Notes – September 30, 2008
Posted on October 7, 2008 · Filed under: Meeting Notes and Agendas
MayDOG Meeting Notes
Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 7pm, Maynard Public Library
Attendees: Lisa Lines (chair), Jed Winer (taking notes), Deb Muise, Tracey & David Cox, Fran & Cheryl King, Jim Earley, Paul Alloway, Fred Levy, Selma Burrows, Catherine Phillips, Paul Roy, Jean Landes, Mark Donahue, Liz Llewellyn, Joannie Gray, Mary McCarthy, Peg Brown, Donna L. Smith, Bill & Amy Shew, Eric Zeller
1. Welcome
Attendees introduced themselves and told a little about their dogs and why they were there
2. Introduction to MayDOG
- Structure of the group — incorporated as a nonprofit and registered as a charity with the state of Massachusetts
- MayDOG board (openings available!) — up to 7 board members may be needed, please contact Lisa if interested in serving
- Membership drive
- Membership dues will help support mission of promoting responsible dog ownership and off-leash recreation in Maynard and surrounding communities
- Membership dues paid now will be good through the end of 2009
- Membership dues will be $25/individual, $35/family, $50/business, $100/sustaining
- Donors of $250 or more will be permanently recognized at the eventual location of the park and/or on the website
- Discounts for dues-paying members offered by “Friends of MayDOG” (business members/supporters)
- Memberships and donations can be paid online by credit card or check
- We currently have an announce-only mailing list — does not seem to be a need for a discussion list/group at present
- Website features:
- You can sign up to receive email notifications of new posts
- You can also get new posts by RSS
- You can sign up for our mailing list
- You can link to our online petition
4. Status of petition drive
- Currently have more than 250 signatures — goal is 500 or more (that is the approximate number of dog licenses issued by Maynard last year) — shows a lot of support to be halfway to goal in less than a month!
- Have been collecting signatures on paper at the Farmers’ market, and Eric has collected some around town
- Eric volunteered to coordinate off-line petition signature gathering — call/email him for more info (ezab8, 978-461-2835)
- Talking points when discussing the idea with residents and others
- Unused space — 13 acres
- Could raise property values — something that relocators look for
- Could bring more visitors/shoppers to town from other areas
- For the dog owners, not the dogs
- Especially good for people with less mobility who have a hard time exercising their dogs
- Community building, gathering spot, get to know neighbors, make connections
- Nice amenity
- Acton/Stow gathering spots are not official and the option to take dogs there on or off-leash could be taken away anytime
- Good to have a specific place for dog owners to take their dogs where they won’t bother people who are afraid of/don’t like dogs
5. Discussion of site and options for recreation area
- Site is a capped landfill — a polyvinyl sheet with about a foot of dirt over that (has been settling over the past 20 years)
- Monitored by the EPA/Maynard Board of Health — no known health risks from walking around the area — some concerns about leaching into groundwater supplies, but water has not shown any problems and this would not be an issue for just walking around and using the area anyway
- Fence may need to be installed at grade if installed in the area that has the cap, since cap cannot be disturbed
- Flat area near street was never used as landfill — could town be interested in trying to sell or develop that parcel?
- Abutters include the Maynard Rod & Gun Club, apartments across street, residences several hundred yards in either direction
- Important to let people know that dog parks typically do not have a lot of noise associated with them — definitely less than a typical kid park/ball field
- Liability issues — dog owners would be responsible for the actions of their dogs
- Separate area for smaller/timid dogs
- Should be a multi-use site — this will build more support — could have a track around perimeter, something for kids?
6. Steps for accomplishing this goal
- Talk to Board of Selectmen (BoS) members informally, one-on-one — find a champion
- Get on agenda of a BoS meeting and present petition signatures and ideas (after special town meeting at the end of October)
- Conduct plenty of research beforehand
- Have a list of positives and negatives
- Have a schematic of the area and what we’d like to do
- Be open to considering other sites
- BoS would need to agree-
- Town meeting would need to amend/make exception to leash by-law for that area — 2/3 majority
- Unlikely that we could get town funds, but grants are a possibility (eg, CPA)
7. Possible next steps if approved
- Fundraising
- Calendar: ideas would take time to implement — could not do for 2009, but will be thinking ahead for 2010
- Holiday portraits
- Other event ideas: Come Fly With Me, Howl-O-Whine, May events
- Other fundraising ideas (I Love My Dog campaign, t-shirts, bandannas, bumper stickers, etc.)
- Corporate sponsorships: businesses could buy sections of the fence
- In-kind donations
- Signage (“Future Site of the ____ Dog Park”?)
- Begin using site
- Publicity
- Other uses for the site — a walking/jogging track, kids area, water feature, ornamental plantings
8. Open discussion and concerns
- Park probably would need some rules and maybe a license/tag/membership fee — need to minimize risks will have to be balanced by desire to be inclusive — other parks restrict dogs in heat and/or un-neutered dogs, require children to be over a certain age, and ban people at the first sign of their dog(s) being aggressive
- MayDOG would like to do other things in support of mission, such as getting bag stations around the downtown area and holding educational events
9. Next meeting
- No date set right now — will need to think about what makes sense in terms of keeping momentum going but not burning out early
- Website/email list will be the main channels for communicating next meeting(s)
