Establishing a dog park in the city of McMinnville is back under consideration.
According to Friends of the Greenway member Trevor Galligan, the group has found a $50,000 tourism grant from the state Department of Environment and Conservation and it needs the city to submit the grant they write and dedicate the matching funds of $5,000 if it is awarded.
“We found out about this grant on March 11 so we haven’t had a lot of time to move on this,” said Galligan. “It’s a grant that has to be submitted by either city or county and all the work has to take place on city or county property. It’s a 90-10 match. The maximum amount we are requesting the city help us with would be $5,000. The grant has a deadline of April 18.”
The measure was presented to McMinnville Parks and Recreation Committee members Ben Newman and Steve Harvey. Alderman Jimmy Bonner was absent.
The proposed plan, said Galligan, would be to establish a dog park along River Trail East, a walking trail along the Barren Fork River connecting Ramsey Park, Sally’s Alley and Rocket Park, at Hobbs Park.
“We are looking at the potential for a dog park at Hobbs Park at the flattened off part, just about where we cleared out all the kudzu,” said Galligan. “Other things would be new signage on Highway 56 and at the entrance to Sally’s Alley.”
Harvey asked if demand for a dog park is growing. “Is this a highly requested thing? Would a dog park get a lot of use?”
McMinnville Parks and Recreation director Scott McCord and Newman both said they have received numerous requests for a dog park because there’s no place specifically dedicated to allow dogs to roam free.
“I get a lot of phone calls about it,” said McCord. “There is a demand. I get lots of requests about it.”
Newman added, “I get phone calls and emails about it.”
Newman and Harvey unanimously agreed to match the grant and submit it to the state once it’s written. The measure does not need Board of Mayor and Aldermen approval because it does not exceed the monetary maximum a committee can spend without approval.