Forward From: Diane Rosenberg <drosenb...@lisco.com>
Dear Friends,
I am all for a dog park in Fairfield, but I am also for protecting
one of our community's most beautiful treasures - Lamson Woods. The
following letter by Fonziba Koster explains the conflict of use issue
really well if you are not aware, or only somewhat aware, of the
problem.
The City Council is voting THIS Monday night, September 12, whether
or not to locate the dog park in Lamson Woods or OB Nelson Park, a
much more suitable location in my opinion. Please consider calling
every City Council member if you want to protect Lamson Woods - and
give dog owners an alternative great place for their dogs. This is
their final vote.
The City Council list is at the end of this letter. Remember, your
calls DO make a difference! Four votes will protect Lamson Woods.
Thank you very much,
Diane
___
Dear Friends,
Some of you may be aware that there is a group of Fairfield citizens
who are trying to create a Dog Park in Fairfield. They have been
working on this project for 3 years and during that time have raised
$10,000 ($5,000 of which came from a grant.) to build a Dog Park. The
Fairfield Park and Rec department gave the Dog Park Committee 15
options for a location for the park which were denied by the Dog Park
Committee.
One option that they considered was OB Nelson park which is the large
park near the outdoor pool off Filmore St. It seemed like this
location was ideal in terms of parking availability and room to
expand in the future. There was only one problem - there needs to be
a drainage system put on the parcel they would use which would cost
an additional $15,000. Because of this extra expense, the Dog Park
Committee and the Fairfield Park and Rec dept. settled on putting the
Dog Park in the grassy area at the entrance to Lamson Woods.
Most of the neighbors of Lamson Woods were unaware of this project
and only found out about it recently when the building of the
chain-link fence was about to start. Many of them were quite upset
about this because this grassy area is a very pristine spot where a
lot of wildlife comes. It also serves as a beautiful entrance to
Lamson Woods which is a Nature Preserve donated by the Lamson family.
They felt the dog park with it's very high chain link fence would
ruin the natural beauty of the place, plus the dogs would scare away
the abundant wildlife that many walkers and bikers enjoy. Also, this
spot is used for picnicking, sunbathing, Frisbee games etc. - all of
which would no longer be possible if the Dog Park were put there.
In response, these neighbors formed the "Friends of Lamson Woods" to
help prevent this spot from being ruined. They collected about 700
signatures on a petition which brought no response from the Fairfield
Park and Rec Dept. . They then brought the issue up to the Fairfield
Town Council who voted that unless the "Friends of Lamson Woods"
could raise the $15,000 needed to put the Dog Park at OB Nelson, the
Dog Park would be installed at Lamson Woods. Unfortunately, they only
gave them 3 weeks to raise these funds - which seems a little unfair
when you consider that the Dog Park Committee took 3 years to raise
$5,000 (plus the $5,000 grant).
The Friends of Lamson Woods are asking for our help to either email
or call the Town Council members - see numbers and emails below -
and/or to help contribute funds towards relocating the park to OB
Nelson. So far, the Friends of Lamson Woods have been able to raise
$2,500 which is pretty good in only a few weeks time. The Town
Council will make their final vote on this matter this Monday, the
12th. If any of you would feel moved to write or call them and ask
them to reconsider their stance, this would be great. Even if they
could just vote to give the Friends of Lamson Woods more time to
raise the funds would be very helpful. Otherwise, construction will
begin.
If you can donate, please do so before Monday - Please email Anne
Marie Schwamm innerligh...@lisco.com and let her know how much you
wish to donate so she knows before the Town Council meeting.
Make Checks to: "Fairfield Park & Rec - Dog Park"
Send Checks to: Friends of Lamson Woods, PO Box 2481, Fairfield, IA, 52556
Donated funds will be held by the Friends of Lamson Woods and will
only be used to relocate the park. If for some reason they are not
able to accomplish this, your money will be refunded.
If you email the members of the Town Council, it has been suggested
to put "No to Lamson Woods" on the subject line.
Below are the numbers and emails for the Town Council, plus some
talking points for you to consider using.
Thanks so much for any help you can give!
-Fonziba Koster
City Council Members:
1st Ward - Ron Adam - (641)472-4011 <<mailto:rka...@lisco.com>rka...@lisco.com>
rka...@lisco.com
2nd Ward- John Revolinski - (641)472-3939 jrevolin...@gmail.com
3rd Ward - Ray Mottett - (641)472-9010 mot...@iowatelecom.net
4th Ward - Michael Halley - (641)233-0445 mhalle...@gmail.com
5th Ward - Daryn Hamilton - (641)469-6162 dham...@yahoo.com
At Large - Myron Gookin - (641)472-8650 mlg...@lisco.com
At Large - Susan Silvers - (641)472-7190 silversforcitycoun...@hotmail.com
Mayor Ed Malloy: (641) 472-6193
mayormal...@fairfieldcityhall.com
Please note - this is a personal email from me. If you prefer to not
receive such emails, please hit reply and type REMOVE in the subject
line. Thank you.
