by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Happy Fido will likely give the bark of approval to a decision by the Sartell City Council to go ahead with developments of a dog park in Pinecone Central Park.
At its April 13 meeting, the council unanimously voted to approve a dog-park fence, a walking path and a rules sign for the dog park. The projects will cost $37,550 – about $33,000 for the five-foot-high chain-link fence, $3,800 for the gravel path leading from the parking lot and $500 for the sign.
About $10,000 of the funding will come from money the council allocated for the park several years ago; $16,000 will come from revenue raised by the city’s slight increase in the cost of a dog license (enacted three years ago); $3,000 will come from the parks-and-trails fund; $2,500 from a donation made by the Sartell Area Chamber of Commerce; and about $6,000 from money raised by DogPAC, a group of Sartell residents who has been advocating dog-park development for the past three or four years.
Council member Steve Hennes commended the members of DogPAC for their hard work and fundraising. He noted he and his wife travel throughout the nation quite often and that they have noticed the ever-growing popularity of dog parks. Such parks are not only good for dogs but for people, too, who socialize with one another when they bring their pooches to the parks.
City Administrator Mary Degiovanni noted there were about 1,000 dog licenses sold in the city last year.
Dogs enjoy drinks of water at one of the many dog parks in Minneapolis.
