K9COLA News

01/08/2012:

New Park Progress 

I drove by the new off-leash dog park across from Gardner Golf Course. They have installed all the fencing but haven't installed any gates yet. I'm really surprised they have been able to get this much done, as the whole area is a muddy mess right now. If you have a chance to drive by, do so and take a look. At this point you can see what the park will look like when it is finished. It is a little smaller than Cheyenne but still a nice park. It will probably be early/mid-summer before the park is usable. After they seed the park this spring, it will need to grow in for a while before we can be on the turf. If you have questions e-mail me at
steve@k9cola.org. Steve Sandstrom, K9COLA Site Coordinator

Cheyenne Park

Here is some information from the Cedar Rapids Parks Department about the trails and entry areas at Cheyenne.  With all the wet weather and the ground not freezing yet, some of you have had some concerns about the soft ground. This condition is normal and will get better with time. We have always had this problem at Cheyenne every spring when the ground thaws. As more grasses grow back in the next year, the muddy areas inside the park will get better too. Once the ground freezes, it will be good until spring. If it doesn't freeze for a while, expect it to be soft and muddy after any rain. Even the sunshine on the cold ground can make the top soft. On early mornings the ground is usually still firm, if you can make it out there at that time of day. Email me with any questions.
steve@k9cola.org

12/10/11:  

08/07/11:  Good News!

The whole of Cheyenne Park is now completely accessible. You and your dog can roam the trails and play on the meadows. The small dog yard is ready, and the training yard can now be used for its intended purpose. There is a gate between the main yard and the entrance area, where water is available.

The finishing touches, however, have yet to be made. The trails are only partially graveled. There are some gaps between the new fence and ground. Some areas get muddy when it rains. Grass seeding will probably take place this fall and next spring. The trails will get better with time as they are filled in more. We will get more benches and garbage cans installed too.

PLEASE REMEMBER: you are required to pick up after your dogs. We have a full off-leash park again, so lets keep it nice! 

With regard to the new dog park at Squaw Creek, Gee Grading has been awarded the contract to construct the park. It is hoped the work will be finished by November.

07/07/11: "Sydney and I just got back from Cheyenne Off-Leash Park. They are really making progress out there. I think most all the sand has been removed. D & N Fence Co. has a crew out there installing all the fence posts for the new fencing. You can start to see the shape of what the park will look like when its finished. Hopefully we will continue to get dry weather so things can move forward fast.

"Warning: Right now the only area that is safe is the training yard. They have removed some of the temporary fence in the main yard area that we opened to fix the trails so this area is not completely fenced anymore. I put some cable ties around the gate into this area so hopefully people will know enough to stay out. If at any point the park needs to be closed to replace fencing I will let you know. If you go out to Cheyenne just be aware of what is going on as there could always be new holes in the fence as they fix things. Go out and take a look if you haven't been there for awhile. We are getting closer to have a full off-leash park back. Also, don't forget to purchase your 2011 permits so you will be ready to go when its finished." -- Syd and Steve, K9COLA Site Coordinators

07/06/11:  Jill Rowe has been elected as our new Volunteer Coordinator. Congratulations, Jill! She can be reached at volunteer@k9cola.org.

04/4/11: We received a message from Julie Sina, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Cedar Rapids, who wrote regarding Cheyenne Park: "Work is scheduled to begin on Thursday, April 14th, weather permitting. Bob Hubbard of my staff will be on site that day to make sure Gee [Excavating] has any additional direction. Let's hope for some good weather!"

The park will stay open while the work is being done, though there may be a time when it will need to be closed to finish the work. Please stay away from any construction equipment that may be out there and be careful. When the work gets finished it will be awhile before we will be able to use any areas that have new grasses so they can grow in well before the dogs use them. Steve Sandstrom will post updates as soon as he gets them.

Remember you will need a permit to use the off-leash parks when the work at Cheyenne gets finished, so purchase them now from CR Animal Control and be ready to go!

03/30/11: We Passed the Boards! Thanks to your great turnout (we had more than 40 supporters at both meetings), the Linn County Conditional Use Commission and the Board of Adjustment approved construction of the new dog park. Give yourselves a pat on the back!

03/22/11: More than 40 of you attended the Conditional Use hearing on the Squaw Creek Dog Park on March 21, and we thank you! In a unanimous vote, the Commission recommended to the Board of Adjustment that the City receive the conditional use permit, without which the park cannot be built.

However, there was a big surprise for us. A nearby home owner hired a lawyer to contest the park proposal. He laid out a number of objections to the park, and he seemed to be swaying some of the Commission members. Although he did not prevail, we can be sure he will be at the next meeting to speak on behalf of his client.

We were told that if we hadn't had such a great turnout, the proposal probably wouldn't have passed the Commission.

The next meeting, before the Board of Adjustment, takes place on Wednesday March 30th at 6:30 at the same location, on the first floor of Linn County West (the old Steve & Barry's Building) at Westdale Mall in southwest Cedar Rapids.It is in the Board Room, Lower Level.

This is an important meeting! The Board of Adjustment will have the say on whether we get the conditional use permit or not.

If you want a park, if you've been looking for an easy way to  be involved, if you have any interest -- PLEASE try to attend this meeting!

There are two things we would like to ask of everyone who shows up to the meeting.

