Proposed Locations of Kenosha Dog Parks

BY JOE POTENTE

A provision in Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser’s 2010 budget proposal would unleash a dog park proposal that’s been years in the making.

In fact, it would double the pleasure of dog owners, providing for the installation of off-leash exercise areas at Petrifying Springs Park and the west-end park under development near highways KD and F.

Before the parks could become a reality, however, the community would have to raise $25,000 in private donations to match a $25,000 county contribution, according to Kreuser’s budget.

No tax levy dollars would be used to build the parks, Kreuser stressed. The county portion would come from the annual stipend the county receives for housing Waste Management’s Pheasant Run landfill in Paris.

It’s a long time coming, said Supervisor Mark Modory, who has spent about four years trying to spearhead a dog park at Petrifying Springs.

Modory noted that numerous Wisconsin communities offer public park areas for dogs to roam leash-free. Kenosha County, one of the state’s most populous, remains conspicuously absent from that list.

“Hopefully next spring, we’ll get these both opened up,” Modory said.

Kreuser said a spring 2010 opening is feasible, if the private contributions arrive quickly.

The county plans to open an account for the public to make donations if and when the budget is adopted with the dog park provision, officials said. Budget adoption is tentatively slated for early November.

As proposed, the parks involve chain-link fenced-in areas, with segregated zones for large and small dogs.

The Petrifying Springs area would include 0.92 acres for large dogs and 0.46 acres for smaller breeds. The west-end park would designate 2.4 acres for large dogs, 1.2 acres for small ones.

Modory said the fencing is expected to cost about $24,500 at the west-end park and $18,900 at Petrifying Springs.

More park amenities could be added in the future, as donations allow. Modory said park naming rights and advertising opportunities also are possible revenue generators.

The parks would likely charge a small user fee, payable by the year or by the visit through an honor system.

Oversight of the developments would come from the County Board’s Highway and Parks Committee, whose chairman, Dennis Elverman, said he is supportive, as long as the dog-owning community lives up to its fund-raising obligation.

“This $25,000, if they’re serious, shouldn’t be all that difficult,” Elverman said.