“The dog park is another project that was born from the citizen involvement with the comprehensive plan,” City Manager Austin Bleess said. “I’ve heard from a number of people, both those that own dogs and those that do not, that this will be a great feature for families.”
Two locations have risen to the top of the places being considered by the city’s recreation and events committee:
- Location A: a two-acre site along Rio Grande Street and across White Oak Bayou from the Jersey Meadow Golf Course, near an existing detention pond
- Location B: a two-acre site at Equador Street and Beltway 8, behind a wastewater treatment facility and across from Clark Henry Park
Kimberly Terrell, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said both sites satisfied the main criteria the committee decided upon when looking for where to put the park.
“We wanted it to be at least one acre in size with nearby parking, to be at least 150 feet from any residences and for it to be a space that is relatively unused currently,” she said.
Location A would feature 52 parking spaces at a nearby lot used for golf course parking overflow, and Location B would feature 48 spaces near Clark Henry park.
Public meeting
The city hosted a June 6 public meeting to gather feedback on where the park should be located. Of the 68 residents who attended, Terrell said about 70 percent of them expressed a preference for Location A. Feedback submitted through an online survey had similar results, she said.
“A lot of it I believe had to do with the parking and the amount you’d have to drive,” Terrell said. “[Clark Henry] Park is used for a lot of things and can get filled up, so parking is a concern, and people would have to drive through neighborhoods to get there, which creates concerns about the traffic it would generate.”
Residents can provide feedback online through June 14. After feedback is taken into account, the recreation and events committee will make a final recommendation to Jersey Village City Council. The recommendation will likely come at the July 17 council meeting, Terrell said.
After that, the city will move onto the design phase. Construction would realistically begin in September, Terrell said.
Park features
A total of $50,000 has been dedicated to the dog park in this year’s budget, Terrell said. Amenities will include poop bags and waste disposal bins, dog drinking fountains, dog wash stations and a time-out box for when a dog gets overly excited.
“We also have a local eagle scout who will potentially build some agility items as a part of his scout project,” Terrell said.
The park will be surrounded by a six-foot tall black chain-linked fence, Terrell said. One half-acre of the two-acre park will be set aside for smaller dogs. A list of rules can be viewed on the city's website.
