Educating Councilors: Mar. 25 Meeting Recap

Three members of Westy Dog Park Guardians spoke at the March 25 City Council meeting on behalf of our organization.

The first, Drew, gave remarks regarding the first CAT meeting. First, he asked City Council for final-decision clarity as he, as a CAT member, was asked to sign an agreement stating the Dog Park decision rests with the Parks, Recreation,  Libraries and Open Space (PRLO). He then expressed concern about PRLO's unwillingness to discuss rerouting the Greenway Trail outside of the Dog Park. Finally, he challenged the ongoing assertion by PRLO that the 420 acres at WHOS is not a dog park.

The second speaker, Tami, expanded on legal arguments against the Greenway Trail going right through an active off leash dog park.

Finally, Cindy spoke about the comparison results from the three surveys presented by PRL in 2023-24. 
 
Three other Guardians also spoke although not as representatives of the group. Each offered insightful historical background on both the dog park and the Greenway Trail. 
 
All speaker's comments complimented each other nicely, while providing critical information for educating Council on both PRL misinformation and the history of the Dog Park and Greenway Trail. Two Councilors had remarks.

Obi Ezeadi:

• Noted that staff should address the discrepancy in the second survey results that the Guardians discovered. (Tomás admitted his numbers were wrong; he "sampled" approximately 250 comments and basically guessed.)
• Noted that staff should address with whom the final decision rests, as well as Drew's assertion that he had to sign an agreement stating PRL had authority to make the final decision. (Mark Freitag assured attendees that Council will be responsible for making the final decision and PRL can make "administrative" decisions. Tomás denied asking CAT members to sign the agreement despite Drew having the CAT binder with him.)

Dave DeMott:

• Asked Tomás if his survey numbers were presented as "sampled" or "results" (Tomás said "sampled"). Cindy sent Dave the video where Tomás reported % as "results." 
• Commented he's lived in Countryside almost his entire life and WHOS has always been a dog park. 

All in all, we believe we have gotten Council's attention but maintaining momentum will require continuing to present information and remarks at each City Council meeting going forward. Make your voice heard.