Markey Park and The Army Corps of Engineers?

After hearing from NORDC today at a meeting in City Hall that the Trust for Public Land will not spend money developing Markey Park if dogs are allowed, I have been made aware of the following. No one in attendance was able to answer the question of the terms of the TPL grant and when the conditions that do not permit dogs were established or by whom.

FACTS THAT MAKE THIS SITUATION SEEM EVEN MORE BIZARRE:



1. The TPL apparently saves other off-leash dog parks from evil bank foreclosures
Potso Dog Park

Since 2002, the city of Tigard had leased 2.6-acres off Hunziker Street for use as an off-leash dog park for the growing number of urban dog owners. The park was used by hundreds of people and pooches weekly--many coming from nearby Beaverton or Lake Oswego. Then in 2010, Capital Pacific Bank took control of the property in lieu of payment from the owner and started looking for developers to purchase the land. The Trust for Public Land stepped in to hold the property off the market while the city's dog park community helped mobilize support for a $17 million park bond measure on the November 2010 ballot. The bond passed and the city council voted unanimously to purchase the park, saving the off-leash play area from closure. As the permanent owner of the park, the city plans to improve the amenities and expand park hours.

http://www.tpl.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/oregon/potso-dog-park.html

2.  Quote from BNA Newsletter page 20 August 2011

At Markey Park, NSCAN is concerned that one of only two neighborhood parks has been largely in use for off-leash dogs. NSCAN has no problem bringing up the issue of Markey Park, and will ask that the park be returned to full, dedicated use for children. There may be up to $600,000 in funds available for the park from a combination of a CBMC grant and money from the Trust for Public Land. In CBMC meetings, the Army Corps suggested putting restrictions on the use of funds in making park improvements at Markey; namely, that none of the CBMC funds can be used for a dog park. The money can be used for direct purchase of hard equipment (lighting, fencing, infrastructure), but not if that equipment is located in a dog park. NSCAN is not sure how the Trust for Public Land feels about dog parks, but NSCAN feels strongly that no money should be used to improve dog parks until all NORD facilities for children are fully funded and repaired. NSCAN will present their points at the Youth and Recreation Committee meeting, including comments they have received from a dog park expert who visited Markey Park. CL inquires about a time line in terms of ending off-leash dogs in relation to the opening of the riverfront dog park opens. JM says the time line depends on any resistance, neighborhood support, interest from City Council and NORD. NSCAN is interested in working with the City to re-write ordinances to allow dog parks on non-NORD property if they follow best practices. NSCAN will press the Fifth District to enforce the law as relates to off-leash dogs in NORD parks. Under the current development schedule, ground-breaking will occur in January 2012.

  
   

 3. NORDC Minutes June 14, 2011 

NEW ORLEANS RECREATION DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION met on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall

The facilities committee met on June 14, 2011 and heard a proposal from the Trust for Public Land (TPL) which will be reviewed over the course of the next month. 

[I've looked through July 2011, August 2011, and December 2011 and do not see any mention of the review of the TPL. I cannot find any minutes available for September, October, or November of 2011, and I can find no mention of the actual reviewing of the TPL proposal and what went on at the meeting when it was first discussed.]
April 2012 - NORD Commission appears to have met meet but Meeting minutes are missing from city website due to broken link.

    
4. April 2012: BNA Newsletter reports that The NORDC Facilities Sub-committee met  on February 28th, chaired by Deputy Mayor Judy Reese Morse. 

Capital Project Report:

Consideration of Citizen Advisory Task Force (CATF) on Dogs in Parks

Chair’s Report and Minority Report: The Commission reviewed both reports and had some discussion about the issue. The NORDC Director stated that his staff was doing what they could to enforce the current ordinances, but that many residents were intentionally breaking them such as removing signage in NORD parks. The CATF process was criticized for not including more public comment The Director of Capital Projects, Vince Smith, will obtain more public input from residents and suggest a process for identifying appropriate dog park areas by district. No vote was taken on the issue at this meeting. Larry Schmidt (Trust for Public Land) attended. He said that he has a memorandum of understanding (MOA) with the city and NORDC to develop Markey Park and that the private funders supporting the project want funds spent this calendar year. He requested to move forward under the originalagreement and not consider the issue of the dog park at this time (the original agreement did not include a dog park/run). He said a dog park could be possible in the future. He will present plans at the next sub-committee * meeting for approval so TPL

    * does the next sub-committee meeting mean the one with NORDC?

    Mysteriously missing from the NORD website are the Facilities Sub-Committee Meeting Minutes - April 30, 2012

5.  Under "New Business" from the June 14 NORDC Facilities meeting minutes, it appears that the the TPL's negotiation with NORDC was in some way contingent upon a letter from the Core of Engineers that detailed the funding for Markey Park (which I imagine would have something about not allowing dogs because in the August 2011 BNA Newsletter, it says that the Army Corps suggested putting restrictions on the use of funds and not allowing CBMC funds to be used for a dog park).

   

Bobby Garon – Noted that there is a proposal from the Trust For Public Land would like to give a presentation on the development of Markey Park.

Larry Schmidt (Trust for Public Land) – Discussed the process that the Trust for Public Land went through to bring the proposal of Markey Park to the Commission, the plans for a potential partnership between TPL and the NORD Commission. The mission of TPL was noted and other service that could be available to the NORD Commission. Roy Glapion motioned to bring the proposal of the Trust For Public Land to the full Commission to authorize further negotiation contingent upon a letter from the Core of Engineers stating that money is specifically designated for Markey Park and that the Friends of NORD has the specified the 200k to the Foundation for a similar purpose, and to authorize the Facilities Committee to approve the final contract. The motion passes unanimously.

Questions:

1. Why would the Army Corps of Engineers or Industrial Canal Lock Replacement Project or Community Based Mitigation Committee care about dogs in a park?

2. It seems like NSCNA (New Saint Claude Neighborhood Association) was raising the dog issue at CBMC meetings, so did the Army Corps of Engineers just try to mitigate? [I am assuming "Core" is spelled incorrectly by whoever took the NORDC minutes.]
3. Would obtaining any correspondences they had with NORDC or the BNA be worth investigating?

4. How many more groups am I going to find out about while trying to determine who exactly said dogs cannot be in a park developed with TPL money?