Nancy Edmonds Hanson
hansonnanc@gmail.com
The idea of establishing a public dog park is an easy sell on the south side of Moorhead. What’s more difficult is answering one simple question: Where?
Public works director Steve Moore updated the city council Monday on deliberations about where the much-requested pooch playground will be located among the community’s booming neighborhoods south of Interstate 94. One public exercise area for canines is already available on the far north side, but, he told the council, it receives little use. “It’s just a fence around an open, windy field,” he noted, with none of the amenities pet owners are looking for.
Instead, a working group of city leaders envisioned the second site to have greater appeal for pets in the fast-growing south side. They weighed three city-owned sites of at least two acres with an eye to what’s needed for a first-class park for pooches and their people: mature trees for shade, parking, water, grass turf and handicapped accessibility, all in a location deemed unsuitable for other public uses.
The working group, Moore told the council, narrowed it down to three possible sites – River Oaks Point, Southside Regional Park and an undeveloped spot in the Stone Mill area. The Parks Advisory Board reviewed all three and gave its stamp of approval to River Oaks Point off 40th Avenue South along the river. But when the plan was presented to neighbors who live within 350 feet of the proposed site, it hit a wall of opposition. Of 26 written responses, 18 objected to the canine park on grounds of increased traffic, barking and potential dog poop.
City council members reviewed the neighbors’ responses. “It seems as though River Oaks is already being used as a de facto dog park,” Deb White noted, citing several comments. “The park plan could actually allow some control over the problems they’ve mentioned.”
She and others emphasized the high degree of interest southsiders have expressed in development of a convenient facility for canines and their owners in their part of town. They discussed ways in which the River Oaks proposal could be redesigned to minimize neighbors’ objections, including moving it farther west on the point (though that would increase vulnerability to flooding) and relocating the area for large dogs – presumably the noisiest – behind the space reserved for smaller breeds, farther from the residences at the east end of the point.
The consensus was that River Oaks Point suits the city’s needs better than the alternatives. Thus, they voted to direct Parks and Recreation to pursue developing its plans for dog park in that location, while also seeking out modifications to calm nearby homeowners’ concerns.
Public art projects approved
The council approved two public art proposals chosen by the Arts and Culture Commission – a mural honoring Florence Klingensmith, the Moorhead and Kragnes native who became one of the nation’s top early female aviators, and a plan to highlight and decorate storm drains submitted by River Keepers.
Assistant city planner Kim Citrowske presented the commission’s request for council approval of the first two projects funded by a gift of $25,000 intended to express the theme of “Moorhead Pride.” The commission chose the mural and storm drain projects from six submitted earlier this year. The 12-by-8-foot Klingensmith mural will be painted on the west side of Ace Hardware on Main Avenue by artists Cory Gillerstein and Jared Froeber, who were awarded $9,400 from the new Moorhead Community Fund.
The storm drain project will involve brainstorming between four Neighborhood Block Clubs and local artists yet to be named. A total of $5,300 was budgeted for creation and execution of designs to be painted on storm sewer grates in those areas. The art, as described by Christine Holland of River Keepers, will highlight stormwater pollution and its effect on the Red River.
Tax incentives approved
The city council approved two requests for commercial/industrial property tax exemptions for replacing or remodeling existing business facilities – the first for Gavilon Fertilizer LLC for a new office and warehouse building at 2012 28th Ave. S., and the second for an addition and remodeling by Thrive Behavioral Network at 1704 Belsly Boulevard.
Gavilon plans to tear down its deteriorating structure and replace it with a new 4,500-square-foot structure combining 1,200 square feet of offices with 3,600 square foot of warehouse and shop areas. The $475,000 project is eligible for a three-year tax incentive totaling $22,800.
The Thrive project expands the capacity of the Minnesota-based behavioral health network to provide intensive residential treatment services. The remodeling and addition are valued at $200,000, with three-year tax incentives totaling $9,600.
