A pack of four or five dogs and their owners sit in the Bark Park at the Roger Short Soccer Complex near downtown, relaxing around a fire in a barrel under string lights hanging from the trees.
The group, connected by their dogs and a Facebook Page, brought all of these items to the dog park and left them there to use, group member Chuck Newell said. Over the past six weeks or so, as the weather cooled and the park got darker earlier in the day, he said the group gathered around a barrel fire under the makeshift lighting almost daily.
Sometimes, they even roast marshmallows. The group hosted a doggie Easter egg hunt and has brought a kiddie pool during summer months to help dogs stay cool.
“By the time we get home (from work), it’s dark,” Newell said. “We got a fire going. We got the lights up. I’ve got a generator in the back of the truck. I plug the lights up. We’re usually gone by 6 or 6:30 (p.m.).”
The problem: Leaving personal items isn’t allowed at the park, and it closes to the public “at dusk,” which during fall and winter doesn’t give enough time for users to run their dogs after work in the evenings.
While Newell said he and his friends are “just taxpayers trying to upgrade the doggy park to suit ourselves,” a notice from the county and a visit from Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputies put an end to these additions on Tuesday afternoon.
The notice, posted on trees in the park and dated on Jan. 2, said all third-party items had to be removed from the dog park within 24 hours.
Lowndes County Deputy Recreation Director Tom Velek said the department posted the notices due to the risk of injury and liability for the county, as open flames in the dog park pose a risk to dogs and humans alike.
“There were also a lot of liquor bottles down there, so obviously people were down there turning it into kind of a personal party area with a fire going,” Velek told The Dispatch on Wednesday afternoon. “They set up a place for wood storage, in the trees they … put up some electrical (lights). But the biggest issue is that we can’t have open flames, especially during one of the worst droughts in the history of Mississippi.”
After he saw the notices, Newell said he built another fire Tuesday with the hopes of enjoying it one last time before removing the barrel and other items from the park within the time limit.
But a few minutes after the fire started, Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies drove up. One got out and checked Newell’s identification, while a handful of other park goers looked on. Then, the deputy demanded he put out the fire, and he complied.
Other than the posted notices he first saw Tuesday, Newell said no one with the county had said anything to him about the fires and lights until the deputies arrived.
The fire, lights and other items lending a more personal ambience to the park came in response to the group’s long unanswered requests for changes, said Kenedi Marini, who frequently visits the park with her dogs, Gianni and Gino.
Marini said she spoke with Velek in June, then-interim recreation director, requesting his department clean up broken glass on the ground and better maintain the often inoperable water fountains. She said group members cleaned up the park themselves, while nothing has been done yet about the water fountains.
Later, Marini said she requested additional lighting, since the dog park feels unsafe during the evenings.
“The last thing I said to Tom Velek was that I can definitely point people in your direction if they have requests or complaints,” Marini said.
When time passed and no lights were installed, the dog park group went ahead and put up their own lights and other items to keep the park usable, Marini said.
A public safety issue
When Lowndes County Recreation Director Jennifer Claybrook’s office received a call that there was a fire at the dog park on Tuesday afternoon, she said she called the sheriff’s office.
“My thing was that there was an open flame, and that is a concern,” said Claybrook, who began leading the department in November. “… Being in an administrative role, I felt like that was the best course of action not to send myself or one of our employees. I don’t want to escalate it. I just wanted them to not have a fire out there.”
She said her call was not based on enforcing specific county ordinances or departmental policies, but rather, concern for public safety.
County Administrator Jay Fisher said he’s not aware of any ordinances banning fires or third-party items on county property, though Columbus laws may apply to the dog park, due to it being in the city. Departmental policies most often regulate what is allowed on county property, including parks, he said.
While these policies and rules are not laws, Fisher said occasionally, county law enforcement may be called to county property to help with disturbances and concerns for public safety.
Official channels for change
Velek and Claybrook both said they were happy citizens were using the dog park and enjoying these facilities, but changes need to go through the proper channels.
“We have to strike a balance between being a public facility for the public to use, but we’re not a public facility for the public to renovate,” Velek said.
The recreation department does have a facility use policy in place, which applies to civic organizations and outside agencies. This policy includes restrictions on leaving personal belongings at the park and making permanent alterations, additions or changes to department property.
Claybrook said she does not currently know of a permitted burning process for the parks department, though she is looking into it.
When it comes to lighting, Velek said he brought the issue higher up through administration. However, when he received a quote for lighting in the park, the price tag came back at $90,000.
Velek said he is talking with Columbus Light and Water to extend street-level parking over the park as a lower-cost alternative to the original bid. He is also working to install cement pads under the water fountains at the park.
Claybrook said that the recreation department is evaluating all of its policies, procedures and signage, along with its website, to help the parks suit citizens’ needs. Suggestions, she said, are welcome, though they may not always be possible due to budget constraints and other concerns.
“We’re so excited about Lowndes County and where we’re going, and we love the dog park and we love having people up there and enjoying it,” Claybrook said. “We are here to listen and we want to make it the best venue we can. But it also has to be within guidelines.”
The use policy is available online on the department’s website at https://lowndesrecreationdepartment.home.blog/ under “Files.” Other rules and regulations on the dog park are also available on the website.
Suggestions can be sent to either [email protected] or [email protected], Claybrook said, or citizens can call the department’s main line at (662) 328-0885.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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