Cool things for dogs ...
... and their people!
Seven Oaks Dog Park So Far ...
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July 12, 2009
After many months of delay and debate, the board has called a special meeting to decide once and for all the fate of the Seven Oaks Dog Park. The meeting takes place Tuesday, 14 July at 7pm at the Blue Water community center.
There will be a county official in attendance to answer questions.
We need everyone to come out and voice their opinions of the dog park proposal.
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January 25, 2009
Ashera has scheduled a meeting for the Friends of the Seven Oaks Dog Park on Tuesday, February 3rd at 6:30 PM, at the Blue Water community center.
We'll review where we currently stand in regards to the project and we'll discuss some ideas for possible fundraising in order to help pay for the dog park.
Please spread the word and join us on the 3rd for a great brainstorming session!
___________ Ashera suggested that we regroup and address the board again in February. January’s meeting will likely be rather full as county counsel-person Jamie Benoit has been invited to address other issues in community. Addressing the dog park at this meeting is likely not to have as big an impact considering the other ongoing issues at this time. Q. What happens with the fees when the dog park funds have been recouped in 1-3 years? Does the community now make money off of us dog owners? ___________
January 15, 2009
Ashera has, however, suggested a brainstorming session in the interim to discuss possible fundraising options. Fact of the matter is that the board has made many cutbacks to the budget for '09, including cutting the social committee budget among others. We need to be realistically prepared to raise some money for our dog park
Stay tuned for further details .....
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September 23, 2008
Armed with 233 responses from the community survey, Dog Lady once again pitched her proposal to the HOA board to move forward with the dog park project. A few board members were visibly impressed with the amount of response we were able to put together.
You'll recall from the July 22 entry below, that the board was hesitant, then, to approve the project for further consideration because of financial concerns in the community, due to foreclosures, unpaid HOA fees and the general health of the current economy. Legitimate reasons.
Two months later, although presented with the support they requested, nothing seems to have changed as far as the board is concerned. They threw up more road blocks, in the way of financial concerns - although the majority of community dog owners made a good faith gesture in agreeing to some form of annual "key fee" - and in one case, a board member who was not present at the meeting two months ago, demanded to see a plot of the proposed location.
Once again, the seeming unwillingness to entertain further discussion was evident.
We did succeed however, in swaying a few more board members than in July. When put to a vote, the final tally was 5-4 in favor of tabling the project for another month, pending the outcome of an infrastructure assessment that has been in the works for a couple of months now. The vote two months ago was like 7-1 against. We're making progress!
The board agreed that upon the findings of the infrastructure assessment, they could revisit the economic status of the project and put it up for vote again.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, at the beginning of the meeting, the board was addressed by a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor about what best to do with the community's 1.9 million dollars of reserve money. Yes, you read that correctly - one-point-nine million dollars.
Did I mention they're concerned about spending $20k-$30k on an amenity that will bolster the community and help raise home values???
Anyway, it's good to know we have a board that takes their fiduciary responsibilities seriously. It just seems like some of their minds were already made up about this long ago.
It was kinda funny that at the end of the vote - meaning discussion time was over! - several residents stormed out of the meeting in discontent. Very ... anti-establishment!
So, while we've been put on hold for another month or so, this presents an opportunity to further raise awareness in the community and continue to build support, and possibly explore some other ideas for raising funds.
A friend of mine offered this thought to me recently - "Success" is defined as progressive progression of a worthy idea - an idea you fall in love with. A worthy idea is charged with great spiritual value which adds meaning to your life because it impacts everyone who is exposed to your idea. The effect is exponential.
Stay tuned!
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September 17, 2008
The survey process continues. With only a week left until the HOA meeting, where the survey results will be shared with board members, we're still a few responses shy of the goal of 10% of Seven Oaks residents.
Everyone is encouraged to continue talking to fellow Seven Oaks residents about filling out the online survey. Also, everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the meeting on Tuesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. at the community center on Charter Oaks Blvd.
Throughout the survey process, residents have raised some valid questions and concerns, in addition to adding a lot of support for the project.
Once again, CoolThingsForDogs.com asked Ashera "Dog Lady" Porter, project coordinator, to address some of these comments and questions -
Q. Since we have a serious problem with delinquency as far as paying monthly assessments, and the Board is talking about raising them, I don't see how we can afford to spend 15K-30K on a dog park.
