For those who like to take your dogs up in the Wasatch mountains, there is going to be discussions about bills that could affect your ability to do just that.

The text below is from a FIDOS announcement. Please subscribe to their announcements at http://www.millcreekfidos.org if you haven't already.

Attention: Everyone who likes to recreate in the Canyons!!

Congressman Matheson is holding an open house to talk about the Wasatch Wilderness proposal. This is the chance to have your questions answered about how this proposal may impact recreation in the Wasatch Front canyons. Millcreek Canyon is included in the proposal. We know many of you have questions as to how this legislation would impact those of us who choose to recreate with our dogs or mountain bike in the canyons.

We encourage you to attend this open house and learn about this proposal. Please see the information below:

Public Open House on Wasatch Wilderness and Watershed Protection Act

Join Congressman Matheson, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, and others for an open house information session on HR 5009 ? federal legislation to protect the watershed and recreational opportunities within the Wasatch Front canyons. Look at maps of the proposal, ask questions and learn how the bill seeks to accomplish those goals.

What: Open house, public information meeting
When: Monday, May 17th, 2010, 6:00 -8:30 pm
Where: Skyline High School cafeteria, 3251 East, 3760 South, Salt Lake City, UT, 84109
Who: Congressman Jim Matheson and congressional staff, Mayor Becker, Mayor Corroon, and Salt Lake City water department staff, and others.

There's been a lot of activity in recent months regarding changes to Tanner Park. These changes will not favor those who like to take their dog off leash along the river there and enjoy allowing their dogs to cool off in the water and shade under the trees.

While I understand there are many interests that need to be taken into consideration, it seems off-leash areas are constantly being squeezed down as areas designated for other interests tend to expand. Millcreek Canyon is another area of concern as there are forces wanting to stop off-leash access in that canyon as well.

If you value being able to take your dog to places like Tanner and feel that dogs need more space than that provided by small fenced areas, you should join forces with people like FIDOS to help protect dog-owner rights.

Below are some recent email notifications from FIDOS. I would invite you to get involved and let representatives know how you feel. I also recommend you go to the FIDOS website and sign up for email notifications.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR EVERYONE WHO LIKES TO WALK THEIR DOGS IN PARLEYS/TANNER/THE GULLY:

Mayor Ralph Becker will be hosting an open house in Parley's Historic Nature Park  Wednesday, April 15th at 5:30 pm.

This open house and the comments received will help shape the Mayor's management plan recommendations to the City Council. Please plan to attend and let the Mayor know how you feel about the Park and the preferred alternative plan designated by the City?s consultant. (A link to the plan can be found here: http://www.slcgov.com/publicservices/parks/Parleys/PHNP%20Open%20House%20Packet%20031810.pdf or go to www.slcgov.com and search for Parleys Historic Nature Park.)

The proposed plan seriously impacts dog use in the park.  It proposes no dogs at all on the entire south side of the park, the entire stream length will be fenced off except for a "pond" that is proposed to be dug at the very west end by the culvert - no stream access for you and your dog, off leash dog use will be limited to two small fenced-in areas at each end of the park with one connecting "off leash trail" linking them and eliminates any off leash use on the north side of (or on) the new bike trail.  The new restrictive rules will be strictly enforced by Salt Lake City "staff rangers" as well as "volunteer rangers".

Due to the short length of the meeting and potential crowd size you might want to prepare a comment or two in advance of the meeting to make the most of your opportunity with the Mayor. Meeting participants should feel free to voice any feelings about the plan or Park, but please remember to be respectful in tone and manner with all comments. Also, to allow you to focus on this event, you may want to leave your dog at home.

And this one:

Dear FIDOS:

We have heard a lot of concern from you about Representative Matheson's Wilderness Proposal and we wanted to let you know that wilderness designation does not specifically exclude animals, including dogs. Though water quality is a driving force behind this proposal, in reality Salt Lake City is the final decision-maker about water quality issues in Millcreek Canyon. The canyon is within a watershed area but at this point is not protected watershed, which would exclude dogs just as in Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons.

The proposal does remove use by any mechanized vehicle, which includes mountain bikes and Representative Matheson has been working with various biking groups as they have been drawing the maps.

