The Friday Flyer • September 16, 2016

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
Residents invited to Pancake Breakfast on Sunday Pg. A5
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Many Canyon Lake dog owners are in the process of forming their own sanctioned club, which will be known as the “Canyon Lake K-9 Club.” Here, many gather at East Port Park in support of the Association’s plan to build a fenced dog park.
Dog park plan moves forward
BY DONNA RITCHIE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
For years Canyon Lake dog owners have been advocating for a dog park where their dogs can roam freely and safely off their leashes. With the announcement at Septem- ber’s regular session Board meeting of a new dog park location, advo- cates are hopeful that the much-an- ticipated Dog Park Project is nearing
completion.
The Board addressed the communi-
ty’s growing desire for a dog park four
years ago when they established an ad- hoc Dog Park Committee to research and make recommendations for an ideal location for a fenced dog park.
After much discussion between the ad-hoc Dog Park Committee and the Board, the Board decided that the most suitable location to construct a dog park would be at the southeast side of East Port Park, which is the area along the fence at the back end of the launch ramp parking lot.
The conceptual design plans for the dog park included two separate fenced grass areas, shade structures, benches and water fountains. The Board ap- proved the Dog Park Structural Plan on April 26 and the Landscaping Plan on May 16. By the end of May, all plans had been approved by the City of Can- yon Lake and the project moved to the Request for Proposal (RFP) phase. By the end of the first RFP deadline, the Board had only received one bid.
The lack of bids was just one of the
many road blocks. “We have worked far, far too long on the dog park and the plans we originally started out with, and quite candidly, the things that have been put on top of us to be able to build that dog park where we’ve been looking at, we just can't afford it,” says CLPOA Board President Bruce Yarbrough.
At the September 6 regular session Board meeting, Bruce announced that the Board made a decision to abandon the location previously approved for the new dog park and, instead, desig- nated a new location on the upper lawn area at East Port Park.
Bruce says, “We looked at an initia- tive that put us back on top of the lawn. It won’t be as fancy as what we were go- ing to try to put in the previous location, but it will be done. We are reviewing the perimeters now and have already autho- rized Operations to go out and find com- petitive bids and get it built.”
Part of the lawn area will be reserved for the Activities Building. “We want to give access to people to let their dogs run and have fun, so the new dog park needs to be large enough for that,” says
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The Board approved a large portion of the grassy area in the upper level of East Port Park to be fenced off for the dog park. The East Port Activities Building will continue to have its own lawn. At left, Brody the dog wears a red scarf in honor of the new dog park.
PHOTOS BY DONNA KUPKE PHOTOS BY DONNA KUPKE