Organizers ask Residents to Show Support for a Stillwater Area Dog Park

Here's an update from the Friends of the Stillwater Dog Park:

For those of you that are bringing your dog(s) to the photo on tomorrow, please arrive NO LATER than 6:45 p.m.

We will still meet unless the weather is severe, so bring your umbrella's. The council and those of us that will be speaking, need to be inside at the meeting that starts at 7 p.m sharp. See you at city hall.  Thanks again for your support!  Allison

Original Post:

The Friends of Stillwater Area Dog Park is asking dog park supporters—and their dog(s)—to come to Stillwater City Hall at 7 p.m. May 21 for a "group photo shoot" to show support for creating an Off Leash Recreational Area in Stillwater.

"This is a friendly gathering—not a protest—for people to express their desire to build an off leash recreational area," said Allison McGinnis, president of Friends of Stillwater Area Dog Park.

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The group has been working to find a site and start an off leash recreational area in Stillwater since 2009.

What's taking so long?

While some communities may have a dog park up and running within a year, McGinnis said there have been multiple factors that organizers have encountered along the way.

“One factor is that the various municipalities we have presented have different protocols/steps to go through and that takes time,” she said.

For example, a proposal to the city of Stillwater, has to start with the parks commission, then go to the planning commission, the joint commission (if township is involved) then finally on to city council.

Although the group has researched many potential sites within the city of Stillwater, each proposal has to go through the same process separately, McGinnis said. Conferences with other agencies may be involved as well. 

“Another factor is that contrary to popular belief, there is not a lot of available open space in the Stillwater area,” she said.

Organizational needs have also played a part in the site selection process. 

“Although we have about 500 or so supporters in our contact list many of whom have indicated that they will help with the maintenance of the park, a handful of people have come forward to help with tasks at hand,” she said. “While we continue to work with Stillwater officials on securing a site, we need additional people with various skills to work on various tasks for the group.”

For more information about the groups timeline, volunteer opportunities and the photo shoot, call 651-439-6688 or email the group at stillwatermndogpark@gmail.com.