Husky News

BRECKENRIDGE — The option community members favored for the future of Carter Park in Breckenridge would provide about a 1-acre, fenced-in dog park in the field by the tennis courts, while still leaving part of the field for other uses and keeping the sledding hill.

“We’re trying to have a compromise,” said Breckenridge Police Chief Rick Holman at a public meeting this week, where people could offer opinions about the options for the park that a community team designed during the last few months.

About 40 people showed up at the Tuesday evening meeting, and most said they were in favor of the compromise option versus turning the entire field into a dog park.

The information and comments will go the Breckenridge Town Council at its first meeting in December, Holman said.

“Our hope is that come spring we can have something more permanent,” he said.

Discussions about Carter Park began more than a year ago when a community group addressed challenges that came from it being a multi-use area, Holman said.

What the first group designed was a temporary solution that worked in the winter and caused an uproar in the summer when the location of the dog park moved to the sledding hill.

The problems dog owners had with it were that the dogs could get out of the temporary fencing, some were getting injured because there were numerous holes in the area, and people didn’t think the area chosen was a pleasant place for a dog park, said Cindi Harris Krane.

Harris Krane, who works with Animal Rescue of the Rockies and For Pets Sake thrift store in Breckenridge, has been on the community committees working to find a solution for Carter Park. She liked the compromise presented this week, and said the park is an important place that acts as a social network for dog owners.

“You have folks that go there every day, sometimes twice a day,” she added.

Paul Schiff, who is on the board of directors for the League for Animals and People of the Summit (LAPS), has also been a part of the committees seeking to find solutions. He said the temporary one that was put in place this was year “was meant as a Band-Aid.”

Now, they are hoping that the Town will support the more permanent solution, as well as continue to plan for a second dog park in the Block 11 property that will be developed throughout the next few years.

As the community group moves forward, they will be working on fundraising for what will likely be an about $15,000 to $20,000 project, including the fencing, benches, trees or other amenities to spruce up the dog park area, Schiff said. Anyone who wants to help with fundraising or make a donation can through the LAPS website, www.summitlaps.com.

Source: Summit Daily