PRC MIN 1991-10-23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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. J . ITEM 3 - Nominating Committee for 1992 P&R Officers Chairperson Nordness appointed Commissioners Howard and Swope to co-chair this committee. They will meet and report back to the Commission at the November meeting. ITEM 4 - Dogs in the Parks Chairperson Nordness had contacted other cities which allow dogs in their parks to find out how the process was working and to determine if they had any problems. He reported that the cities he contacted had no serious problems but all found it was hard to police dogs in the parks. Commissioner Davis reported that after one year of meetings, correspondence, and public meetings, the Dogs in the Park subcommittee had developed a proposal for the Commissioners. review. Commissioner Davis mentioned that the key thoughts apparent to the committee were the sizable population of dogs in the city and the compliance problem. There is a general consensus that most dog owners are responsible but that there is no practical or economical way to enforce dogs in the parks. He said that it is the committee1s recommendation that opening up the general parks for dogs off or on leash was not advisable. In lieu, the committee has recommended four different sites as potential dog run areas where the dogs could be run off or on leash. The committee has also recommended that additional signs be installed at the entrances to major parks using universal signage. In addition, the committee recommended that an education unit be designed with the schools to help reinforce dog maintenance with students. Commissioner Davis mentioned that perhaps a retired teacher from the Senior Center could volunteer to set up this educational program. Commissioner Davis said that the next step would be to have staff do estimates for each site mentioned in the proposal. After the estimates are completed, the Commission would review them and then make the appropriate recommendations to the City Council. Commissioner Howard suggested incorporating the education process of the recommendation into a Park and Recreation information brochure. She also mentioned that she heard of two additional potential dog sites, one in back of Hawes School and another at Stulsaft, which could be used for dog obedience training. Landscape Gardener Mike Gibbons asked the Commission what level of maintenance would be expected if there were an enclosed dog run and also if the dog run were on the Hetch Hetchy, would this become a city maintained area. Commissioner Davis felt a dog run would take approximately 30-45 minutes per day to maintain. This would include emptying the trash cans, checking supplies, etc. This was based on information received from the City of San Carlos on the maintenance of their dog run area. Commissioners asked if the potential site could be used for dog training and exercising. Commissioner Howard said that if the area is used for both functions, a barrier would have to be installed to divide the two areas.