November 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 56

I N N OVAT I V E D O G PA R K S

One of the challenges for them
has been to maintain high-quality
natural grass turf areas. " This is a
challenge for everyone operating
public dog parks. We have tried
multiple strategies - sectioning off
areas and periodically closing areas,
and other actions. People just don't
want a big dirt field, " Macchio says.
The agency closes its dog parks on
a regular basis to do maintenance,
and it adheres to a strict schedule, which it communicates to the
public. He says its maintenance
schedule is communicated in multiple ways, including on its website
and on signage in the dog parks.
Customers have learned quickly,
and the maintenance program is
well-supported by the public.
Charleston County Parks and
Recreation goes a step further, according to Macchio. " We want staff
to be able to talk with customers
knowledgeably, so we contract out with a provider who
does dog training and who
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Parks & Recreation

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" With high use there is the potential
for conflicts. It is very important for
staff to understand how to deal with
people and to understand dog behavior, " Macchio says.
Charleston County parks is building a new dog park at Wannamaker
Park that improves on each of its
previous parks. The new 6.5-acre
dog park will have additional parking, a spray pad for dogs, bathrooms
and even a dog washing station. Because the agency has had such success with programming and special
events at the existing dog parks, the
new park will be designed to better
host programs and events, such as
concerts and food trucks. " We have
found, " Macchio explains, " that
events and programming expand
our reach and enrich the user experience. Innovative programs at our
dog parks open up the park to a lot
more users and are really well-received by the public. "
Some of their most popular
events are Pet Fest, an all-day celebration with games, agility contests and an evening concert, and
include Yappy Hour, a highly popular weekly happy hour with music
and food. Macchio notes that the
agency has a beer and wine license
and Yappy Hour is a good revenue
producer, as well as a great activity
for park users. One of their most

| N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

popular events is Dog Day Afternoon, a once-a-year event at the
end of the season in which they
open the large wave pools in the regional parks to people and dogs for
the last use of the year. " We had
1,400 people at our large park and
800 at our smaller park, " he relates.
" We charge $15 per dog (humans
are free). We have vendors, games
and activities. It is pretty cool. "
Generating revenue from operations and fees is an important priority for the Charleston County Park
and Recreation system. All visitors
to the regional parks pay a $2 entrance fee for access to the regional
park, but use of the dog parks within
the regional park is free. While the
dog parks, in and of themselves, do
not necessarily generate much revenue, they significantly build numbers
for annual passes and daily park entrance fees. According to Macchio,
special events and programs at the
dog parks are an excellent source of
revenue as well. One of the best benefits of the dog parks, he believes, is
that they create more opportunities
for people, who might not otherwise
come to the parks, to visit the parks.

The Volunteer Stewards
Perspective
Judy Trockel is one of the founders
of " Save Our Dog Area " volunteer group, which became " Serve
Our Dog Area " in 1995. At that
time, the nonprofit group took over
management of 40 acres within the
620-acre Marymoor Park of King
County, Washington, and established it as an off-leash, voice-control (OLVC) dog area.
" Our situation started before the
term 'dog park' ever existed, " says
Trockel, as she describes the history of how their off-leash dog area
came to be. Prior to 1995, the park
agency allowed a " dog training

November 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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