Dog park panel will fetch funds

The Groveland Dog Park Committee will begin fundraising efforts in anticipation of opening the park next spring.

“We wanted to hold off with the fundraising until we got an official OK,” said Jim Knudson, the Groveland resident who first pitched the idea of a dog park three years ago.
 

That OK came Monday in the form of a vote by the Groveland Community Services District Board of Directors. The board approved an environmental document that states the “project will have minor public alterations in the condition of land, water and/or vegetation that do not involve the removal of healthy, mature or scenic trees.”

Known as a categorical exemption, the document will allow the district to avoid paying a $1,993 California Department of Fish and Game fee.

Planning for the park, which GCSD directors approved in August, can now move forward.

About a month after the project was approved, Goose the Mightily Motivated Mutt was voted as the town’s honorary mayor.

“We have a very unique situation here — our mayor is a dog,” Knudson said.

The park is essential for dogs, such as Mayor Goose, to get both exercise and socialization, Knudson said.

“This is not a community where you can walk safely down the street with your dog,” he said, noting a lack of sidewalks and paths.

The park is planned for about two acres of district property adjacent to Leon Rose Ball Field. Fencing will be used to separate areas for large and small dogs.

Initial work on the project, including installing donated fence posts, is expected to start by the end of the year.

 Knudson said the committee would like to raise about $5,000 for fencing, waste stations and signs. Any extra money would be used for the park’s upkeep.

When asked about his vision of a dog park finally becoming a reality, Knudson joked, “I think the park will be open in the spring — the spring of 2012.”