A. A few points about this issue are:
1. The board is not only thinking of raising the assessment because of delinquency, but also because it has not been raised in quite some time.
2. The community’s delinquency rate has fluxuated over the past several years. The current status is not even the highest it’s been. 2001 had the highest rate of delinquency, and with fewer residents.
3. We currently have more than one million dollars ($1,000,000) in community reserves that this would come out of.
4. With the imposed fee the dog park would pay for itself within a couple of years and the money that was used to build it would be put back into reserves. Look at it as an investment in your community - an investment to keep it flourishing.
Q. Is the fee per dog or per family?
A. The fee will be per household
Q. If pet owners can't even clean up after their dogs in common areas where children play, I am almost certain the dog park would not make it any better. Children deserve the right to play in the grass without worrying about stepping in crap that some irresponsible dog owner left behind.
A. This is valid concern. Typically though, dog park users tend to be more “poop conscious”.
When people are paying to use something, they have a stake in it, and they trend toward taking better care of it. Statistics show that dog owners who go to dog parks tend to police themselves better than others, and provide a further service to the community that the dog park is in.
There will be poop bags available in the dog park, which will also help to alleviate any accidental pooping! As we also know, you can’t control everyone, so I would propose that with the money we collect with the fees we could hire a monthly or bi-weekly poop clean-up service.
In addition, the dog park will make the ball field area more visible and deter the petty crime and loitering that tend to take place in that area.
A. This is an important topic of discussion. I would propose once it is paid off that the fee be lowered. We can keep a small, maybe $10 fee and use the money for our cleaning service, poop bags, and maybe add a couple of amenities like trees.
August 29, 2008
Ads, articles, flyers and surveys have been submitted, posted and hung in order to educate and inform the community, as well as to gage community interest for the dog park. The Seven Oaks Community newsletter should be hitting the street in the next day or two, where it will find it's way into approximately 3.200 homes in the community. Flyers have been hung around the neighborhood and a survey has been posted here at CoolThingsForDogs.com.
All of this to build support that can be presented to the board at the next HOA meeting in September, with the goal of convincing the board to move forward with the project.
The survey has already seen some hits and some very good feedback has been submitted. There have been some great questions asked that we felt should be addressed here, in order to help others make an educated decision, so CoolThingsForDogs.com went directly to the source, Ashera "Dog Lady" Porter, project coordinator, for some answers -
The survey process continues. With only a week left until the HOA meeting, where the survey results will be shared with board members, we're still a few responses shy of the goal of 10% of Seven Oaks residents.Everyone is encouraged to continue talking to fellow Seven Oaks residents about filling out the . Also, everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the meeting on Tuesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. at the community center on Charter Oaks Blvd.Throughout the survey process, residents have raised some valid questions and concerns, in addition to adding a lot of support for the project.Once again, asked Ashera "Dog Lady" Porter, project coordinator, to address some of these comments and questions -A.___________
The survey process continues. With only a week left until the HOA meeting, where the survey results will be shared with board members, we're still a few responses shy of the goal of 10% of Seven Oaks residents.Everyone is encouraged to continue talking to fellow Seven Oaks residents about filling out the . Also, everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the meeting on Tuesday, September 23, at 7 p.m. at the community center on Charter Oaks Blvd.Throughout the survey process, residents have raised some valid questions and concerns, in addition to adding a lot of support for the project.Once again, asked Ashera "Dog Lady" Porter, project coordinator, to address some of these comments and questions -A.___________
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Q. Where would the dark park be located?
A. The dog park would be located in the “
Q. Will there be separate areas for large and small dogs?
A. Yes there will be a small and a large dog area.
Q. Will vaccinations be required?
A. Yes, an up to date rabies vaccination will be required in order to register for dog park usage. Please see the Feasibility Study with the full proposal for further details.
Q. Will the park be staffed?
A. No, the dog park will not be staffed. It will run as the county parks do - on the honor system. Dog owners will be required to sign the Rules & Regulations Agreement when registering.