First, during the public comment period please don't make any statements, such as the homeowners don't know what they are talking about. We may all think their concerns are minor or dumb but it does us no good to say so. We need to respect their concerns about the dog park. We need to show everyone how we will work together to find solutions if we want this park. The city has already submitted plans for noise control and other concerns. We need to follow their lead.

Second, please don't bring up any ideas for changes to the current plan. If the current site plan doesn't get through we will not have a dog park there. There is NO MONEY to make changes. Someone mentioned we might consider moving the drive into the park to another area so cars wouldn't go past their house. It probably runs at least $1000 per foot to put in a drive and at 700-800 feet of drive, that's just not possible. Keep any ideas you have in case this permit isn't passed; then, if need be, we can work on other ideas.

Thanks Again and hope to see you next Wednesday night. Contact Steve Sandstrom if you have questions: steve@k9cola.org.

03/17/11: The City has notified us of a conditional use meeting regarding the new dog park at Squaw Creek. We MUST HAVE A SHOW OF PUBLIC SUPPORT AT THIS MEETING, which is at Westdale on Monday, March 21. PLEASE COME if you want a dog park! Here's the letter from Julie Sina with the City:

[We have received a] letter notifying us that the Conditional Use Permit application on the Squaw Creek Dog Park site will come before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, March 21, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. The Commission will forward its recommendations on to the Board of Adjustment public hearing on Wednesday, March 30th at 6:30 p.m. The March 21st meeting is being held at Linn County West, Board Room, Lower Level, 2500 Edgewood Rd NW [this is at Westdale].

The meeting on the 21st is important and I ask that you round up the troops and try to get 20 or 30 people to the meeting to show support of the conditional use. The best approach would be for one person from the group to speak on the issue explaining the support and the need for the new park. It is important that the person speaking asks for those in the audience that supports the dog park to stand up – this way the Commission can see there is widespread interest.
Please let me know if you can make this happen by Monday. K9COLA is a great group of people and we need the commission to recommend the conditional use because without it we cannot build the park. Steve Krug and I will both be at the meeting.

Thank you.

Julie Sina
Director, Parks and Recreation

01/03/11: Permits on sale for both new and refurbished parks! See Permits page for details.

11/04/10: There is small progress on the parks. A bid for the grading work/sand removal at Cheyenne has been awarded. The requests for bids for the work on the new dog park will be ready to send out soon. We hope they will get several bids returned closer to their budgeted amount. The Parks Dept hopes with good weather the work will be done by late spring. 2011 permits will be sold by Animal Control beginning in December, price $25 with one $5 discount per dog allowed for either spay/neuter, multiple dogs, or passing the K9COLA recall test.

09/05/10: The off-leash parks are finally on the city council's agendas. If you want to show support for the parks you can attend the council meetings on September 14th and 28th. These are the two dates that they have scheduled for public hearings on the parks. I have someone lined up to speak for us. We can be there just to show support. You can also email the city council and let them know how happy we are to have the parks finally moving forward. Let them know we appreciate all the hard work by the Parks Department and city. Here are the timelines the Parks Department has sent us. Thanks for your help.

Squaw Creek Dog Park – Staff and OPN finished the final plans and specifications and have submitted paperwork for Council approval to advertise for bids. The timeline is as follows:

• Council agenda for August 24th meeting – Notice of Hearing and Letting
• Council agenda for September 14th meeting – Public Hearing
• Council agenda for September 28th meeting – Report on bids and resolution to award contract
  Award the contract
• September 29th - Complete contracts and obtain authorized signatures and contractor mobilization to begin work as soon as possible after September 29th.

Cheyenne Dog Park

• Council agenda for September 14th meeting – Notice of Hearing and Letting
• Council agenda for September 28th meeting – Public Hearing
• Council agenda for October 12th meeting – Report on bids and resolution to award contract
• Award the contract October 13th
• Complete contracts and obtain authorized signatures and contractor mobilization to begin work as soon as possible after October 13th.

05/28/10: The City of Cedar Rapids will be expanding the area available to dog owners and their canine friends, possibly as soon as this holiday weekend!

The city has let us know they are going to open a section of Cheyenne Park that has been closed since the 2008 Flood, greatly expanding the usable space for all dog park users! A section of the former main park will be open, possibly as soon as this weekend.

They are going to open a section of the existing training yard fence (the currently usable space), and connect it to temporary fencing that will expand the current area considerably until final repairs are done later this summer. 

The city has lined up staff to mow and erect the fence and are trying to do their best to have it open soon. The area will spread to the southwest and encompass the sitting shelter. This area did not get the heavy sand deposits, so a few mowings should render it back to decent turf for the users. 

A burn is not possible this late because the growth stage that the grass is currently in would damage the turf and leave black for quite some time.  The city will cut at about 6″ and then bring it down with successive cuts to be the same as the existing area.

Please take a few moments to call (319-286-5731) or email (recreation@cedar-rapids.org) the Parks Department and thank them for continuing to think about dog parks as they work to renovate and reestablish Cedar Rapids’ recreation areas since the flood. We are glad they know this area is important to us.

Visit us on Facebook (facebook.com/k9cola) or at our website (k9cola.org) for updates and information, and be sure to subscribe to our electronic newsletter!

Have a good holiday weekend, and we’ll see you at the park!