Off-Leash Dog Park Rules Approved, After Objections To Location

Rules and regulations that govern the new off-leash dog park at received unanimous final approval from the Melrose Board of Aldermen Monday night, but not before some residents decried its proximity to The Knoll World War I memorial.

The Park Commission at its meeting on April 9 and construction has already begun. However, allowing dogs off leash in the park requires the aldermen to amend the city's leash ordinance. Three years ago, the aldermen told the group that if they found a location, they'd change the ordinance.

Those rules and ordinance change went before the aldermen's Appropriations Committee on Thursday, May 24, and were .

On Monday, John Dunne, a Vietnam veteran, former Melrose veterans agent and himself a former alderman, said that the construction of the park "is the first time I’ve ever seen anything happen down there that the veterans community was not consulted. It’s just a totally inappropriate location for that type of structure or that type of use."

Dunne's wife Joan also spoke out against the location of park, calling it "sacred land," no different than memorials in Washington or at Gettysburg.

Agreeing with those sentiments, Lynn Kelly mentioned her family members who are veterans and and called the location of the dog park "disturbing and reprehensible." She expressed concern about the mainly self-policing of the park and dogs, when being walked back to the car, walking up on the memorial and urinating.

"I find this an insult to anyone who donned a uniform for this great country," Kelly said, adding that she did not believe the park would increase home values and that money spent on the park should come out of taxpayer's wallets. The aldermen approved last month using $15,000 from the city's free cash for construction and maintenance of the park.

"Get up off your couch, get up and walk around," she said. "Don’t put the burden on taxpayers that I have to pay for your socialized activities."

Ward 6 Alderman Peter Mortimer pointed out that the park's location is not on The Knoll World War I Memorial itself—the mound where the trees are planted in memory of Melrose's World War I veterans, with stone name markers at the base of each tree—but across the loop road that goes around the memorial, between the East Knoll's athletic field and Ell Pond.

"The east Knoll and west Knoll is already used for athletics and appropriately so, and that’s not disrespectful to veterans," Mortimer said. "This isn’t going to be put on the actual Knoll, the hill where the monuments are. It is across the road. Hopefully it will bring more interest in The Knoll and let people see what Melrose does for its veterans, has done and hopefully will continue to do year after year."

Ward 7 Alderman Bill Forbes, also a Vietnam veteran, cited the history of dogs in the military and recalled his own memories from Vietnam, when dogs and their handlers served as the first line in combat missions.

"They were the pointman—it was you and your dog. Nothing in front of you except jungle and the enemy," Forbes said. "Thirty yards behind you were your infantry, your company. A good dog would sniff out and ambush from 300 feet away. That saved an awful lot of lives ... I honestly and truly have no problem whatsoever with this. A lot of guys alive today because the dog barked."

Forbes added that he has spoken with Park Superintendent Joan Bell about creating a plaque at the dog park that pays homage to those Armed Forces dog handlers and dogs who also died in the line of duty.

A Neglected Monument

Another veteran, Bill Tobin, spoke in favor of the dog park location's, although said that the city's veterans' groups should have been consulted first. He said that having walked his dog around The Knoll many times, "it's filthy, disgraceful to any kind of monument," with trash scattered around.

"I believe the dog park will bring cleanliness and very, very concerned citizens to this area," Tobin said, a sentiment echoed by some other residents and aldermen at the meeting.

Erin Dorr, a member of the Melrose Dog Society, echoed Tobin's sentiments about the current state of the area around the Knoll being "desecrated" with broken glass, trash and bottles. The Dog Society has agreed to partner with the city and is responsible for general oversight, improvements and maintenance of the area around the park.

"I would speak to the fact that responsible dog owners won’t be in that area of the memorial," Dorr said. "I think it brings a responsible group to an area that was otherwise unknown. We were shocked to find this area because we didn’t even know it was there. We’re very concerned about the look, appearance and upkeep. Working with Diane Kurkjian, the , we have strict rules on making sure every dog is registered."

Conor McGuire, another Dog Society member, said that "no exaggeration, I actually saw a human using The Knoll as a place to relieve themselves" and hoped that the introduction of civic-minded people to the area could prevent incidents like that from happening.

"I hope that any veterans groups in town, if this park is successful, I hope they see us as an additional resource for them in beautifying and keeping that area clean," he said, adding that the Dog Society also plans to restore plantlife and improve the area for wildlife, as well.

Forbes asked incoming Director John Scenna if the DPW could spruce up The Knoll memorial itself, calling it "unsafe" and in disrepair. Ward 3 Alderman Frank Wright mentioned that the DPW runs a summer program with high school and college students, who could possibly be tapped to undertake some improvements to The Knoll.

"I definitely have a lot to bring back to Joan Bell tomorrow and we can discuss ways to continue to improve The Knoll," Scenna replied.

A Long Process, More Work Ahead

Ward 2 Alderman Monica Medeiros, who drafted the proposed rules and leash law change, noted that Monday's vote was the culmination of over three years of public hearings and work between the "citizen activists" of the Dog Society, city officials and city boards.

"I think we’re very lucky to have people in the community who are willing and committed to making this work," she said.

Earlier in the evening, John Dunne also said that when the new Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School was built, there were agreements dating back to 1972 where the city turned over the land in question to the School Committee for educational purposes, not the Park Department, making him question the procedural issues of who owns what land.

Alderman at-Large Mary Beth McAteer Margolis, a former School Committee member, said that her best recollection was that some of the land surrounding The Knoll, on the outside of the loop road, was turned over to the school department for parking.

"I think if we can allow that use of that space and this dog park is further away than that, I think it is not really a desecration to the area, but as many people said, an opportunity to reach out," McAteer Margolis said, also offering an apology if veterans organizations were not contacted officially. "We should have made an effort to make sure that was done."

Speaking of parking, Ward 4 Alderman Bob Boisselle said that there are 10-15 parking spots directly adjacent to The Knoll memorial itself and the veterans associations should make a written request to reclaim those spots.

"These cars, with gas and oil leaking, are right on The Knoll next to (the memorial)," Boisselle said. "The purpose here in that letter is to retrieve those spaces, clean up the area and make it nicer. One monument in itself."