A History of the Dog Park Initiative
6/16/09: A bi-monthly meeting was held. Topics discussed were logo selection, Green Dog Program
initiation, dog park location, updates to the website, and fund raising.
6/6/09: MDS representatives were at the annual rabies clinic at the DPW garage to raise awareness and interest.
5/19/09: Conor McGuire was elected as the Vice President.
5/18/09: MDS received approval to solicit funds from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
5/4/09: The Melrose Dog Society By-Laws were adopted and are currently located here and on the Yahoo! Group site.
4/13/09: MDS representatives met with the Melrose Parks Commission to discuss the potetial dog park site at the Lynn Fells Pkwy and Tremont Street. They recommended that we work with the abutters to resolve any potential concerns and find beneficial solutions that will enhance the area for the local residents, businesses and user groups. Most letters have gone out and a few remaining letters will go out w/in the next couple of days.
4/5/09: We filed our By-Laws with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, thereby becoming a formal organization.
3/25/09: We again met at A Better Companion. At this meeting we began forming the Melrose Dog Society, elected officers discussed funding and forming a non-profit corporation [501(c)3], discussed plans for a website, business cards, outreach, reviewed site design options and talked about the need to get approval for the dog park from the Melrose Park Commission.
3/11/09: We met at A Better Companion to continue our talks and discuss an action plan. We discussed that due to noise and perception concerns, all sites in neighborhoods adjacent to homes weren't possible, and that the remaining site at Mt. Hood was too remote for safety. Therefore the LFP/Tremont Street location became the preferred site as it has few neighboring homes, is centrally located, and its conspicuous location would enhance both use and safety.
3/4/09: The Melrose Health Department, including the Melrose Canine Control Officer, held a meeting at city hall to discuss establishing a dog park for the purposes of meeting the desires of dog owners and to alleviate some dog-related issues throughout the city, especially at parks. As many of you know, during that meeting we looked at six potential sites: Hesseltine Field, 2 locations at Mount Hood, Hidden Park [adjacent to the Lynn Fells Parkway (LFP) and Lincoln St.], the corner of Tremont Street/LFP, and Bowdon Park across from the Cedar Park train station.
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