Local dog park nears construction, expects to bring people to Mount Pleasant
With more than 90 percent of their goal reached this spring, Friends of the Dog Park could see a completed park by the fall.
There are only four fundraisers left to reach the goal of $39,188 set for the nonprofit by Mount Pleasant and Union Township. The city and township have agreed to match the amount raised, once the money is turned in.
Friends of the Dog Park President John Dinse, a former member of the Union Township Board, said the road to the agreement has not always been easy.
“There’s been a change in who’s on the township board,” Dinse said. “People rotate in and out. We’re actually at a point now I think where everybody’s on the same page."
Dinse was initially sought out by other members of the organization in 2011 when efforts began shortly after the death of two board members’ daughter, Hannah Simons-Scalise. Originally asked to chair meetings, Dinse was elected president when Friends of the Dog Park officially became a 501p3 non-profit organization in November 2012.
Since then, he and the other board members have been hard at work coming up with their third of the funds to create the dog park, which will be built in Mission Creek Park in Mount Pleasant. Board member Ken Hofmeister said the funding goal was changed several times throughout the planning process due to several different park plans.
“When the design costs were presented, I think most people were shocked,” Hofmeister said. “The most common comment I get is ‘Isn’t it just a fence?' but it’s much more than that. Even the basic design costs a lot of money.”
Hofmeister said while dog parks can cost upwards of $300,000, the plan finally settled on will cost around $117,000 total.
When the three original plans were presented, the city of Mount Pleasant and Union Township told Friends of the Dog Park they could not support them with the funds they had. The board members then took it upon themselves to construct an entirely new plan, integrating all the basic needs and standards of a dog park, until they came up with one both governments could support.
While board members were initially skeptical about their ability to raise so much money, they have since thrived with the support of the community around them.
The park will include a six-foot fence to prevent large dogs from jumping out, which will continue underground as well to protect dogs who like to dig. The park will be ADA compliant with wheelchair access, and will be locked every night. Any dog that uses the park must first have all the appropriate shots to maintain the safety of other dogs and people.
With only four more fundraisers, Friends of the Dog Park hopes to continue utilizing the help and support of several Central Michigan University students in the journalism department, who are promoting the fundraisers as part of their classes. Once the goal has been reached, the dream set forth by Simons-Scalise, a former CMU student, can become a reality.
“I see this as a really missing component in the quality of life in Mount Pleasant,” Hofmeister said. “We have a wonderful park system, but we really don’t have a place for dogs off leashes. It will bring more people to Mount Pleasant and it will make the lives of people that are here much better.”
The next Friends of the Dog Park fundraiser will take place April 3 at Bennigan's.
