Midwest City invests in upgrades at dog park, residents say more is needed

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

Midwest City officials say they’ve made significant investments this year to improve conditions at Fred Quinn Happy Tails Dog Park. But despite those efforts, residents told city leaders last week the popular dog park still needs help.

Over the past few months, the city has completed a series of repairs and upgrades at the park, including replacing aging play structures, installing a new irrigation system, repairing water spigots, and removing dead trees. The city says it has spent more than $14,000 on maintenance and upgrades this year—more than in any of the past five years combined.

“There’s been a lot of effort to help make that park nice, nicer than what it was,” said Paul Streets, public works director.

Among the improvements:

• Play Structure Replacement: The previous concrete and turf structures had deteriorated, with peeling turf and crumbling surfaces. The city removed and replaced them with new wooden play elements built in-house.
• Irrigation System Overhaul: For years, the park’s irrigation system hadn’t worked. A $10,000 project replaced the entire system with new valves, sprinkler heads, and pipes. Installation began in May but was delayed by rain. The project required park closures and was delayed due to heavy rain during the trenching process.
• Water Spigot Repairs: Water spigots used to fill dog bowls were leaking. The city repaired those and lowered water pressure to prevent flooding and muddy conditions.
• Tree Removal and Stump Grinding: Crews removed dead and hazardous limbs and trees, grinding stumps to improve safety. The project was completed earlier this month at a cost of $3,700.

Despite those efforts, some residents say there is still more work to be done.

Three people spoke about issues at the dog park during the public comments portion of the July 22 city council meeting.

Dixie Kellogg, a Midwest City resident, said the dog park has been in poor condition for the past nine months. She cited ongoing water issues, a lack of shade and seating, and a desire to volunteer for maintenance work—offers they say have been denied by city staff.

“This used to be a park that people from all over – from Norman, Moore and Edmond – would come and now they don’t want to because it’s not upkept.”

She said she spoke with city staff last fall about the issues, but they haven’t been addressed.

“Guys, I don’t know what you’re going to do, but something has to be done,” she said. “The rest of the park looks pretty good.”

Derek Miller, a resident, said the park is not only a place for dogs, but it gives people a chance to gather and socialize. He said they want to see more care given to the dog park and believes many residents would be happy to help.

“We just want to have a voice, and we recommend that you accept volunteerism because we just want to make it better,” he said.

Kyle Boyer, a resident, said he’s been taking his dog to the park for about five years. He said the city hasn’t been keeping up with mowing at the dog park.

City officials say recent weather has added to the challenges. Heavy spring rains delayed mowing and complicated installation of the new irrigation system. Crews eventually worked extended hours, including weekends, to catch up ahead of the July Fourth holiday.

“Everything before the Fourth of July was pretty tall because of rain,” Streets said. “We ended up having to put all hands on deck. And most everything got cut in the last 24 to 48 hours before the Fourth of July.”

Streets said they have been able to maintain regular mowing schedules at the parks.

Another point of contention has been the city’s policy prohibiting residents from volunteering for maintenance or donating labor.  Streets said the issue isn’t a lack of appreciation—it’s about liability.

“It’s not that we don’t want help. We just can’t let citizens just come in and do the work. The challenge is that when somebody starts to do work on public property, and if there were any injuries, they could obviously come back to the city.”

Josh Ryan, parks and recreation director, noted that other parks with volunteer maintenance, like Telstar or the soccer fields, operate under formal agreements with nonprofit groups that carry their own insurance. Other city parks, such as those used by youth sports leagues, are often maintained by third-party nonprofit organizations that carry their own insurance and follow formal agreements. That’s not the case at Happy Tails, which is entirely maintained by city staff.

Ryan said he appreciates the feedback and hopes they can continue working together with residents to make the dog park even better.

“It’s good to see (commitment from residents) and I don’t want to discourage that by giving them a place that they don’t want to go visit,” he said.

Happy Tails Dog Park opened in summer of 2012. It remains open to the public year-round.