Dog owners’ group promotes dog park
Frank Klauer Memorial Park is Hollister’s unofficial dog park.
But the park, which has a fenced retention pond that is usually
dry, is a far cry from the real deal. A group of San Benito County
residents have formed the Hollister Dog Owners Group (HDOG) in
hopes of promoting a dog-friendly park.
”
I am very, very, very dedicated because I completely understand
the importance of it,
”
said Tammy Ballew, founder of HDOG.
A dog park would have amenities that are unavailable at Klauer
Park, said Kim Nores, an HDOG member.
Dog owners’ group promotes dog park
Frank Klauer Memorial Park is Hollister’s unofficial dog park. But the park, which has a fenced retention pond that is usually dry, is a far cry from the real deal. A group of San Benito County residents have formed the Hollister Dog Owners Group (HDOG) in hopes of promoting a dog-friendly park.
“I am very, very, very dedicated because I completely understand the importance of it,” said Tammy Ballew, founder of HDOG.
A dog park would have amenities that are unavailable at Klauer Park, said Kim Nores, an HDOG member.
Nores has been taking her dogs to Klauer since she moved to town about a year ago.
“Something a little more permanent would be great,” Nores said.
Before moving to Hollister, she took her dogs to Morgan Hill’s Community Park, which has a fenced-in area dedicated to canines with double gates to prevent off-leash dogs from getting out.
“It was more of a park-like setting than a big open field,” Nores said. “Here in Hollister we like to keep our own gallon bottles of water just to have fresh water.”
There was plenty of room and places for owners to sit.
“They did have a place to post messages to each other,” Nores said. “It kind of made it a community.”
Ballew got the idea to start a dog park after visiting one in Vallejo.
“It was so amazing,” Ballew said. “Off to one side was a gate that went into the big dog park area and off to the other side was the little dog park. I was so jealous.”
Ballew would like a similar setup, with a dog pool, agility equipment and solar lighting.
A dog park would be great, said Julie Carreiro, Hollister’s animal control supervisor.
“I think we need a dog park,” Carreiro said. “One that has rules and so forth. It’s much better than a free-for-all.”
Unless they are fenced within a backyard, dogs are supposed to be on leash at all times in Hollister.
“We don’t have any parks in Hollister that allow dogs to be off leash,” Carreiro said. “If you have dogs that are supposed to be on a leash that aren’t, that’s a problem.”
Carreiro read the HDOG proposal. “Everything looks really good,” she said.
Although they were not on the agenda, HDOG members spoke at the June 16 Hollister City Council meeting, said Doug Emerson, Hollister’s mayor.
“I’ve got two dogs,” Emerson said. “My opinion personally, I think it would be great.”
Buying land could be cost prohibitive for the city and HDOG volunteers, Emerson said.
“Our parks fund has zero dollars in it,” Emerson said. “We’ve got the Brigantino property that we’re going to convert into a park.”
The Brigantino property is a 50-acre parcel on the west side of Hollister.
“Maybe we could work something out there,” Emerson said.
A dog park is on the Hollister Parks and Recreation Commission agenda for June 24.
This isn’t one of those things that is going to happen at the snap of a finger, overnight,” said Clay Lee, the Hollister community services director. “There will be a number of discussions that take place over time before any recommendations are made.”
One of the main issues is cost, Lee said.
“Do we have any current facilities where we could accommodate this?” Lee said. “There is not a lot of money to go acquiring land.”
Hollister’s Park Facility Master Plan, adopted in 2002, suggests that a dog park could be built at Veteran’s Memorial Park or Vista Park Hill, Lee said.
If volunteers can come up with money to purchase land, things would happen quicker, Lee said. Otherwise, the dog park could be incorporated into the long-term plan for existing land. That could take three to five years, Lee said.
Covering the cost of long-term maintenance also a concern.
“Yes, we are deficient at this point in time for open space,” Lee said. “There are great needs for more ball fields and stuff like that. But Hollister has many dog owners. Yes, we need to do other things. But, should we exclude a dog park? No.”
Ballew wants city officials to designate existing land as the future site of the dog park.
“Assuming they give me the go-ahead, I can start asking people for the fencing and the trees,” Ballew said. “But I need to know the location. We’re hoping the city will give us a location of about two acres. That’s our dream.”
They would prefer a location that has water already, Ballew said.
“And trash removal,” Ballew said. “Other than that, we understand that we would have to do everything ourselves.”
HDOG members want the dog park to be a community project in partnership with the city of Hollister.
“We really want to get all of our materials from the park from local companies only,” Ballew said. “We want to list all their names, all of the business names, on a plaque.”
