Dog park opens; city government works!

IMG_3938w800.jpg IMG_4149w800.jpg IMG_4147w800.jpg
Last week, workers from Caron Fence in Faribault put up the outer, removable fence for the new dog park in Babcock Park next to the rodeo grounds on Hwy. 3. The weekend prior, volunteers from the group, Canines at Play, dug the holes and installed the poles for the permanent fence along the back of the park.

IMG_4144w800.jpg IMG_4145w800.jpg IMG_4146w800.jpg
I drove by the park earlier today and took these photos of Bruce Wiskus and his two kids giving their dog a workout. Click photos to enlarge.

This whole project is a good example of citizen/government collaboration and how stuff can get done quickly even here in discuss-it-to-death Northfield. The City’s Park and Recreation department has contributed the land. Canines at Play‘s financial contributors (yes, anyone can still donate/sponsor) are paying for the fencing and miscellaneous materials. Volunteers are doing the labor.

Kudos #1 to the Park & Rec Advisory Board of Grace Clark, Margaret Colangelo, Dennis Easley, Daniel Hudson, Spencer Jones, Julie Pritchard, Richard Vanasek.

Kudos #2 to Joel Walinski, Director of Operations for the City and City Councillor Jim Pokorney. Both serve on the Advisory Board.

Kudos #3 to the CAP steering committee members, Beth Bergmans, Irene Dennison, Rick and Maria Estenson, Blair Fowler, Amy Gage, Denise Johnson, Daniel Jones, Sara Koehler, Rich Lorang, Bart de Maglione, Nan Shumway, and Patricia Wegner.

Kudos #4 to the Northfield Rotary Club who stepped in at the last minute to assist in the necessary insurance needed during the construction phase.

[ratings]

2 Comments

  1. […] City Council considers funding of geese park By Griff Wigley At last night’s Northfield City Council meeting, funding for a Canada Geese park at Riverside Lions Park received preliminary support from the Council. Rick Estenson and Rich Lorang, two of the key figures behind the recent creation of a dog park by the group Canines at Play, brought the proposal to the council after it received endorsement from the Park & Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) last week. […]

    December 19, 2006

Leave a Reply