But even though our ability to recreate with our dogs off leash in Millcreek Canyon is not immediately impacted by this proposal, it may be a good time for Representative Matheson to get to know us and understand the needs and size of our user group.  The ability to utilize public lands to recreate with our dogs is very important to a very large group of us who choose to do so with our dogs off leash, that we have a very small area left open to us, that we consistently work to clean-up and educate others as to their duties as responsible dog owners.  We understand water quality issues and our main goal is to be proactive in getting all of our members to keep our beautiful canyons free of dog litter.

Please review the Wilderness Proposal carefully and let Representative Matheson know about any concerns you may have.  Ask that the off leash user group be part of the conversation as the plan moves forward.  Open space is limited and shrinking daily, we need to do all we can to keep the space we are allowed to use and expand it in the future.

Thanks

Jonathan,

I appreciate your willingness to create a Website Forum regarding the Millrace Dog Park. I also appreciate your invitation to address my position on the park as well as to explain some of the reasons behind concerns that some park users have expressed on your
website.

I am sorry that somehow I have given park users the impression that I do not support the park or that I hate dogs and dog owners. I am a "parent" to two dogs as well as a cat that I rescued from the Taylorsville/West Valley Animal shelter. I do not use the park as my animals are exclusively indoor pets but I do recognize the value of the facility to many who have dogs that need a place to run and play.

I have certainly had some public disagreements with some of the park supporters as well as some who oppose the park. The city has tried to walk a very fine line to assure that the park can stay open while at the same time responding to neighbors and other users of the main park who consider the dog park a nuisance.

Originally, the park was to be open 6 days a week and be closed only on Tuesdays for maintenance that we contract with the county to perform. Because of some less than respectful dog park users and some less than tolerant neighbors the city was asked to consider closing the park altogether. Instead, the city got the two groups together and a compromise was made to close the park one weekend day to allow a quiet evening for park neighbors. That policy remains in affect today.

I have also ordered the park closed for a time after someone vandalized the gates and surrounding fence to the park to gain access on a day it was closed as well as several incidents of vandalism to signs at the park. This is a policy consistent with our other specialty park, a skateboard park. Vandalism has decreased dramatically at both parks
since that policy went into affect, mostly due to responsible park users who now help police the parks.

Obviously it would be better if the city had resources to monitor the park but unfortunately we do not. Some park users insist that the fees collected to use the park should pay for better maintenance and security but the revenues received from park fees are not sufficient for that. Quite frankly the fees were assessed to reduce the numbers of park users rather than to maintain the park. Zero tolerance of the "no tag" violations come as a result of people who buy tags complaining that the city does not do anything about those who refuse to do so. Many dogs found in the park without park tags also are not licensed and do not have required shots. Requiring tags also helps
the city to deal with the problem of restricting vicious dogs (or owners) from usage of the park.

Some park users have also complained about the city's failure to maintain grass at the park. We designed the park believing that grass would be sustainable but now have been told that the use of the park is just too great for grass to survive. We have looked at several options to replace the grass to minimize the muddy conditions that exist and hope that using wood chips will provide groundcover that will not be hard on the dogs feet as they run around the park.

I am also told that some think that the water feature was removed to "punish" the park users. Two things accounted for the removal of the water feature. One was that many park users used the pond for disposing of dog feces, thereby creating a festering cesspool of feces and worms that was about 1-2 feet deep and created a health hazard. The other problem was that the engineers had improperly designed the drainage for the pond to discharge into the Jordan River, creating high readings of E-Coli bacteria downstream from the drain. The cost to reroute the drain into a sewer system as well as the health hazards of the animal waste forced the city to remove the pond.

I recognize that most park users are responsible and that many of them have volunteered time and materials with maintenance and repairs. It seems that I have been negligent in recognizing and expressing gratitude for those efforts. For that I apologize.

Taylorsville has been very fortunate to have many volunteers who help control costs in our city in many areas.

I am happy to meet with you or others to discuss concerns, problems and hopefully mutually beneficial solutions. I hope that we can work together to make the park the special socializing place for dogs and their owners that was originally intended. Thanks again for your efforts to create a forum for the park users. I would be happy to provide a link to your website from our city website if you wish. Feel free to post this on your website.

