Fundraising efforts for Hampton’s new dog park have come to an end

Hampton Dog Park Efforts Come to an End

By Jennifer Burnham

Hampton Chronicle

Three committee members for the Hampton Dog Park met on Thursday night, March 7, at First and Second Vintage Too!, where they decided that they would no longer continue their efforts. At the meeting was Sally Crandall, Ruth Tapp, and Matt Grohe. 

The Friends of Hampton Iowa Dog Park Fund was established with the Franklin County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, to support efforts to raise funds for a new dog park in Hampton last year. 

The dog park efforts were initially led by Carol Harrison, who was quoted saying “We believe that a dog park will foster an increased sense of community by encouraging social interaction among citizens within the park, while reducing encounters with citizens who are apprehensive of off-leash dogs in other public parks” on the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa’s website. 

However, the community’s interest in the park seemed to dwindle as time went on.

“I came into this venture as the publicity person and we didn’t hardly get any response ever, didn’t matter what we did,” said, Grohe, the publisher of Hampton Chronicle, during the March 7 meeting.

Dog park committee members asked the Hampton City Council for funding last year, but the city voted against giving them money. However, the city did donate a plot of land to the group to use for the dog park last November. The plot of land could be found on Olive Ave, north of the water treatment plant. The dog park project was estimated to cost $180,000. 

Hampton City Councilor Pat Palmer was the only person to vote yes for city funding for the dog park. “So many people spread so many negative things about it,” he said. “I don’t even own a dog and I saw the benefit. I don’t use the pool or a lot of the parks either, but I see their benefits.” 

Palmer added that he believes the city needs to be strict on dog licenses and rabies vaccines, among other dog-related regulations. 

During the March 7 meeting, Tapp spoke about how difficult it had become to organize their efforts, especially now that they had seen a lull in involvement from volunteers. 

Tapp said she had taken her dog to the dog park in Iowa Falls, several years ago, and that it was nice. 

“There were poop bags. It was trimmed nicely. The large dogs were over to the left, and the smaller dogs were over here,” she said.

Grohe asked her if a lot of people were there, and she said yes.

Tapp said she went back to the dog park more recently, with another dog, and that things had really declined. 

“We did some training out there. I had poo at the bottom of my shoes and had to clean that up in the car and the dog stunk,” she said. “There were no poop bags in the receptacles. And I thought ‘oh boy.’”

Grohe responded that they would have to have a dog park champion, a volunteer who lived nearby, to clean and maintain the park. Tapp agreed, saying she and fellow Hampton Dog Park volunteers had already discussed how they would take turns managing and cleaning up the dog park. 

“I think the city was willing to work with the dog park committee, but it just didn’t work,” Grohe said.

By the end of the short discussion, the three agreed on the fact that their efforts were no longer viable, leading them to discuss what would happen to the money they’d raised (a little more than $2,000) and the plot of land that was donated by the city for park.

“My next question is what do we do with that money? What do we do with that land?” Tapp asked. 

Grohe said that the land belongs to the city, but that they can donate the money to another charity. 

“I think that’s the way we’re headed,” Tapp said. “It’s sad.” 

Harrison was not present at the group’s March 7 meeting when they made the decision to end their efforts. 

Hampton Dog Park advocates held numerous fundraisers last year, including an online auction. 

Crandall attended the city council’s meeting the following week to inform the city council of their decision. 

She told them the dog park committee members would like to see their money go toward dog-related services, such as signs and poop-bag receptacles. 

City councilors thanked her for letting them know and all were in agreement that their funding would go toward helping local dog owners. 

If completed, this would have been the city’s first dog park.