Q. What are the liability issues for the HOA?
A. There is no more of a liability issue for a dog park than there is for a tot lot, swimming pool or fitness center, all of which we currently have in Seven Oaks and none of which have created a negative liability issue for home owners. Residents who choose to use the dog park will be required to sign a "waiver of liability". Signs will also be posted at the dog park to inform users that the dog park is a "use at your own risk" area. Dog owners are subject to the same laws that govern all
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Ashera chaired a brainstorming session to discuss -
- raising community awareness and support
- funding the project
It seems that the primary means of communicating with Seven Oaks residents is the hard-copy newsletter that is mailed out to residents every other month. The next issue is due out at the end of August. The next HOA meeting is 26 August, so the newsletter will not even hit the street before the meeting.
Due to this timing, the decision was made to present the proposal again to the board at the September 23rd meeting versus the August meeting. That allows time for advertising in the August newsletter, plus and additional 4 weeks or so to build awareness and support leading up to the September meeting.
Ashera will write an in-depth article for the newsletter explaining the project. Another resident will place a full-page ad encouraging community support, and will also include a short survey to help measure interest.
That same survey will also be posted here at CoolThingsForDogs.com so that residents have an option in how they take the survey. The hard-copy can be filled out and returned to the community center or it can be done online here and we'll forward those results.
Other means of advertising the awareness campaign that were discussed included posting flyers around the neighborhood with the web address to the survey and this journal; using the marquee billboards located at the entrance to Seven Oaks on Bluewater and Charter Oaks Blvd's. for the same information; and good ol' face-to-face and door-to-door interaction around the neighborhood. Supporters are encouraged to meet their neighbors - dog owners or not - and make them aware of the project.
Many people simply will never get to an HOA meeting, for various reasons, and that’s OK. That doesn’t mean they don’t support what happens at the meetings. The bottom line is to inform residents in any way possible and get them to voice their opinions and concerns.
CoolThingsForDogs.com is also inviting Seven Oaks dog owners to send in photos of themselves and/or their dog(s) for inclusion on this website. Send your digital photos to DogPark@CoolThingsForDogs.com and we’ll pick a few to accompany the pages discussing the
On funding, the decision was made to move forward with the initial idea of having the HOA pay for the project, then charge an annual fee to dog park users. As cited in an earlier post, this would pay back the board, likely, in 1-3 years, plus it would build a reserve for maintenance/repairs for the dog park. Ideas for fund-raising were put on hold pending the boards decision in September.
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July 24, 2008
Ashera Porter sent an email to the contact list she collected at the last HOA meeting. She has scheduled a dog park-specific meeting for meeting Tuesday, July 29th, from 6-8pm at the main community center on Charter Oak.
Topics for discussion at this meeting include -
- raising community awareness and support
- fund-raising in support of the dog park
- timeline for meeting next board meeting deadline of August 26th (or waiting until September's meeting)
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July 22, 2008
Seven Oaks held it's monthly HOA meeting with what many of the board members recognized as the largest turnout they've had in quite some time. The interest seemed to have stemmed from those supporting the dog park initiative.
Board member Ashera Porter provided the rest of the board with a Seven Oaks Community Association Dog Park Feasibility Study for approval. Following parliamentary procedure, she motioned for approval of the proposal, but no other board member would second the motion, effectively killing the project.
Home owners in attendance immediately began voicing their disappointment at the board's seeming unwillingness to entertain the idea. Upon further discussion, board members explained their fiduciary responsiblity to ensure the community's monies are spent prudently. This became clearer as board members continued to explain that the HOA is sitting on nearly $140K in delinquent HOA fees and legal costs to collect those fees.
One estimate received on a basic dog park setting (fencing, benches, waste station, signage) put the project at about $15,000. To add some form of a security system (key card system and cipher locks) and a few shade trees, the price went up to about $30,000+, and that increase is primarily for the key card system.
Ashera suggested that if funding were the issue, the HOA could assess a $50 annual "key fee" or maintenance fee for those wanting to use the dog park. Citing the statistics that identifiy 1,250 dog owning homes in Seven Oaks, if only half of those use the dog park, that would bring in more than $31,000 annually, thus paying for the dog park in the first year and providing maintenance and groundskeeping funds for the future.
After much discussion, the board agreed to remain open to further discussion on the project, pending more support from the community. Ashera agreed to write something up for the August community newsletter to further educate the community on the process and to drum up more support. She also collected names and contact information from supporters in attendance.
Click here to see the Dog Park Feasibility Study in PDF (6.32mb)
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July 14, 2008
Members of the Seven Oaks Dog Committee and other supporters began posting flyers around the community urging residents to attend a dog park meeting on July 22nd.
