Dog Park - Opening Soon!! (May 29, 2008)
Gary Opfermann, Manager of the
TVRPD, stopped by the Canine Creek booth at Farmer's Market last week to
tell me the dog park will be opening soon. The project was on hold
until they could determine where the concrete for the new bike bath
would be laid, so it was not in conflict with the dog park fencing
installation. The bike path is scheduled to open on the 4th of
July, and TVRPD plans to open the dog park shortly before that, in late
June. We will keep you posted when an exact date is announced.
Dog Park Update (Apr 4, 2008)
I spoke with Gary Opfermann
and he confirmed that TVRPD has obtained three quotes for fencing, and
they were reviewing them to determine which to accept. My husband
and I forwarded photos of some very nice dog parks in San Diego and Las
Vegas for their reference, along with the CAD drawing my husband had
done for Meadowbrook. Gary assured me they are moving forward as
quickly as possible, and expect to open the dog park before Memorial Day
2008.
Dog Park Update (Dec 18, 2007)
I attended the TVRPD monthly
meeting last night for an update on the Meadowbrook Dog Park. The
board confirmed that grading had been done, they were obtaining bids for
fencing, and getting quotes for benches and concrete work for the double
gated (wheelchair accessible) entry. They are also working on
gopher control, general landscaping, and looking into planting
additional trees for summer shade. Assuming the project continues
as planned, they are still anticipating an early spring 2008 opening.
Dog Park Update (Nov 2, 2007)
I spoke with Gary Opfermann,
the new Managing Director of TVRPD, today. The parks department is
in the process of obtaining a grader to put in a new road with a
turn-around to the dog park area, and they have an appointment with a
surveyor next week to check the property lines. After that, fences
will start to go in. I asked if the timeline of a Spring 2008
opening was still feasible, and his answer was "Yes, and hopefully
sooner if the weather continues to cooperate".
Dog Park Update (Oct 5, 2007)
I attended the Tehachapi
Business Outlook Conference on October 5th and had an opportunity to
meet the new TVRPD District Manager, Gary Opfermann. Gary is new
to Tehachapi, and just started his job in September, so he is still
becoming familiar with our town, and has a number of park maintenance
issues to handle. However, he confirmed that he is on board with
the Meadowbrook dog park project, and is very excited about it. In
fact, he had walked the site the day before to get a feel for what will
be needed. Although it looks like the fall 2007 development
schedule won't happen, Gary assured me that the TVRPD is moving forward
with the project, with hopes of an opening in spring 2008. We'll
keep you posted as we find out more.
TVRPD District Manager Resigns (May 18,
2007)
After 18 years with Tehachapi
Recreation and Parks District (TVRPD), District Manager Michael Kelley
announced that he has submitted his resignation. The TVRPD is in the
process of filling his position. In the meantime, the dog park (along
with several other projects) will be delayed, until a replacement
manager can be found. According to a representative of the TVRPD,
the tentative opening date for the dog park has been pushed back to
"late fall 2007". We will provide updates as they are available.
Dog Park Approved!
(May 15, 2007)
At the May 15, 2007 meeting between the
TVRPD and the Golden Hills CSD, the GHCSD unanimously approved the use
of north Meadowbrook Park for a dog park by a 4-0 vote. Due to a
surplus of items on the agenda, the allocation of funds for the dog park
was transferred to next month's agenda. The dog park funding is
scheduled for discussion at the June 19th TVRPD meeting. The
public may attend these meetings, so please go and show your support for
the project.
Next Parks Meeting
re: Dog Park - May 10, 2007
SUPPORTERS NEEDED! The
next meeting between the TVRPD and the Golden Hills CSD discussing the
Meadowbrook dog park project will be on Thursday, May 10th at 6:30pm.
All interested parties are encouraged to attend. The meeting will
be held at the Golden Hills CSD building located at the corner of
Westwood and the Red Apple extension. Please go to the meeting and
show your support for Tehachapi's first off-leash dog park.
Tehachapi News Reports on Dog Park (April
2007)
The following article appeared
in the April 23, 2007 issue of the Tehachapi News, written by Bernadette
Nehorai, Tehachapi News Assistant. Thank you, Bernadette, for
keeping our community informed of this project.
A ‘dogs only’ park is in store for four-legged
lovers
Dog owners have long been troubled with the lack of a sufficient area
for letting their four-legged friends off their leashes to play. While
dog parks are popping up all over the state, there is not one in East
Kern County.
Beginning with 500 signatures and a letter to the Tehachapi Valley
Recreation & Parks District in 2004, Susie Atherton, owner of Canine
Creek Dog Wash & Boutique, laid out the initial benefits behind a park
of this kind in the community. She even thinks the park has the ability
to create responsible dog owners.
“There will be no excuse for letting your dog off-leash at a regular
park, and law enforcement will have it easier when trying to enforce the
leash law,” said Atherton.
