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Group to investigate dog park sites and costs
John Carter
John.carter@metroland.com
EMC news – Plans to set up a dog park in Arnprior are moving ahead. Town staff met last week with Megan Noel, the woman who circulated a petition calling for an off-leash dog park, with the goal of setting up a subcommittee of the recreation advisory committee to investigate the matter. About 300 people signed the petition. Recreation director Glenn Arthur
said the group would be tasked to ask for local input, look into possible locations and determine costs before coming to council with a recommendation. He said McLean Park is only one of the sites the subcommittee will consider. People opposed to having a waterfront area set aside for as a dog park should understand that it would only be down one end of the area, he added. Arthur explained that supporters
of having a dog park in that area felt it would help keep the geese and gulls and their droppings off the beach. Arnprior Councillors asked about the project during Monday’s meeting. Reeve Walter Stack wanted to make sure town staff wouldn’t be responsible for cleaning the park. “I don’t want us paying recreation people $50 an hour to clean up after dogs,” he said. Arthur said volunteers will clean
up after the dogs. Stack also asked for information on how often the baseball diamonds are used. Coun. Ted Strike wanted to know how much space needs to be set aside for a dog park. Arthur speculated no more than one acre of fenced-in area. Coun. Dan Lynch suggested Arthur get an update from Brockville, a community the recreation director visits a few years ago when the issue
came up. Lynch would like to know if Brockville’s dog park is working well or has since shut down. The nearest dog park to Arnprior is at Bruce Pit, in the Bells Corners area of Ottawa, although plans are also in their early stages for a dog park in Renfrew. A spot in Arnprior would likely attract dog owners from West Carleton and elsewhere. -with files from Derek Dunn
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Arnprior Chronicle-Guide EMC - Thursday, June 28, 2012 5