A dog park for Copperas Cove on the horizon? City council will discuss on Tuesday
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
A future dog park in Copperas Cove is on the agenda for Tuesday’s Copperas Cove city council workshop.
Whether it goes forward or not, depends on the city council's discussion on the possibilities for the park, its location, and the recommendations that the current city council gives to city staff.
During a March 2016 city council workshop, a dog park was a point of discussion by the council, but at that time, the council had a consensus that the current city park facilities for humans needed more attention. Also, there was the issue of funding the park.
“Is it obtainable? Absolutely. Is it sustainable? I don't know,” said George Duncan, a councilmember at that time. “We've got parks that need attention and our residents are calling for that. We're not giving it attention because we're fiscally challenged to get those parks up to standard.”
Under the advice of then-city manager Andrea Gardner, the council's consensus at that time was to put the dog park on a five-year longer range plan.
Now, it’s five years later and the city has put several million in funding into the parks over the past several years for improvements such as paved parking lots, entrance signs, shade covers, and the new restrooms which will likely be installed and built sometime in 2022.
Also, this time around, the city council is being presented with a key update on the dog park funding. Right now, there is a total of $64,100 that wasn’t on the table five years ago.
According to the agenda, there is a sponsor who is willing to be a “Top Dog of The Park” and contribute $50,000 to the dog park.
The dog park would be located in Copperas Cove City Park, in an area of open field to the right of the park's ball fields entrance.
The city’s Youth Advisory Council has raised $9,100, and Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful has earmarked $5,000 toward the park.
Likewise, the Five Hills Scholarship Pageant has also been fundraising for the park.
The Five Hills Scholarship pageant has also proposed a sponsorship packet which its reigning royalty could present to local groups and organizations, such as when the Copperas Cove library director made the rounds locally for sponsorships during the library renovation several years ago. The levels would range from less than $100, up to the Top Dog sponsor of $50,000.
The Top Dog sponsor, unnamed in the agenda, has requested that it have signage prominent and near the road, and that on agreed-upon dates with the city, the sponsor will be allowed to host events at the dog park such as dog races, various fundraising efforts for Cove, and more. It’s also requested that no competing corporations selling similar products may be allowed as sponsors, and that the city submit a list of PR efforts leading up to the build as well as ongoing for the next 10 years; and that it complete the dog park construction in 2022.
Right now, estimated costs for the dog park are $22,050 for fencing, $14,000 for amenities (such as dog crawls, weave posts, hoop jumps, benches, trash receptacles, “stepping paws” and more), plus an additional $7,000 for water stations, with an estimated total of $43,050. There is also the cost for signage and a path to the dog park.
Tuesday’s workshop begins at 5 p.m. and is open to the public. It will be held at the city council chambers, located at 508 S. 2nd St.