Dog park debate rears its head again
Officials are considering several sites but may wait for the next SPLOST vote.
Rome and Floyd County officials are trying to decide if they want to build a dog park before the November election or defer it until after the vote on a SPLOST-funded agricultural center.
“If we could wait and see how that pans out, we could maybe partner with them,” County Commission Chair Rhonda Wallace said.
The 2013 special purpose, local option sales tax package contains $25,000 for a dog park, and there’s a push to complete all the projects before a new SPLOST proposal goes on the ballot. But it’s a small budget — and proponents of the Ag Center have said they’d include room for the facility in theirs.
“We wanted to make a splash pad and put amenities inside it; some shade and bench- es,” City Commissioner Evie McNiece noted.
The park also would have to be divided into three areas: one for small dogs, one for large dogs and one to rotate into use.
“If you don’t have a resting area, it’s going to end up looking like a dirt pile,” County Manager Jamie McCord said.
Rome City Manager Sammy Rich shared four conceptual drawings by senior planner Bryan King during a meeting of the joint services committee last week.
A park design for the north end of Ridge Ferry Park appeared to offer the biggest bang for the buck.
“There are a lot of trees and infrastructure already there,” Rich said. “It’s got parking, restrooms, a playground. It’s already a destination.”
The down side, most of the commissioners agreed, is that the dog park should be in a more urban area to offer an oasis for city dwellers who don’t have many places to walk their pets. A design for city-owned property along the Etowah River by the Bob Moore Bridge drew support for its intown location. “That would clean up that area and connect to the Kingfisher Trail,” County Commissioner Wright Bagby noted.
But the site — like the others on the list — would be more costly to develop than the spot at Ridge Ferry Park.
A proposed linear park along the river trail at State Mutual Stadium also sparked interest, and King noted that residential units are under construction in that area. The city also has a concept plan for a site on the donated General Electric property off Lavender Drive.
McCord said the county has potential sites in Etowah Park off Kingston Road and in the Riverside community. He said the park should not be too far from Animal Control Director Jason Broome’s headquarters at the PAWS shelter on North Avenue.
“There will be some issues there and Jason will have to respond,” McCord said.
Bagby said a local animal rescue group is raising money that could go toward the dog park, and volunteers might be willing to manage the site if the county maintains it.
“We could do a worldclass facility with funds from that group if we do it at Ridge Ferry Park,” he said.
McCord and Rich said it won’t take long to build the park once a site is determined. Plans are to get cost estimates for the various concepts and present them at the next joint services meeting in early September.
“It’s hard to get away from Ridge Ferry Park, though,” Mayor Jamie Doss noted. “There are so many amenities. There’s access to the trail system, it’s sustainable, it’s an enhancement to the quality of life and it’s centrally located for people visiting Rome.”