McMinnville is attempting to fetch a $25,000 grant through Tennessee Dog Park Dash.

The Boyd Foundation is donating $1 million per year for three years to make Tennessee the most pet-friendly state in America.

The foundation is guided by Randy and Jenny Boyd.

Each year, the Boyd Foundation grant program will award $900,000 to Tennessee communities, evenly distributed across the state’s three divisions. A contest will be held to find the most pet-friendly community in the state.
Once decided, that community will receive the final $100,000.

Contest funds will be awarded to one community that applies for the grant, engages in events centered around charitable contributions for pet organizations in need and, as a community, goes above and beyond competitors to show pet pride.

In the first year alone, the donation will fund 36 dog parks.

Over the course of the three years, the donations are expected to impact over 100 dog parks.

McMinnville Parks and Recreation director Scott McCord asked permission of the city Parks and Recreation Committee members to apply for the grant.

“I’ve looked it over,” he said. “There’s no match. It’s $25,000 if it’s awarded.”

Officials earmarked $20,000 in the 2017-18 fiscal year budget of Parks and Recreation to establish a dog park, and committee chair Ben Newman says the grant could be used to improve upon that.

“This seems like something that would pay for a lot of the things I thought we would upgrade over the years. Tables for people to sit at. Awnings for shade, and other things like that. Better fencing for the double gates. We had planned to do fencing and maybe a water fountain, but with this we could do a lot more.”

A question that has been asked before but not definitely answer was asked again: Where should the city place the dog park?

“We talked about Rocket Park,” said Newman.

Alderman Ryle Chastain stated, “I know we’ve discussed that, but I’ve had a couple people point out to me, and I don’t know how often these are used but I walk by them all the time, the little crochet fields behind the Blue Building. They are already outlined, and people have recommended that we could fence one in for big dogs and fence one in for small dogs. There are benches there. They are downtown. They are within walking distance to things.”

“That area wouldn’t be large enough,” said Newman.

The recommended minimum size for dog parks varies considerably among cities, but is generally between half an acre and one acre.

It is also recommended to buffer the park from residential areas.

City administrator Bill Brock offered to review city owned property and report back to committee members any areas that fit the space requirement. That portion of the discussion was tabled.

McCord was given permission to attempt to bring back the $25,000 grant.