Neillsville City Council Discusses New Dog Park
Friday, September 11th, 2020 -- 9:05 AM
-The Neillsville City Council had a lengthy discussion on a new dog park in the city.Council Member Joe Neville introduced Neillsville residents Brianna Roehl and Mandy Krejci. Neville asked them to give their dog park proposal. They were never told they had to go through the Planning Commission. Roehl presented drawings of the proposed dog park within Listeman Park. The fencing would be 25 feet from the children and toy area. It would have both a large and small dog area with entrance gates and a maintenance entrance for equipment. Roehl stated most people don’t know about the current dog park location by the old city dump and sewer treatment facility. The current location has issues. It is not fenced in, wild animals run through, there’s smell from the compost, the road is rough and not open in the winter, it’s not handicapped accessible, it lacks water for both the people and dogs, it’s a capped old landfill and an approach cannot be dug in. Roehl stated the proposal location in Listeman Park provides a family oriented site, which is under used. Boon Construction has donated a culvert to help with the wetness in the area. The Committee is looking to fundraise $15,000 for the fence, benches and shade. Currently there are 265 dogs licensed within the City. Dog park rules would have to be set similar to Eau Claire and Marshfield. Roehl stated that she checked with the City of Eau Claire and last year, in their two separate dog parks, they had 17 cases reported with only 6 involving dogs. The Neillsville Retirement Center is in full support of the dog park location. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend she did an online poll and 71 responses would like to see the dog park moved. Council Member Julie Counsell asked if the Listeman Foundation was contacted. Roehl stated she had talked with Ben Urlaub, Listeman Foundation and he verbally said it was okay, nothing in writing, but a $2,500 donation has been received. Mayor Diane Murphy stated that the Listeman Foundation does not own the park, the city does.
Roehl stated the dog park started with Linda Holets and a fundraiser at the CART Center and over $3,000 plus a culvert have been raised. Council Member Neville thanked Roehl, stating a lot of people were for it, it’s a great location and the Dog Park Committee has researched every inch of the city for a location. Neillsville resident Natalie Erpenbach stated that she saw the dog park article in the Clark County Press, and after all that Prock Park went through, she questioned if the new park location would fall under the Planning Commission too. It is still part of the Planning Commission’s responsibility. Let the commission do its work, we need to get there and everyone is trying to do their best for the City. Another Neillsville resident stated that she is a dog owner and she has concerns and reservations about the proposed dog park location in Listeman Park. Based on personal experiences, she believe the fairgrounds would be a better location and people do not license and train their dogs.
Council Member Dan Clough stated that he has been aware of this for a while, but thought that the dog park was still in the planning stages. He applauds the work that has been done and now they have to go through the process. Mayor Murphy stated that she knows there are a lot of people against it and it won’t be resolved at the next council meeting. It is going to take some time. Krejci stated they went to the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee and got their blessing, They want everyone to know what is going on and this started in 2015. City Attorney Bonnie Wachsmuth stated the group has been trying to put this together. The reason there is no fence at the current dog park is lack of funds raised. Council Member Neville stated that dogs aren’t allowed to run in a City park. Without a fence the old location should be shut down.
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