Shanna Dunn-Vigare opened our meeting at 7:00 PM. There were 10 members and Ron Cathy and Terry Bertels, from Topeka Parks and Rec. Shanna called on Karen Walker for the Secretary-Treasurer report. She reviewed the minutes from September's meeting. Brad Noble motioned that the minutes be approved and Mike Bauman seconded. Sept. minutes were approved. Karen reported that we have $1088.82 in the bank and $43.76 in petty cash. Chris and Mike brought in $200 from t-shirt sales. Linda DeLaRosa presented $97 raised at the Halloween event they had at the park. Our expenses included printing some brochures. Some of the apartments surrounding Gage Park have included Bark Park information in their new tenant package. We discussed getting more brochures printed to give to them, especially those who allow larger dogs who need the extra exercise. Another expense will be paying for the next year on our Post Office Box. Karen requested the board approve getting an extra set of stamps for depositing checks and a return address stamp. That way one set can be kept with the petty cash box and one with the Treasurer. Board approval was granted.
We talked with Ron and Terry about the ongoing issue of providing black poop bags in the dispensers. We would like to continue to have them, along with the larger bags in the barrels. Ron said they have spent about $1200 on the bags over 3 years and that it would not be a problem to continue to stock them. We cautioned that we need to be sure people were only using them at the park and not helping themselves to a handful for home. There seems to be a breakdown in communication between Ron, who says, "Yes, we will stock them." and the personnel who actually is supposed to keep them stocked.
The brick project is still on the books, with our first round of bricks in hand, but waiting to be laid. Work on paving the parking lot has been completed and work around the gates is in progress. When the bricks get laid, the city will use filler bricks that can easily be replaced with future bricks sold. Terry and Ron reminded us that there are many projects that Parks and Rec. oversees in their 105 parks and asked us to be patient. Just like any other contractor, there are always unexpected delays. They appreciate our diligence in basic maintenance at the park, and all of our ideas for improvements. We discussed some of these projects; a bulletin board, a water feature offered by Puddles-N-Pads, Lighting, and fencing for an agility area. We thought the lighting was our first priority. Ron estimated the cost for lighting to be $6000 to $8000.
There is enough money in the Foundation account to put up the bulletin board. Ron suggested we put it up on the inside of the fence in a position where both sides can have access to it. Karen motioned and Chris seconded that we have the city proceed with this project, with funds available in the Foundation account. Ron will start looking at the catalogs and put this project in motion. Terry will check with the legal department on whether we can post ads and what limitations we can put on that. (For example: pet related items only)
The 4-H Pawprints agility group is interested in helping us do fund raisers next summer, by setting up demonstrations and splitting the money raised with us. These events would be good to generate interest in an agility section for the park. We need to find out how much it will cost to put up permanent fencing so we have that goal in mind. Ron offered to reserve the ballpark near our Bark Park for one day each month for us to have a place to do this. We'll relate to June to contact Ron ASAP to get the dates reserved. We had hoped the group could set up their summer practices near the Bark Park, but the city doesn't want the unsightly temporary fencing up all summer. So until we have the permanent fence, they will have to have their practices elsewhere.
While we appreciate the offer from Puddles-N-Pads, we will need to get other projects done first, like running electrical lines for the lights. Then we will have something to tap into when we are ready for the water feature. Meanwhile, the issue that brought up the water feature - water collecting around the water fountain - needs to be addressed. Terry said the city will work on fixing the problem for this spring, when the water will be turned back on.
Shanna asked Ron and Terry how we can improve communication with the city. They liked the idea of most of the communication coming through Shanna, as president. Ron would be the primary contact for maintenance issues. Larger issues can also be directed to Terry. We shared with them that in some cities, the dog park rules are actually ordinances that can be enforced. Terry seemed intrigued by this idea and will check with the city to see if this is a viable idea for us here. Meanwhile, all we can do is point out the rules and ask for people to use common sense. We really have no authority to do more than ask nicely. In response to a question about our liability at the park, Terry assured us that the group Friends of Hill's Bark Park can not be held liable for accidents and that the Parks and Rec. Dept. has general protection for most cases, except gross negligence.
When it comes to Bark Park members having more of a "say" in policing the area, Terry explained that we have as much of a say as any other person using the park. He felt the self-policing by people using the park was working well. And for major issues, we always have the option of calling Animal Control.
Mike Bauman has reviewed the bylaws for Friends of Hill's Bark Park and suggested the board needs to review them, in order to correct them to reflect changes we have made over the past year. Shanna seconded this motion and the board will look at this issue at their next meeting.
Debb Myers stepped forward with an offer to establish a web site for the Bark Park. She has experience in building web sites and would like to lend a hand to us. She has a host in mind that would only cost us about $50 -75 a year for the site and domain name. We gladly accepted her offer and she will start working with the board to get a site up and running.
Our next general meeting will be Wednesday, January 10, at Snyder's Cabin. The Board of Directors will be meeting before then to cover the bylaw issues and plan for the New Year.
