grande City Council approves making part of the Elm Street Park an off-leash area for pets
By AnnMarie Cornejo
South County dog owners will soon have a place of their own in Arroyo Grande where they can let their four-legged friends romp free.
The Arroyo Grande City Council voted unanimously this week to designate two-thirds of an acre at the southern end of the Elm Street Park as an off-leash pet area.
The Five Cities Dog Park Association, a nonprofit group with more than 200 members, has been searching for such a place since it was told in early 2006 that its members could no longer let their dogs off the leash at the Costa Bella basin in Grover Beach.
“Two years of work, and we are finally almost there,” said Cynthia Eklund, president of the association and owner of Dudley, a basset hound.
According to the agreement with the city reached Tuesday, the association will install signs identifying the dog park and put in a fence to separate the play areas of large and small dogs. The group will also set up entrance gates, a dispenser with Mutt Mitts for poop pickup, an informational kiosk and a sidewalk.
Eklund said the nonprofit organization expects the improvements to cost at least $15,000 and will begin fundraising soon.
Additionally, “Members will monitor the park every day and make sure it stays clean,” Eklund said. In turn, the city will continue to maintain the park.
“It is really a good partnership,” said Councilman Jim Guthrie. “The group will build and maintain it all while using a part of the park that is not currently used.”
The park’s parking lot is heavily used by visitors to a nearby preschool as well as users of the sport fields. Some concern was raised about a possible shortage of parking spaces, Guthrie said. However, the dog owners typically gather in the evening and it is expected there will be enough space, he said.
Hours of operation for the dog park have not been set, said Doug Perrin, director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities. The Elm Street Park is open from dusk to dawn.
Eklund said that many a friendship has been formed among dog owners at such parks. “This is about getting people together,” said Eklund. “Green grass and green trees — that is luxury.”
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