Giving dog owners the option of a dog park is not only beneficial to
residents. According to Dogfriendly.com, traveling dog owners are more
likely to stop in a town where they can let their dogs out to play with
other dogs. This would bring increased tourism to community businesses.
Atherton wants to stress how residents who are not dogs owners can
benefit from such a place, since socialized dogs are less likely to be
problem barkers or dig out of yards.
“I don’t skateboard, but I’m in favor of the skate park, because it
gives kids a safe place to go where they will stay out of trouble,” said
Atherton.
Other benefits of a dog friendly park include a neutral place for dogs
to meet before coming into a family and a comfortable site for obedience
training, which currently takes place in local parking lots.
In March of this year, TVRPD confirmed that drawings were complete for a
fenced off-leash dog park to be located at the north end of Meadowbrook
Park in Golden Hills. The next stage of the process is for the Golden
Hills CSD staff to address public liability concerns. As of April 17,
with the pending approval of the Golden Hills Community Services
District, TVRPD is in the process of organizing a budget.
Once plans are absolutely finalized, Canine Creek plans to help with any
additional fundraising or support the dog park needs to become a
reality.
“We are being patient, but persistent,” says Atherton.
Sponsors will be needed for benches and picnic tables. According to
TVRPD Manager Mike Kelley, the overall cost of the park is estimated to
be under $14,000.
The park’s estimated date of completion is planned to coincide with the
grand opening of the County of Kern’s pedestrian and bike path,
connecting Golden Hills to the city, tentatively scheduled for sometime
at the end of summer.
Article by: Bernadette
Nehorai, Tehachapi News Assistant
Dog Park Update - Moving Forward
(March 2007)
The TVRPD has confirmed that
drawings are complete for a fenced off-leash dog park, to be located on
the North end of Meadowbrook Park in Golden Hills, adjacent to the
baseball fields. They are currently working on a budget, and
obtaining quotes for materials such as fencing, benches and picnic
tables, water fountains, etc. Once TVRPD determines the exact cost
of developing the park, they may be asking for our assistance in lining
up sponsors and volunteers, if additional funds are needed.
Assuming TVRPD accepts our proposed
facility layout, the 1-acre park will have 5 foot high chain link
fencing, divided into an "all dog" area (about 3/4 of the park), and a
separately fenced "little dog only" area. It will have a double
gated entry for pet safety, benches and/or picnic tables for the humans,
waste disposal containers with clean up bags provided, and a water
fountain. Some benefits to using this currently undeveloped land
is that it's relatively level, is a fair distance from roads and
housing, already has water and power run nearby, and has several mature
trees for summer shade.
If you are interested in volunteering,
donating materials (fencing, lumber, tables) and/or becoming a financial
sponsor for this project, please contact the District Manager of the Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Parks
District at (661) 822-3228,
or
contact Susie at Canine Creek. We will keep your name on file,
and will let you know if TVRPD needs your help. Thank you,
Tehachapi, for signing our dog park petition. It looks like our
wishes will come true in the near future!
Dog Park Update (November 2006)
On November 6, 2006, we
received an e-mail from Mike Kelley, District Manger of TVRPD,
confirming receipt of our recent batch of petition signatures in favor
of a dog park. Mike said "we are presently working on a site,
located north of Meadowbrook Park", and advised that he would be meeting
with representatives from the Golden Hills CSD at the end of this month
regarding access and other issues.
It's slow going, but it appears the
parks department is making progress on the project. We will post
additional information as it becomes available.
Why Tehachapi needs a dog park....
The following "Letter to the Editor" was
published in our local newspapers in November 2004. Since that
time, we have spoken to Tehachapi officials several times about developing an off-leash dog
park in our community. Although they seem to be open to the idea,
there is no apparent forward movement on the project. Why?
Who knows. Perhaps it's because they simply aren't sure our
residents want one. To help the process along, Canine Creek has
been working on a dog park petition. To date, we have submitted
over 600 Tehachapi resident signatures in favor of this project.
Doesn't that show enough taxpayer interest?
There are numerous reasons a dog park
would benefit Tehachapi. If you are in favor of the development of
a fenced, off-leash dog park, please stop by Canine Creek to sign our
petition, or write to the District Manager of the Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Parks
District. If the parks department can justify a publicly-funded
skateboard park that is used by a very small percentage of our
residents, surely a safe, fenced park for our four legged family members
is not an unreasonable request. If you believe a dog park would be
an asset to our growing community, please contact TVRPD and tell Mike
you want one!
Dear Editor:
(November 2004)
There is, in my opinion, an
important aspect missing from the Tehachapi park system..... a fenced,
off-leash dog park. As our lovely town continues to grow, and become
more crowded, this is a need that will grow along with it. In case you
are not aware of the benefits of this type of park, I would like to
outline some of them for you:
We
are pleased to announce that, after nearly four years of work and
planning, Tehachapi now has it's first off-leash dog park.
