Residents Invited to Dog Park Meeting Wednesday to Plan Grand Opening

Almost three years after the first meeting was held to start Canton Township's first dog park, a public meeting is set to plan the grand opening, set for May.

Five acres have been fenced off at Preservation Park, which is just north of Cherry Hill Road, along Denton Road, across the street from .

The meeting for the township-led Friends of the Dog Park group is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the on Canton Center Road. Abe Vinitski, parks and golf supervisor for Canton Township's Leisure Services Department, said all residents are welcome to attend.

“We used to meet once a month, but we’ve taken some months off since our October meeting for the holidays. Now, after two years of fundraising, we’re ready to plan the grand opening,” he said.

The park will officially open in May, Vinitski said, adding that he should know the exact date by Wednesday's meeting.

The dog park is completely contained within a 6-foot-high chain-link fence, which was completed just last week by a contractor at a cost of about $30,000. Entry to the park will be through two small gates, with one section reserved for small dogs and the rest for medium-size to large dogs. The township has yet to build the access road to the dog park, where residents will be able to take their dogs off-leash to play and socialize.

The gates will likely be accessed using a credit-card-style key, though that technology isn’t installed yet, Vinitski said. Residents will pay $25 per dog per year, and nonresidents will pay $50 per year. Cards will be available for purchase at the time a resident updates the dog's license; nonresidents would need to bring proof of a dog's license to purchase a card.

The township has raised almost $60,000 for the creation of the dog park. The Wayne County Commission agreed to grant $30,000 to the township to build the fence.

Township parks and recreation employees have added dog park work, such as maintenance and administration, to their daily activities, including the upkeep of the dog park website and Facebook pages.

Township employees, with assistance from the all-volunteer Friends group, also raised $27,000 through fund-raising efforts such as car washes and Christmas tree sales. As the Friends group is not a non-profit, tax-deductible organization, the township manages these funds and will decide how this money will be used, Vinitski said.

“We hoping once the park opens, the Friends group will take more control of the fundraising activities to help pay for items for the park like benches or shade trees,” Vinitski said. User fees will pay for the cost of park maintenance, he said.

Township officials started Friends of the Dog Park in summer 2008 with about three dozen members, Vinitski said. However, it’s been a tough couple of years for fundraising, he said, and the group's meeting attendance has eroded.

“We’re probably down to about eight to 12 people, though they are very passionate. It would be good to get new people involved, and the grand opening should be exciting,” he said.

Debi Greene is one of the most passionate volunteers for the group, Vinitski said. The Canton resident has worked tirelessly to raise funds for the park and to promote ideas for what could be provided for users, he said.

She said she owns three dogs and looks forward to being able to let them use the park. “There’s a lot of things we want to have available, such as waste bag stands, benches made from recycled material and maybe, one day, our own electricity for lighting and water features for the dogs,” she said.

Resident Keith Rainwater, a former Friends member, said he also is excited to use the park.

“The Canton dog park is a much welcome — and needed — addition to the myriad of parks and recreation options in Canton,” Rainwater said. “The park will further develop the sense of community among Canton residents and is an excellent addition to the Cherry Hill Village area."