A heated and emotional discussion was had at the latest city council meeting Wednesday, June 14.
IMPACT Ulysses coalition is working towards making improvements to Barb Dye Park on behalf of the community. The organization was met with an abundance of support from community members who attended the meeting. IMPACT Ulysses Executive Director Margaret Hermocillo Obholz opened the conversation, explaining the plan and layout of possibilities within a $65,000 Pathways Grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSK).
"The whole focus is on healthy eating, active living, and commercial, tobacco-free areas," said Obholz. "Pathways is envisioned to build healthy communities and wellbeing."
The timeline provided by Impact Ulysses included projects for a dog park with a walking trail, "Back to Nature Park" playground area, and a trailhead for the walking trail to Frazier Park. The timeline began in 2020 in cooperation with late city councilman Alan Olson.
Furever Friends Humane Society board member Denise Wood spoke next to give more information on the benefits of a dog park. Wood gave canine health, human interaction, and an active lifestyle as positive points for such an implementation. According to Wood, the standard for city dog parks is for the city to provide water and maintenance such as mowing, electricity, signage, and watering.
USD 214 School Counselor and Seward County Community College instructor, Kim Darrough-Hayden stepped up to the podium next to propose a solution for keeping Barb Dye Park clean.
“The community does a lot to support our school district and students so what we want to do is be able to give back,” said Darrough-Hayden.
Community service hours would be dedicated to the park by high school students trying to build an impressive resume for colleges and scholarships.
“One of the things we want to do is work with retaining our students in our community,” explained Darrough-Hayden. “Our student base is going down. If we can get some of our students to come back and take pride in our community, it benefits all of us so much more."
Ludivina Gonzales, Director of the Grant County Senior Center, reiterated information on the Pathways Grant. To receive the grant, the City of Ulysses must sign off on a Placemaking Pledge. The pledge would require every project produced from the grant to be up-to-par with Pathways guidelines. Every new amenity would have to be dedicated to the needs of the community and healthy living. More specifically, each amenity has to be a tobacco and vape-free space.
“I ask that you (the city council) take into consideration the things our coalition is trying to bring to our community,” said Gonzales.
Mayor Tim McCauley responded to IMPACT Ulysses first, asking for more details.
“Do you have any plans on where you’re going to put this dog park or how big it is?” McCauley asked.
Obholz replied, explaining the size is based on the budget. A consultation with Confluence, an architecture company owned by Ulysses native, Avery Nichols, has also been done by IMPACT.
“They gave us a start to see what that would look like,” said Obholz. “But we also understand the starting point will help this grow as it goes.”
Council member Mark Diaz commented next with a cautious tone.
“We, as a community, need to look at us having to take city employees off of projects being done within the city to put in the community garden,” said Diaz. “We would have to hire extra employees to operate the dog park.”
Diaz went on to express the understanding of a need for projects within the city but stated he did not believe a dog park would be enough to retain people in the community. Diaz also questioned the motives of BCBSK.
“BCBS comes to us and raises us 16 percent on insurance and they want us to be fit," Diaz said. "Well, at the same time, if BCBS has such a strong interest for our city then why don’t they come in and lower the prices for our insurance?”
Diaz continued by mentioning the soccer fields located on Patterson Avenue. Diaz has witnessed a handful of people utilize the area for their dogs to roam or relieve themselves, therefore making him unable to justify the need for a dog park. Notably, the soccer fields are not permitted to be used for such activities. Furthermore, Diaz reminded those in attendance the outline presented by IMPACT was co-written by Olson.
“To give you guys a heads up, Alan Olson is no longer here," he said. "We run the city in a new way now. I’m not against growth but I am against it when it’s to the point we continue to try to add these things to the city and we don’t have the personnel to maintain it.”
Obholz responded.
“This is, yes, a small amount of money but it’s also given to the city," she said. "It’s giving you an opportunity for a neighborhood that has been neglected in other ways.”
Obholz continued her response by questioning the council.
“If you are adding into another location in town (Frazier Park), why are you putting this one (Barb Dye Park) down?" she asked."That is hypocritical. It does not make sense. This is the community that said they wanted this. Not me or the coalition members. These are people in our community of all ages, diversity, and intergenerational. This isn’t just about dogs.”
Joyce Briggs added to the conversation by sharing her experiences in other communities. As a side note, Briggs mentioned she is not a “dog person” but a community person due to her involvement in Ulysses endeavors.
“There is so much space for possibilities,” exclaimed Briggs. “There is a lot of our population on that side who, I believe, deserve to have something just as nice as we do over at (Russ) Binney Park or the hospital park.”
Diaz responded to Briggs.
“With it being tobacco-free, who is going to implement that?' he asked. "Our law enforcement? We get inspected yearly at our parks. Not everybody is for dog parks. I cannot justify having a dog park when we have places dogs can go and people aren’t taking them out there. At the end of the day, what is neglected, the city has to pick up and we do not have the staff to take care of that.”
Council member Terry Maas expressed his support of a dog park being built in the city, but did not agree with the location of Barb Dye Park.
“I don’t think you’re going to get people to travel to the south side of town to use a dog park when most of your people in the other part of town are using that area (soccer field),” Maas said.
