HOLMES BEACH – Residents and dog park users shared their dog park concerns and desires during the Dec. 3 Parks and Beautification Committee meeting.
The dog owners’ concerns include irrigation, grass replacement and maintenance, shade tree plantings and the overall maintenance of the city-owned dog park located near the city-owned baseball field and pickleball courts.
Providing separate areas for large dogs and small dogs, the Holmes Beach dog park is the only dog park on Anna Maria Island. Leashed dogs are allowed at City Pier Park in Anna Maria and at Herb Dolan Park in Bradenton Beach. Dogs are not allowed on any of the Island’s beaches.
Development Services Director Chad Minor is currently serving as the interim Parks and Beautification Committee chair and he was joined at the meeting by committee members Debbie Hall and Mary Lange.
A dog park update document dated Dec. 2 was referenced during the meeting.
One side of the printed document says, “Public Works has recently planted five new shade trees, with five additional black olive trees scheduled for planting. Irrigation installation is on track for completion on Saturday, Dec. 6. New benches and concrete pads are currently being scheduled for installation. The dog park watering area is being extended and will include a new concrete pad. Both dog park ‘dugouts’ are planned for upgrades, including new rafters, new roofing and new electrical outlets.”
The other side contains an aerial diagram that indicates where the new trees and benches will be placed in the large dog area.
Dog owners speak
While providing a brief history of the dog park, Holmes Beach resident and dog park user Renee Ferguson said the original dog park opened in a different location in 2013 and was relocated to its current location in 2018. She noted previous grass seeding and tree planting efforts have not always been unsuccessful.
Ferguson said the dog park is used 365 days a year by Holmes Beach residents, Anna Maria Island residents
and visitors and vacationers, and she noted that Manatee County promotes the dog park as a “well-maintained” tourist amenity.
“This is a social network. It’s not just a place where the dogs come and play. This is a place where 40 people meet every day,” Ferguson said. “We need a plan. Sit down with the users of the park. We are dog people. We can work these things out.”
She suggested periodically closing sections of the dog park to allow the grass to rest and recover from the heavy use.
Holmes Beach resident Mike Shane said dog park users have “been forgotten” regarding the requests and suggestions they’ve made over the years.
“Look at the condition of it. It’s very discouraging,” he said of the dog park that’s partially covered with grass or weeds and partially covered with sand.
Shane was among those who questioned the need for an irrigation system. He said the city’s past efforts to hydroseed the dog park failed and he suggested replacing the grass with sand. He also suggested city officials visit the dog park during the peak morning and late afternoon/evening hours to get a better understanding of its daily use.
“We spend money on things which are not being used and neglect things which are used all the time,” he said.
Holmes Beach resident Mike Deal said he didn’t support replacing the grass with sand because the dogs would get covered with sand.
Anna Maria resident and dog park user Tom Evans said, “None of us are experts on this. We don’t know if it’s going to work or not. You really need to get a landscape architect to come in that understands dog parks; and you need to fund it.”
Anna Maria resident Nicky Hunt said she previously lived near the Holmes Beach dog park for five years and she favors grass over sand. She said she’s aware of a dog park expert from Minnesota who now lives in Anna Maria and might be able to help. She said she’d try to get the man’s name and contact info.
Hunt also noted the county (through the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) promotes the dog park as a tourist amenity and she suggested seeking county commission-controlled tourist development tax revenues to help fund dog park improvements.
City Commissioner Dan Diggins attended the committee meeting. He also represents the city and the Island as a Manatee County Tourist Development Council member. He acknowledged he doesn’t know much about dog parks and he recently visited the dog park for the first time, accompanied by Mayor Judy Titsworth.
“I think it’s got some pretty good bones, but we need to get an expert in here to tell us how to do it. But before we do that, tell us what it should look like,” Diggins said, noting he was open to the possibility of seeking tourist development tax funding.
Ferguson and others plan to share their dog park concerns and requests with the mayor and city commissioners during general public comment at the Tuesday, Dec. 16 city commission meeting that starts at 2 p.m.
Mayor’s insights
Titsworth couldn’t attend the committee meeting because she was making a live TV appearance in Sarasota that morning to promote the city’s 75th anniversary celebration. She arrived at city hall while the committee meeting was still in progress, but after the dog park discussion ended.
In the city hall lobby, Diggins provided her with a quick recap of the dog park discussion. Titsworth told Diggins she wouldn’t pause the pending irrigation project because it’s needed to maintain the grass that’s still there.
When contacted on Dec. 7, Titsworth said the now-completed irrigation work was a repair project that separated the existing dog park and baseball field irrigation systems. She said the city will try to save the dog park’s existing sod and grass and if that doesn’t work, additional sod installation and other options would be considered.
