Bedford Voters To Decide on Dog Park

The Town of Bedford has for years been wrestling with the idea of building a community dog park.

This March, the concept will finally be decided by voters as the Bedford Town Council, following a public hearing on the subject, agreed to place a poll on the ballot with several options that may make the park a reality.

Prior to making the decision, councilors listened to the opinion of several of the roughly dozen residents in attendance at the Wednesday night meeting.

John Deachman, for instance, was concerned about the wording of the citizen's initiative petition, which brought the public hearing in front of the council in the first place by asked to have the idea of the dog park being constructed through privately raised funds placed on the ballot. His concern, he said, was that the petition flew in the face of a representative form of government by instructing elected officials what to do.

Stacey Somogyi, on the other hand, pleaded with councilors to embrace the merits of the petition.

"It's high time we put this on the ballot and let voters decided if they want the dog park," she said. "Personally, I'm sick of driving a half hour to another town and spending what I have of my disposable income to bring my dogs to a dog park."

"As to whether or not 80 people is truly representative of the town, well, I think that's really the purpose of placing this on the ballot, to get a sense of what the community wants and that is what this is suppose to do, with the guidance of council," he said.

Several other residents, including Linda Cagan, Larry Potter and Linda Rea Camarota, expressed a similar sentiment.

"It's taken years for us to do something that should have been a long time ago," said Camarota. "I believe I represent a good portion of this town, both with young children and with animals that desire parks like this. You can't select a certain amount of population we provide green space for. We're a community and we want to come together."

Still, there were others, like Chris Blais, who said she'd rather see taxpayer money spent on other services.

"I don't know if some people are aware, but American K9 Country, right over (Bedford) boarder in Amherst, offers all their land as a free dog park and there are several Bedford businesses that sponsor it," said Blais.

Town Manager Jessie Levine, who does not support the dog park because she's concerned about further taxing Bedford's already depleted staffing and resources, said she hopes to get a more defined picture of exactly how it will be constructed, with what funds and support, and how and by who it will be maintain. She also noted she'd support the project and find a way to make it work if it's the will of the voters to construct a dog park.

Fred Hurwitz, who was the last chairman of the town-council created dog park subcommittee and current president of the Bedford Friends of Canine Corner, said funds have already been raised to construct the park and his group will continue to raise funds to keep it operating.

He said obtaining 80 signatures (only 50 were needed for the initiative petition) was an easy process. He added that he believes there is broad-based support for a dog park in Bedford.

To a man, each of the six Bedford Town Councilors who spoke on the issue agreed that, whether they supported the park or not, they believe residents should make the decision.

Developing the exact wording to present to voters proved difficult, however.

Though several members of the town council had worked with Levine to write develop a 'straw man' ballot question, councilor Jim Scanlon did not believe one of the options on the poll (which dictated that the park be contracted, operated and maintained by a private organization) was honest with voters since the Bedford Friends of Canine Corner have refused to sign a binding lease in the past.

Chairman Bill Dermody expressed concern about the future possibility of a privately maintained dog park running into financial difficulties and placing the burden on the town.

After much debate, the members of the council agreed to the following wording, which will be presented to voters on the March 12 Bedford Municipal Ballot:

On January 25, 2012, the Bedford Town Council approved the use of a Town-owned parcel of land on Nashua Road for the construction of a dog park. The  Bedford Friends of Canine Corner (BFCC), a private non-profit organization, has committed to privately funding the entire construction of the dog park. On January 22, 2013, a citizen’s petition was delivered to the Town Council asking to construct the dog park with privately raised funds, but failing to address the question of who will operate and maintain the dog park. Town maintenance of the dog park may require contract support due to Town employee workload providing core services. At the present time there is no organization willing to commit to a lease requirement, however, there may be an organization that would come forward to do so.

 

___ Yes ___No

__ A. The Town of Bedford should operate and maintain the dog park with funds included in the annual Town operating budget (Taxpayer Funded).

__ B. The Town of Bedford should operate and maintain the dog park provided that funds are raised privately for all continuing and future costs (Privately Funded).