Glen Ellyn (Chicago) Dog Park Fees
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... i-news-hed |
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| That's a subscription site. Care to excerpt it for us? |
| Dog park fee unleashes ire
Non-residents warn Glen Ellyn Park District they'll boycott town if $175 fee not lowered By Bob Goldsborough Special to the Tribune Published August 10, 2006 Glen Ellyn Park District's only dog park had been free but next month will cost non-residents $175 a year or more, and some pet owners are barking mad. Although those living in the village would pay less--$25 a year beginning Sept. 1--a group of residents has joined non-residents in threatening to boycott local businesses and the dog park if the higher rate stands. The 5-acre park is behind the Spring Avenue Recreation Center, 185 Spring Ave. User fees were prompted after a resident's Labrador retriever was bitten in March at the park by a Rottweiler. The Park District began studying a variety of regulations and last month decided to impose a fee. For non-residents, it's $175 for the first dog and $50 a year for each additional dog. Other park districts around the Chicago area tend to charge to use their dog parks, usually double for non-residents. A few communities don't have dog parks, and some that do only allow dogs of residents. In Chicago, an attempt last summer to make owners already paying $10 for pet licenses pay another $35 a year to use a dog park fell apart with complaints that the Park District was just trying to raise revenue. At Tuesday night's Glen Ellyn Park District meeting, dog owners balked at the fees, calling them excessive. They produced a petition that they said was signed by 150 dog park users and called for lower fees. "Both Glen Ellyn residents and non-residents signed the petition to reduce those fees," Lombard resident Jim Graff said. "Glen Ellyn residents were outraged because their tax money pays for that park, and non-residents are outraged because they can't afford the $175." Graff said non-resident owners do not oppose paying to use the park but think the $35 a year charged by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District at its seven dog runs is more in line. Village stores near the park may suffer if the fees aren't lowered, he said. "A lot of people find it very convenient to go to the dog park and then to the shops that are within a half-mile of the dog park," Graff said. "They said that if the fees aren't reduced, they would have no problem going an extra 5 miles to Downers Grove just to avoid Glen Ellyn entirely." Park officials promised to discuss the complaints at their Aug. 22 board meeting and consider changes when they meet in September. But by then, the fees will have kicked in. Park Board Vice President Sandra Minogue defended the fees, saying, "The dog park itself does cost the Park District money to keep up." She also complained that pet owners don't keep it as clean as they should. As for the fees' extra bite for non-residents, Minogue said the Park District isn't trying to exclude them, but that "this is a park for the residents of Glen Ellyn." She doubts her colleagues will vote to reduce the non-resident fees. "As I see it, what we have is going to stand," she said. The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control had to backtrack from its announcement that pets using Chicago's 10 sanctioned dog parks would need to have a $35 permit--requiring a veterinarian's signature--that validates the pet's health record. In January, Chicago park officials cut their dog-park fees to just $5 a year for a tag that is provided by participating vets' offices. Crystal Lake's dog park costs residents $30 a year and non-residents $60. And for a pooch to frolic on Evanston's dog beach, the resident owner would pay $40 a year and the non-resident $80. "There has not been resistance" to the fees, said Bob Dorneker of Evanston's recreation division. In some places the difference in fees is even higher. At Wilmette's dog beach, resident dog owners pay $25 each year, while non-residents pay $150. And Highland Park's Moraine Beach dog exercise area costs residents $40 a year and non-residents $120. "We haven't had any problem with [complaints about fees] at all," said Bonnie Taverna, office coordinator for the Parks and Planning Office. Some towns, like Wheaton, have no dog parks, while others are very restrictive. Arlington Heights, for example, allows no dogs in any of its parks at any time, while Barrington allows dogs only in one park during a dog show. In Oak Park, residents are charged $39 for 16 months to use dog parks. Non-residents are not allowed. St. Charles, Plainfield and Deerfield are among the only area communities that allow dogs to roam dog parks without any registration or license. |
| For that much, you should be able to drop them and off and have someone watch them for you while you shop. That's ridiculous. I pay $50 a year for hous but I don't mind. They provide water and clean up bags and that's a fair trade for me. |
| Im still amazed that you have to pay anything....ours are free and include waterfountains, poopie bags, rakes and chairs... |
| At least you guys all have one. Baton Rouge has one that is wayyyyyy over on the other side of the town. Two blocks from me is the largest park in the city where we take the dogs but there really isn't a dog park at it. |
| Canine Corner just opened last weekend in Elon, NC. The fee was $20 for the first dog and $10 for each additional dog. I got a tag for SamSun but haven't had a chance to try him out at the park yet. |
| I don't think there's a dog park in the entire state of MS, lol
For that price though, my doggies can play just as well in our yard. |
| Hi,
Ours are free, the parks are run by the parks and rec people and they provide free bags and other stuff. The one closest to my house was run by the city and chose a couple stewarts to keep an eye on it, which I was one. Only meant bringing plastic bags as in this case they weren't provided. Vancouver has over 40 in the heart of the city and in the burbs where I live there are only a couple "official ones", with numerous unofficial ones where people meet frequently with their dogs. My favorite is a 17 acre offleash I visit daily with Panda. You know...I bet if you were to organize with others in your city for those of you without an offleash park...their is power in numbers and you guys pay taxes towards parks...so I'd give it a try. Good luck! Marianne |
| I just moved here from oregon and am completely disgusted by the fees and rules and regulations imposed here on dog owners and for everything for that matter. In Portland there are dog parks everywhere and they are all free and beautiful and every one gets along just fine. The taxes pay for it and no one complains. Do people just dislike animals in Chicago are or is everyone just so used to paying for all these extras that it's become the norm. I'll tell you one thing for sure. I'm not staying in this state based on these stupid fees and rules another year. You can have it... |
| Ours are free, and water fountains are provided.
I cant figure out how paying a fee is going to stop dogs getting bitten as it says in the post. I think its just a good excuse to make some money. |
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