Crowdfunding campaign ends soon for Evansville dog park on state hospital grounds
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
An Evansville not-for-profit is nearing the end of a crowdfunding campaign to raise the remaining funds needed to build a dog park on the east side.
Amy Walker, an officer with Friends of Woodmere Dog Park, told Inside INdiana Business the group is close to its goal and hopes to begin construction on the Evansville State Hospital grounds by the end of the year.
“It looks like we are going to meet our goal of $45,000, which will then be matched by the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority. And that’s the last $90,000 that we needed to raise,” she said.
The dog park project was originally part of the Roberts Park master plan developed in 2014.
Nancy Drake, president of Friends of Woodmere Dog Park, said the idea stemmed from a public survey.
“The number one thing that people wanted was a dog park, but they did not want tax dollars to pay for it,” she said.
“The city put together a group that started looking into dog parks, what that means, what it takes and the impact that it can have on a community,” Walker said.
Steve Schaefer, deputy mayor and interim parks director, said that a few years after the plan was made, the city decided to change the location from Roberts Park to the state hospital grounds.
“As we went through the process, there was a lot of public feedback that didn’t want it in that spot,” he said. “We had a private group that raised their hand and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to take this concept and run with it.’”
“When the shovels go in the ground, we’ll be fully funded,” Drake said. “The park will take no money at all from the city. The only involvement the city has is they own the property. We have a 10-year lease with them, and we lease it for one dollar a year.”
The move to State Hospital Park
Adam Green, architect and member of Friends of Woodmere Dog Park, said moving the project to State Hospital Park gave the group momentum.
“There was no plan in place or funding in place to move forward with Roberts Park,” he said. “So we said, ‘Let’s proceed with the dog park. We know the community wants it, we know there are sources of funding available. Let’s find a location for it.’”
“The other area had no street going to the park, no water, no electricity out there, no mature trees and certainly no parking,” Drake said.
In contrast, State Hospital Park had existing features the group felt were necessary for an ideal dog park location.
“There was a beautiful open area there with grass, with parking nearby, with access to running the water and electricity lines that we need and with a good traffic pattern in and out,” Walker said.
“It’s a heavily used park area. You have soccer fields, you have baseball. A lot of the cross-country kids run in that circle,” Schaefer added. “This will be a nice high-profile amenity within a park that already gets a lot of traffic.”
In the years after Friends of Woodmere Dog Park was formed in 2017, Walker said the volunteer board, made up of business and community members, ran into participation problems because of work and life issues. Drake was eventually asked to oversee an overhaul of the organization.
“She had her board together. In fact, they had begun raising funds again and looking again at layouts of the park, different amenities that could be provided and the costs, those kinds of things, making decisions. And then we had a pandemic and things got put on hold,” Walker said.
Once fundraising was back on track, the group took advantage of IHCDA’s CreatINg Places program, which works with Patronicity to provide funds for community improvement projects such as public Wi-Fi, shared commercial kitchens and inclusive/accessible playgrounds.
“They have matching dollars for community projects that are not only well supported throughout the community but also highlight the good things about your community,” said Walker.
Amenities and membership fees
The price tag for the dog park project is around $750,000, according to Drake. Amenities include a space for small dogs, an area for large dogs and an extra section that can be used when one of the others is under maintenance. There will also be water stations and shade shelters.
Dog park members will pay $15 per month, $150 per year or $1,000 for a lifetime, one-time transferable membership. After providing up-to-date health records, members can have up to three dogs at the park.
“There’s a cost involved because we have to pay for everything to manage it. We will be open once or twice a month for people who are not members. It’ll be a separate area because the reason for the membership is to make sure that your dog and my dog all have had their vaccines,” said Drake.
Members will use a fob to access the dog park during daylight hours year-round.
“If your dog’s records are not up to date, the fob won’t let you in. Of course, we’ll let you know two months out that your membership is running out if you would like to renew,” Drake said.
Green said the dog park’s original design was a bit grander, but the vision had to be toned down to meet financial expectations.
“Initially, we came up with this gorgeous design for the dog park that had public restrooms and a lot of shade structures and bathing facilities, a spray park. It just had a lot of features that you wouldn’t expect to find in a dog park,” said Green. “We set our priorities and weathered through COVID to maintain as many of those amenities as we could with a fundraising goal that was realistic and achievable.”
The name of the dog park will also be different when it opens. Woodmere Dog Park will become KayC’s Barkville at Woodmere. Drake said the primary sponsors, Kay Cox and Wade McNeill, were allowed to choose the name.
Green space advocates speak out
Some longtime Evansville residents would rather preserve the area of the state hospital grounds where the dog park is planned. Jean Webb and Niles Rosenquist have voiced their concerns to the parks board and local media.
“We are losing access to adequate passive and unprogrammed spaces. These are the most desirable tree-lined areas away from traffic,” Webb said.
In a letter to the Evansville Courier & Press, Rosenquist wrote that the city park land on the state hospital grounds is “a beautiful, well-established green space that is already popular and well used by a variety of residents for a wide range of activities—walking, running, bicycling, dog walking, playing with children and just sitting on the grass enjoying the quiet.”
Rosenquist wants the city to pause the dog park project and review the plans after Mayor Lloyd Winnecke leaves office in January.
“The decision on whether or not to proceed with this dog park project should be made by the administration which would have the responsibility and burden of implementing that decision,” Rosenquist told the parks board on Sept. 20. “It would be prudent for the next administration to do a thorough top-to-bottom review of all aspects of the dog park proposal, starting with active outreach to the public who actually use the park today.”
Drake said though there will be some paving for wheelchair accessibility and shade areas, the dog park won’t take away from the State Hospital Park’s tranquility.
“When you look at a bird’s eye view of the property of the state hospital, the grounds, there’s a lot of green space, a lot of beautiful, tree-filled green space. Our project really does not impact families having picnics or anything else,” she said.
In addition, Schaefer said Friends of Woodmere Dog Park has worked with others to resolve issues that have come up with the plan.
“We modified the dog park design a little bit so that it would fit and not impact the disc golf course. And then there are some other trails and pedestrian areas we wanted to make sure weren’t altered as well,” he said.
“We’re really proud of what we’ve preserved, what we are going to achieve and that we’ve left opportunities for improvement,” Green said.
Beyond the fences
Once the final dollars roll in, the not-for-profit hopes to have a groundbreaking ceremony in November and open the dog park by spring 2024. Rosenquist has questioned the group’s ability to support the project beyond the initial phase.
“Continuous funding for operations and maintenance will require a large membership base and a management team to operate the facility and continuously recruit new memberships and donations,” Rosenquist told the parks board. “Can a volunteer organization sustain these activities over the long term?”
Walker noted that addressing such concerns is part of her role as chair of the board development committee.
“Because I’ve had quite a bit of nonprofit experience, I’m able to help guide the organization through all the rules of being a nonprofit, keeping us focused and heading in the right direction. Because we do have to look to the future of when the park is open. How does this board of volunteers run it? How do we keep it sustained?” she said.
After the dog park is operational and members give feedback, Green said more amenities could be added. For now, the focus is on completing the crowdfunding campaign and setting a date to start construction.
“This is an amenity that will not only attract more people to our community but also retain folks here, especially our young folks who are entering the workforce, and they are our future. If they stay here, our tax base is increased and it gives more local funds to us as a community to invest in the things that are a priority,” Walker said.
The Patronicity fundraising campaign ends Oct. 27. To donate to the Friends of Woodmere Dog Park project, visit this website.