Maas included the risk of being sued due to liability as another part of his reservations.
“For instance, if Mark’s dog bites me and my dog bites Mark, where does the city fall?”, he asked.
City Attorney Lynn Koehn interjected to clarify.
“If there was an incident where a dog bit a kid at a city dog park, the city would get sued," Koehn said.
Councilman Kenneth Warner stated, "I feel a little insulted that it was implied that I'm only up here for my personal interest."
"I am not opposed to a dog park, necessarily," Warner continued. "There seems to be interest. Maybe it's time, as a council, our next step needs to be some planning."
Warner expressed a concern for the layout of the proposed amenities, in fear of creating a "hodge-podge" due to random placement. Additionally, Warner commented on the tobacco and vape-free requirement of the pledge.
"We have already said we aren't going to declare our parks non-smoking, because we have taxpayers who smoke," Warner said. "If you don't like the smoking area, you don't have to go there. I don't think we, as a council, are going to make our parks non-smoking."
Ultimately, Warner concluded planning towards the city's vision for the park needs to be done.
"If that means we miss out on the grant money right now, I guess we miss out on the grant money right now," he said.
Gonzalez gave clarification on the timeline.
"It's not a take it all or leave it deal," Gonzalez said. "I also don't want you to feel like you are being insulted, because we voted you here and we appreciate the work you do. That is why we are trying to collaborate with the community to be able to come in and alleviate issues for you as well."
Gonzalez explained the need for the community to be attractive to those who may be interested in moving to the area.
"I feel like this is a very small step in the right direction to keep us moving forward," she said.
Councilman Sam Guy spoke next in regards to the dog park.
"I don't understand if you have the money, why does the city have to construct it?," he asked. "We don't have the people for labor."
McCauley consulted Obholz about previous conversations about the grant.
"We talked about contracting some of this," he said. "That's why I'd like to know what size of dog park you're wanting to put in and a good place to put it."
McCauley continued by making the coalition aware maintenance would be left in IMPACT's hands if the city is unable to manage it.
Obholz referred to the budget.
"This is a five year commitment," she said. "But the budget really dictates what this will look like. The first step is signing the pledge."
Obholz provided more details about the timeline, stating work on the park does not have to start until 2024.
Maas also spoke to Obholz.
"The fact anybody thinks we neglected that part of town–maybe because it's considered the lower income part of town–that doesn't sit well with me at all," he said. "I have no issues with the dog park as long as there are no legal issues."
Obholz expressed understanding of Mass's stance, but explained she only relays information based on community feedback.
Diaz consulted with the rest of the council.
"I think we need to sit down with a group of people and see what we need as a community," he said. "I don't see that if we lose out on $65,000 right now that we're losing out on much because of the impact it could have on the community or us trying to maintain it."
Diaz explained he had never seen the survey given to the community by IMPACT in 2020 so he cannot speak for the population.
Warner reiterated Diaz's explanation.
"We've not been involved in that discussion," he said. "Alan never brought that to us."
The podium was approached by a few citizens at the end of the IMPACT's new business. First, Marissa Correa Arguellez gave an emotional speech about residing on the south side of town.
"I'm not lower class, but I do have a dog I would like to walk down the street to be able to roam," she said. "Why would I want to get in a car to drive when I could be walking a certain distance?"
Maas responded.
"I hope you understand I wasn't implying you are lower class," he said. "I'm proud of everywhere in this community. The dog park should be available to everyone."
McCauley stopped the conversation when attendees began talking over one another.
"Enough is enough. I think the council has made clear we would like to take time to look at this," McCauley said. "What is wrong with trying to plan? Giving up $65,000 makes me sick to my stomach. But there's no way we can keep that unless we do something tonight by signing that pledge. Let's discuss this as adults."
Next, Judy Keusler gave encouragement for both sides of the conversation.
"We know you have a difficult job," Keusler said. "But this is important. I invite you to express an interest in this group. We did go forward based on good information we had from Alan Olson and we trusted that. And we trusted that he informed you. Now, if that didn't happen, then we have a basic, fundamental misunderstanding - $65,000 isn't everything but it is what we can do. It's a $300,000 to $400,000 opportunity. This is just one piece."
McCauley responded by explaining the council has been working hard to pick up the pieces since Olson's untimely passing.
Lastly, Daron Cowan shared his personal view.
"We have to grow. I'm on the school board and the rec board," he said. "We are trying to bring teachers and employees into this town. You may not think a dog park or a rock park matters to people. It does. It brings a newer breed and mindset of people into our town. Our motto is town on the move. Does the golf course make us a profit? No. Does the Civic Center make us a profit? No. But we have it because it lures people into this town. We can make this town a town people want to come to. Sometimes, we have to throw caution to the wind and do these little things. When you're offered $65,000 to do something, if it's offered with a little bit of requirement, it's worth it because it made 100 people of a town of 6,000 happy. If we don't do anything, this town will go flat."
In conclusion, the city council signed the Placemaking Pledge with the expectation of meeting with IMPACT Ulysses members to develop a specific vision and plan as soon as possible. Councilmen Diaz and Maas volunteered to meet with IMPACT for further planning.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here