Soon residents of Oak Forest, the surrounding area and their furry, four-legged friends are going to have a new place to play. After months of work by the Cook County Forest Preserve District and the Bark for a Park Committee, opening day of the dog friendly park at Bremen Grove is finally near.
Although an official opening date hasn't been finalized, Cook County Forest Preserve spokesperson Karen Vaughan said the park should open in mid-November.
Vaughan said that the dog park isn't something that the Forest Preserve District would generally take on, but after hearing from residents in the area, it made sense to look into developing a dog park in the South Suburbs.
“During the process of developing the Oak Forest Heritage Master Plan, which is next to the health center campus, we heard from a lot of residents who wanted to see a dog park in the Southland,” she said. “After looking at it, we determined that site wasn't the appropriate place, but we did agree we would work with them and look at some other sites, so that's how this particular site was chosen.”
She added that the site will be based off of a similar dog park in Des Plaines, which currently has 750 users. Vaughan said that the Des Plaines park, just like the future Bremen Grove park, is a permit-use only area.
Previously, at a Bark For Your Park committee meeting members were told that 250 permits will be issued for the park. However, the park district has since revised that statement, noting that they will meet the demand of all interested parties. Applications are currently being accepted and are available through the forest preserve district's website.
On the Forest Preserve District's website, permits are listed at $50 per dog for Cook County residents, while out of county residents will pay $100 per dog. The permit is good from Oct. 12, 2012 through Sept. 30, 2013. The district is currenly accepting checks made payable to the Cook County Forest Preserve District, or Visa or Mastercard.
All dog owners requesting a permit must also submit a veterinarian’s health report on for each dog on the application.
As for the working relationship between the committee and the Forest Preserve District, Vaughan said that it's been a driving force for getting the dog park completed. Money won by the group during a PetSafe contest will not be used for the park, however $11,000 in funds raised by the group will be used for amenities within the park.
“I think from our perspective, having an active, engaged group of citizens and residents who wanted something like this, was key in determining that we could do it there,” she said. “We couldn't have done it without them.”
Since there is no park to renovate, the money should be used to build one in Oak Forest, for the use of the general public at no charge. That was the plan that I thought we were voting for. It is great that the FPD will build a dog park near Oak Forest, but they will charge a fee of $50 a year. This was not something that I, and I think many others, would have voted for if we had known what would happen the the prize money. Take the money, but only if it will be used in Oak Forest for a dog park that can be used for free.
Could anybody explain why the money raised for a dog park in Oak Forest ($11,000) will be given to the FPD for a dog park in Tinley Park? I realize that the FPD is going to build a dog park, but I thought the money was to go for a park that would be free to use, not one that costs $50.00 a year to use. A lot of people donated money and time because a free dog park was promised, not a FPD park that requires a fee.
http://oakforest.patch.com/articles/dog-park-crew-reaches-tentative-agreement-with-forest-preserve Laura Clemons 12:26 pm on Friday, May 4, 2012 All of the funds that will be used for this project were raised by a group of hardworking Oak Forest residents and volunteers who want to see a dog park in their community. Not one penny of Oak Forest Residents tax dollars has been nor ever will be used for the dog park.
I know this will sound kinda crazy, but what about the large retention pond areas, like the one in Vergne Way Park or the one in Central Park. Some fencing to keep people and dogs out of any dangerous areas would be necessary, but not much else. The one in Central Park is already fenced in. I know, crazy, but.....
IT is not free to use as they said it would be and in violation of the contest rules and they used $7,000 dollars of taxpayer money to build the park, you have already paid to use it. Now they want to build a second park that will be free? Which park do you think will be used, the free one or the pay park? They wasted our money and were not honest with us.
You sure seem to be really concerned about the dog park. How many meetings concerning the dog park have you attended? How much of your time have you invested in any way, shape , or form (except for complaining about the dog park) in this project? What have you personally done (again, except complain) to help or to stop this project? Do you even have a dog or are you complaining just for the heck of it? Maybe if you would spend as much energy trying to come up with some helpful ideas as you do complaining, we could have a dog park in Oak Forest that we could be proud of. You are right about 1 thing, it is OUR money and it looks like OUR money is being looked after (in this case). So maybe you should try to be a part of a solution and offer some positive suggestions. Or you could keep complaining and get nowhere.
1-Did you post that no taxpayer dollars would be used for this project? YES you did 2-Were taxpayer dollars used for this project-YES. The donations and the contest winnings were supposed to pay for the park to be built, Did that happen? NO The dog park has cost the taxpayers $77,000 that would not have been spent or would have been spent on something else. The county now has to replace that money. I do not really care how much you raise, I hope you raise more in the future, but this process was wrong. You broke your word, you lost your credibility. If and when you get the second dog park going, how will we be able to believe it will be done the way you say it will? This is not a fight about a park, it is about honesty, don't tell us one thing and do another. When you knew that circumstances had changed you should have informed the general public so we could make the decision if we wanted to use our tax dollars, I may have even said it would be OK to do that, but I am not OK with it being done without my knowledge. Has anyone thought about what will happen to the current park if you build a second park that is free to all? Will people stop using the current park, after all why pay when you can use the other park for free? Will the current park deteriorate from lack of use and care? Wouldn't that be a waste of taxpayer dollars to have that happen? I do not think I can say anymore to be more clear.
2. Have taxpayer dollars been used for this project? YES, the FPD district made the decision to invest in our community because of the interest and dedication of our residents and surrounding communities. I did not force them to decide to build here - they did that all by themselves. I do believe I did acknowledge these things in several posts. I apparently didn't answer them to your satisfaction. 3. The donations thus far ($11,000) WILL be used for this park - mentioned several times already - for benches, waste stations, garbage cans, etc. The Petsafe winnings will not be comingled with these already raised funds. As for circumstances changing, the discussions with the FPD were open and communicated every step of the way, this was no secret. None of us on the committee heard a complaint from anyone asking us to STOP negotiating with the FPD, as a matter of fact, they encouraged us to continue to work with the FPD. As for the Petsafe funds, I've mentioned before, we have started discussions with the Park District to see how to create another off leash park (will it be 7 acres? Nope, we don't have that kind of open space) that will meet the contest rules.
The dog park group makes all the decisions as a group. But you don't know that because you didn't go to all the meetings. You did go to one, to complain. The dog park group is the Hardest Working, Honest group of volunteers this city has EVER had. Never seen you volunteering. I'm glad the FPD built this beautiful dog park on the south side, so close to many communities. As your claim OF tax dollars were misused, as I see only the gas from officers Reids car wasn't covered. I will donate $10 to the city to cover that. Everything else was donated. But you weren't at the making of the video so you don't know. Can't wait to see you at our meetings and fundraisers ( we are having one today 10/14). But I don't think you have the guts to show up! It's so easy to complain from you basement.
As stated before I SUPPORT THE DOG PARK, but I do not support the process. I have the right to know how my tax dollars are used and to question any process that I do not understand or agree with. As a committee that is using my donation and tax dollars for the dog park, it is incumbent upon you to fulfill you fiduciary responsibilities to the community and inform us of the process and answer any questions that the community asks, even if you do not like the question.