Hampton takes a step forward for dog park

The Hampton City Council decided to move forward with the planning of a city dog park during their regular meeting on Thursday, March 10.

Since last year, the city has been coordinating with a volunteer committee interested in establishing a dog park somewhere in the city. The city has scouted several potential options for sites but has been hesitant on moving forward with the next steps of procuring land due to uncertainty about how the project would be funded. At the dog park committee has committed to funding the development and upkeep of the park through private donations, but is facing challenges in writing grants due to not having an official commitment from the city, creating a Catch-22 situation for both parties.

Support for having a dog park at all is mixed on the council. Council member Bill Hodge questioned the need for a park and expressed his concerns that the city would eventually be left responsible for it.

"This is going to come back to haunt us," said Hodge. "I am not for a dog park at all anywhere in the city limits of Hampton."

Council member Barry Lamos also expressed a concern about the city committing to a project without first having a site locked in.

"I am not in favor of it until we find a site," said Lamos.

As a compromise, council member Dick Lukensmeyer suggested amending the council's motion to commit to the planning of a park, with the understanding that it would be privately financed and a site will be determined in the future.

"The committee is really making an effort and this is a positive step to take," said council member Jim Davies.

The motion passed in a 4-1 vote, with Lukensmeyer, Lamos, Davies, Pat Palmer, and Steve Birdsall voting in favor and Hodge voting against.

In other business, the council also approved an engineering services agreement with Crawford Engineering & Surveying for the 2022-23 HMA Street Rehabilitation Program.

The project will cover Glendale Park Drive, beginning and ending at 1st Ave. NE. Two alternate bids will be sought to include 1st Ave. NE from Federal Street North to 1st St. NE and/or 1st Street NE from Central Avenue East to 1st Avenue NE.

In recent meetings the council has discussed how streets are determined for rehabilitation work, highlighting other streets in the city that may have higher traffic or are in worse condition. Several other factors go into deciding which streets are chosen, including the expected longevity of repairs, conflicts with utility work that would tear the road up again, and overall costs being beyond what the city has budgeted for.

"This project will be set up to be as most advantageous to the city as possible," said Mark Crawford.

The council approved the engineering services agreement in a 4-1 vote, with Lukensmeyer, Palmer, Lamos, Birdsall, and Davies voting for and Hodge voting against. The council will also be revising their planning process when determining which roads are worked on in next year's budget.

Moving into public comment, Marcella Rodriguez of La Frontera spoke with the council about how to deal with vehicles parked on her business' property that have not been moved in a month. Only one of the vehicles in question belongs to Rodriguez, a business van which has been rarely used of late. She was advised by the council to just drive it around the block every few weeks. Of the others, Rodriguez does not know who owns them and she was advised that they may need to be towed.

In a related matter, the council discussed options for parking downtown for people utilizing Th3 Spot, a 24-hour gym, during the late night hours. With overnight parking prohibited on Main Street, there is a lack of nearby parking for those looking for a late night workout.