Councillors being asked to play ball on dog park

OSOYOOS — A proposed solution for re-purposing a West Bench dog park in Osoyoos back to its original intended use as a minor baseball field would provide two leash-free options for dog owners.

A report from community services manager Gerald Davis to be delivered today encourages council to approve the reconfiguration of “the existing (West Bench) ball park into a shale infield baseball diamond as a single purpose ball facility.”

It also suggests re-configuring an old BMX bike track area outside the West Bench diamond into a new dog park and install fencing at Kinsmen Park to have a second off-leash park.

Dog owners would be encouraged to use the area around the diamonds as a dog park until the BMX area is re-purposed into an off-leash area.

“The community’s long-term vision is to make the community more family friendly in an effort to attract and retain families,” Davis writes.

“The community is supportive of dog users in its supply of public dog beaches and is supportive in its goal of continuing to provide an off-leash area facility that meets the needs of dog owners.”

The proposed solution follows a July visit by the Osoyoos Minor Baseball Association asking for the West Bench off-leash area to be returned to its original intent as a minor baseball diamond.

The little leaguers suggested their furry friends be relocated across town to Kinsmen Park.

That request was met with opposition from dog owners who frequent the facility and others in the community who see Kinsmen Park as a much-needed playground space.

Davis notes the Kinsmen facility is already seeing use by dogs.

“The Kinsmen Park is now being used as a dog park area as staff have witnessed many off-leash users. This area is equal to, if not larger, than the West Bench (area),” he wrote.

“The argument that travel to and lack of parking are issues at Kinsmen Park is not an argument that is whole heartedly supported by the administration.”

To accommodate a re-purposing at West Bench, the dog park would have to be dismantled.

A second option is to convert an existing slow pitch diamond at Desert Park for baseball. That would also mean skinning a portion of the greenspace and installing shale, fencing the perimeter of the ball field and installing dug outs.

“The largest cost for each of these applications would be the shale and fencing,” wrote Davis, who included an estimate from a Kamloopsbased provider with his report details the shale cost at about $17,100.

— Special to The Herald