Tybee councilman: Move dog park

Scott M. Larson | Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 12:30 am

(Photo: Savannah Morning News)

Details of master plan for Tybee's Memorial Park released

The master plan for Tybee Island's Memorial Park is only days old, and Councilman Eddie Crone already wants to change it.

"I just don't think the dog park needs to be there. The skate park, either," he said. "It's going to come off of that master plan," he said, referring to the skate park.

At the March 27 meeting, he's going to suggest moving the dog park - long an annoyance to some on the island - to near the police station on Van Horne Avenue. He's never liked it in Memorial Park.

"It's still just in the talking stages right now," he said.

See this link for a the Memorial Park redesign drawing

http://multimedia.savannahnow.com/media/cip2.jpg

Click here to read the final report of the Memorial Park ad hoc committee  http://multimedia.savannahnow.com/media/pdfs/Finalreport31308.pdf

Few on the island have seen specifics of the master plan, submitted to the council Thursday by an ad hoc committee. When Councilman Paul Wolff suggested the report and drawing be posted on the city's Web site, Councilwoman Wanda Doyle balked. She said she wanted to read it first before it was posted.

The committee had public meetings and presented the report during an open council meeting. The Savannah Morning News obtained the public report through a Georgia Open Records Act request Monday.

The report and accompanying architect's rendering are available on savannahnow.com.

The committee's plan is preliminary, and Janice Bentley, chairwoman of the committee, asked council for feedback within 30 days and an opportunity for public comment within 60 days.

Wolff said public comment is critical.

"Historically, things have just been thrown into the park piecemeal and nothing really relates to anything else," he said. "The final report, I think, addresses public safety, recreation for all age groups, framing the park to buffer it from residential neighborhoods, and maintaining green space and openness for special events."

The proposed design for the park features a big open space, new landscaping, the potential for a new police station, a veterans memorial and a defined sidewalk all the way around. And it includes the politically divisive skate park and dog park.

"We have the opportunity to make this park the true heart of Tybee Island, to make this park the true shining star," Bentley told the council Thursday.

Two weeks ago, the Tybee Island City Council cut $60,000 from the budget for a skate park and rescinded previous approvals to put one on city property.

The vote to put the skate park in Memorial Park led to the ad hoc committee being created last year. Its 10 volunteer members spent more than 250 hours researching and planning, and architect Gary Sanders spent another 50 volunteer hours drawing up the ideas.

Here are some of the recommendations:

Improve the poor drainage in the park by using natural elements and pervious materials but not buried pipes and man-made facilities.

Follow Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines.

Reorganize parking spots on the perimeter and remove the concrete parking area along Jones Street and replace it with pervious material.

Place the veterans memorial along the quieter Jones Street.

Light the park in a way that doesn't create a glare for adjacent homes.

Renovate pavilions built in the 1930s.

The committee opposed a police station and jail being built in the park because it would increase traffic and might cause a safety issue with the jail.

There is no approved location for a new police station and public safety building, said City Manager Diane Schleicher.

A different committee is studying that issue.

View the plan online

To see architect Gary Sanders' drawing of the Memorial Park master plan and the final report of the ad hoc committee, go to savannahnow.com/news and click on this story.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 02:57 PM

Backers bark at dog park move

Scott M. Larson | Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:30 am

Before Tybee Councilman Eddie Crone could even explain his reasoning Thursday night for wanting to move a proposed dog park, residents lined up to fight him.

Fruitlessly, Mayor Jason Buelterman pounded his gavel at the Tybee City Council meeting after successive speakers elicited yelps and applause in support of keeping the dog park within a new Memorial Park, as outlined in a recently unveiled plan.

Crone's critics waved cut-out dog bones on sticks and passed out "We Love Tybee Cats & Dogs" bumper stickers.

"All right, seriously, I'm not going to say it again," Buelterman said during Thursday night's meeting.

And when it came time for Crone to speak, he didn't even try to explain.

"I'm not going to say anything else about it," he said. "I make a motion to move it to Jaycee Park."

At the urging of other council members, Crone delayed the vote until the April 10 meeting. However, it was clear that a majority of the council members think a move to the shadier but more-difficult-to-find Jaycee Park would be best.

"I think the people holding up these dog-bone signs would find it very attractive," Councilman Dick Smith said.

Tybee does not allow dogs on the beach. So a group of people got together a few years ago and proposed the dog park.

It opened in March 2006, with its more than 10,000 square feet of space enclosed by a white picket fence - right in front of the new gym and on Butler Avenue, Tybee's main drag.

Two weeks ago, a committee that designed a master plan for Memorial Park went public with a plan that included a dog park within the boundaries of the larger park.

"Personally, I don't want to move it," said Deb Barreiro, who was a leader in creating the current dog park.

"It's a good location," she said of Jaycee Park. "It's shaded."

Moving the dog park would cost the city about $6,500, not including water hookups, City Manager Diane Schleicher said.

Residents who spoke were puzzled over why the dog park needed to be moved into the proposed new Memorial Park. It's now in a great location, tourists find it easily - and sometimes accidentally - and it's got a big space for the dogs.

"I'm really disappointed that this entire thing is such a contentious issue now," said resident Andy Carter. "I wish there was more discussion about it. I don't know why anybody would want it moved. The only thing I can understand is that it's a valuable piece of property."

Resident Perb Fortner said the island needs a dog park, but one that offers plenty of shade, which the current site doesn't have. It also needs to provide for good parking.

"We need to find a place that will work outside of Memorial Park," he said.

When asked after the vote why he wanted the dog venue moved, Crone said he never thought Memorial Park was a good place for it.

"It's a million-dollar piece of property," he said.

But, when pressed, Crone said he would never vote to sell it.

"I just never liked it there," he said.