A year ago, it appeared there would be a showdown between minor baseball and dog lovers.
Jason Bartsch, president of the Osoyoos Minor Baseball Association (OMBA) appeared before town council’s committee of the whole meeting on July 4, 2017 with a request.
In order to bring league games to Osoyoos, he wanted the town to re-purpose the popular off-leash dog park back to the baseball diamond it once was.
Immediately, many of the hundreds of dog park users were up in arms. Most were not impressed with Bartsch’s suggestion that they be moved either to Kinsmen Park or to vacant lands south of Desert Park.
Led by Elizabeth Burnett, a young dog lover, residents started a petition to keep the dog park where it was. It gathered more than 300 signatures online and on paper in a very short time period.
Feelings were strong and some council members commented that it was one of the most contentious issues they’d faced – not counting the threatened high school closure in 2016 when most of the community was on the same side.
There were letters to the paper saying that taking away the dog park would impact the quality of life for seniors.
Town council was initially divided with Coun. Mike Campol favouring minor baseball and Coun. C.J. Rhodes wanting the dog park, which he’s worked to get, kept where it was.
In the end they left it to Gerald Davis, director of community services, to come up with dollar figures for the different options.
In mid-October, Davis came back to council with a report recommending reconfiguring the dog park to a ball diamond again. But he also recommended that a disused BMX track to the west of the dog park be developed as a new off-leash park. He further recommended that a second dog park be developed at Kinsmen Park in East Osoyoos.
Council accepted that option, but delayed taking action at Kinsmen Park.
Rhodes said a strong group of citizens worked together to create the original dog park and he saw no reason that couldn’t happen again at the new location.
Today that dream is close to reality. The new park is landscaped and a gazebo is in place. All that remains is for the newly seeded grass to establish before the new dog park can open.
Rhodes and Davis brought together a committee, that included Burnett, and that committee was instrumental in steering the project to reality.
Kudos to them for making this happen. The new dog park may even be better than the old one. It’s great to see how a spirit of compromise can make everyone a winner.
