November 20th, 2012 - THIS IS IT! The final vote on our dog park in Mission Viejo will be voted on at the Monday, Dec. 3rd MV City Council meeting. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the dog park will be on the agenda around 6:30 p.m. The city council chamber is located across the parking lot from the MV Library. When you arrive at the city council chamber, please fill out a "Request to Speak for" on the agenda item and hand it to the city clerk, Karen Hamann. She is the person at the far right of the dais.
If you are uncomfortable with public speaking (I know I am), we can have someone else read your email or letter to the council. Please just let me know - thank you!
I cannot stress enough how important it is to attend this meeting, voice your support and to email the council and staff. Please note that you do not have to live in Mission Viejo to attend the meeting and send your email to council.
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Please attend the meeting and voice your support for the dog park. If you have a dog park t-shirt, please wear it. Otherwise, please wear a blue shirt. I will have a couple extra t-shirts with me, outside of the city council chamber before the meeting. Please encourage your friends, family and neighbors to attend this meeting and show support for our dog park.
It is also crucial to send an email voicing your support to the following city council members and staff:
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rreardon@cityofmissionviejo.org (has voted against it)
cschlicht@cityofmissionviejo.org (has told the residents of MV that we will never get a dog park and that we don't deserve it)
krattay@cityofmissionviejo.org (Director of Public Services)
khamman@cityofmissionviejo.org (City Clerk)
I would like to address the concerns of Quail Run and Pacific Hills residents. I am aware that Cathy Schlicht and company have been going door to door in these neighborhoods and telling lies and misconceptions of what a dog park will do to our community.
1. The dog park will be at least 1000 feet away from Quail Run.
2. It will include parking which will also help with parking for baseball, soccer, dog lovers and to help alleviate parking issues on Felipe.
3. It does not use taxpayer money at all. It will use 9% of the Parks & Recreation money the city has coming in and will not touch any reserves. Money is not an issue. The dog park issue has been going on for over 10 years and will cost more and more each year. We could have had a dog park for much less a couple of years ago but Cathy Schlicht and gang made sure to go door to door telling residents lies and misconceptions of what a dog park would have done close to Oso Viejo. It is a positive asset, not a negative one.
4. It will beautify a ugly barren hump of a hill. The city is going to accomodate those who live across from Felipe who didn't want to see the dog park by leaving part of the hill and surrounding the dog park with bushes and trees. It will give more of a view of the arroyo when it is done then there is now.
5. The residents who live across from Felipe won't even hear anything as the traffic on the street creates ambient noise. Plus, if you have ever been to a dog park, it is not noisy. Dogs are happy to be off leash and bark less as opposed to when they are leashed and encounter other dogs on leash.
6. The dog park will only be open during daylight hours.
It will be a gorgeous park that our residents can enjoy and take their dogs to run freely and play with other dogs. It will be great for residents to come together. It will be great for MV businesses as people will stay here to go to a dog park and spend their money here, as opposed to traveling to Irvine, Laguna Beach, etc. and spending their money there.
