DAYTON — Neighbors are raising concerns with the City of Dayton as the completion to move a popular dog park near completion.
The Deeds Point dog park will be moved to Triangle Park, which is part of a move that came after the city sold the Deeds Point land to the Connor Group in 2021. The sale of 13 acres near Deeds Point was part of a plan to build an elementary school designed for underprivileged children.
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Not everyone is happy with the move as there are still a number of questions and concerns about how everything will work.
“We are supposed to have a path all the way around the park, they didn’t do that, said they didn’t have the money in the budget,” Butch Richardson, President of the Deeds Point Dog Park Board, said.
He tells News Center 7 reporter Mike Campbell that he was devastated when they learned the city sold the Deeds Point land to the Connor Group who is building a private school for underprivileged children on the site. It forced them to find an alternate location for the dogs with the city helped but Richardson said not everything is the same, including the attached shelter the board wanted but did not get.
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“They said we can’t get permits. I’m like the city can’t get permits from the city to build a shelter that’s attached to the building?” Richardson said.
City workers were spotted putting the finishing touches on the shelter and other places Thursday.
“The canopy in front of the shelter was never going to be enclosed,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “There is a second shelter with the grounds of the park that is also available for park users.”
As for the walking path, a city spokesperson said, “Due to cost, the walking path was downsized. However, the new loop is 743 feet, compared to current park which 483 feet.”
The park does not officially open until June 30th but the gates are up. Dogs and their owners can already take advantage of the park to roam free. Richardson feels like the dog park can still be a jewel for the city.
“They are working with us,” he said. “They are have addressed a couple things we brought up, like the water situation. I guess it is going to be an on-going give and take with the city,” Richardson said.
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