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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
'Bark park' will
open soon in MoanaluaQuestion: When will the first city-sponsored off-leash dog park at Moanalua Community Park be opened to the public? It's been two years since the City Council approved a bill authorizing the parks director to establish off-leash parks around the island.
Answer: Parks officials are hoping to give dog owners a Christmas present with the opening of the Moanalua Dog Park in December.
But they've become gun shy in predicting when the much-awaited "bark park" can actually open because of unexpected hurdles that have delayed the opening for more than a year.
And, there still needs to be a public hearing.
Moanalua residents are frustrated, "because we started pushing for the park in November 2000," said Betty Kamida, the Moanalua Gardens Community Association's dog park liaison with the city.
"It might not seem like a long time to the city, but in dog years, that's 21 years!"
Although the community could live with understandable delays, once everything was set up, "it didn't make sense for us that the park was just sitting there empty," Kamida said.
She noted that residents "offered a lot of assistance," including volunteering to monitor park use and donating a dog poop dispenser. The community association even held a contest to name the park. Jeanine Shimomura, now a fourth-grader, won $50 by suggesting "Ilio Hau'oli Paka," which means "Happy Dog Park."
Since the city's standard policy is to name a park by its geographical location and type, that will be the park's nickname, Kamida said.
Jerome Marr, executive assistant to the director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, says he understands why many people are angry that the dog park has yet to open.
But it's been a matter of trying to make sure that a public off-leash dog park would not violate existing laws.
"Naively," Marr said, officials thought modifying city park rules addressed the issue of allowing dogs to run loose in a public park, despite the city's leash law.
But that turned out not to be the case.
There were other bumps in the road that protracted the process. But the good news is that "the rules have finally been crafted to the satisfaction of the corporation counsel and are ready to go public meetings," Marr said last week.
If everyone agrees that the rules are fair and equitable, then the park will be opened.
However, "the caveat is that, if there is controversy in the rules, then we have to reconsider our rule-making, then send it back to corp. counsel," he said.
That would again delay the opening.
Currently, if all goes according to plan, a public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19. That requires giving the public a 30-day notice of the hearing.
If there are no further glitches, "My hope is we have a Christmas gift for all the dogs," Marr said.
And once the Moanalua Dog Park is opened, the city hopes other municipal dog parks will follow.
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