Respectfully,
Russ

Some members of the Millrace Dog Park who work in government capacities were able to convince the County to deliver mulch to the dog park. Initially, two loads were delivered, which were spread out by park members. But more mulch is on the way and there is no need for park members to worry about spreading the mulch around.

The County received positive feedback from dog park patrons regarding the mulch that was placed in the wettest areas several weeks ago. As a result of the feedback and a review of the site by Taylorsville City and the County, it was decided to provide additional mulch to cover the entire area inside the concrete walkway.

Starting immediately, as it is generated, the County's Arborist will begin delivering loads of mulch throughout February, about 20 loads. Taylorsville City has organized a scout group to spread the mulch the first week of March. Between the time of delivery and the scouts leveling the mulch, there will be "play features" of mulch for the dogs to enjoy. If the scouts fail to spread all of them, Parks will finish the leveling immediately after the volunteer scout project.

While grass is great for a park, the off-leash area at Millrace has struggled to grow grass for years, and mulch appears to be a cost effective and agreeable solution to surfacing the area that will improve conditions for the patrons who use the facility.

(The information below was taken from the Millrace Park Rules sign at the park)

MILLRACE PARK RULES

THE CITY IS NOT LIABLE FOR INJURIES TO PERSONS OR ANIMALS IN THIS PARK
USE PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK

1. THIS FACILITY IS FOR OFF-LEASH DOG EXERCISE AND SOCIALIZATION PURPOSES.
2. PARK USERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN LITTER AND THE CLEAN-UP AND PROPER DISPOSAL OF THEIR DOG?S WASTE. DISPOSABLE BAGS ARE PROVIDED AT NO COST.
3. AGGRESSIVE DOGS AND DOG OWNERS ARE PROHIBITED.
   ALL DOG ATTACKS SHALL BE IMMEDIATELY REPORTED TO ANIMAL SERVICES.
4. NO FOOD ALLOWED IN THE OFF-LEASH AREA.
5. PARK AREAS ARE FROM 6:00 AM TO 9:00 PM.
6. PARKING IS FOR PARK USERS ONLY.
7. DOG OWNERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF THEIR PETS.
8. SMALL CHILDREN ARE DISCOURAGED IN THE OFF-LEASH AREAS. PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND MUST SUPERVISE THEM CLOSELY AT ALL TIMES.
9. IT IS UNLAWFUL TO ABANDON ANY ANIMAL, OR LEAVE ANY ANIMAL UNATTENDED AT THIS FACILITY.
10. ALL DOGS USING THE FACILITY SHALL HAVE A CURRENT DOG LICENSE AND SHOTS. DOG LICENSE CAN BE OBTAINED THROUGH ANIMAL SERVICES.
11. DONATIONS TO SUPPORT THIS FACILITY ARE APPRECIATED AND MAY BE MADE TO THE CITY OF TAYLORSVILLE, MILLRACE PARK FUND.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MILLRACE PARK
CITY OF TAYLORSVILLE
2600 WEST TAYLORSVILLE BLVD.
TAYLORSVILLE, UT 84118
PHONE: 801-965-5800 or 801-840-4000 AFTER HOURS

TAGS FOR TAYLORSVILLE RESIDENTS    $10.00
NON-RESIDENTS    $25.00
TAYLORSVILLE SENIOR CITIZENS    $5.00
NON-RESIDENTS SENIOR CITIZENS    $10.00

(The rules and hours below are copied from the signs hanging on the fence. If any are missing, please feel free to add them in comments.)

All dogs must wear a current license tag and off area permit tag and be current of all required immunizations. Thank You.

All dogs must have a Taylorsville dog park tag/permit in addition to their dog license from the city where they reside.

Dog park tags/permits are available at: Taylorsville city hall 2600 West Taylorsville Boulevard (5325 S) Or West Valley animal services.

Owners of dogs without tags/permits will be cited by animal service officers and/or Taylorsville police officers.

NOTICE

This park is to be maintained by the users of the park. Owners must pick up after their dogs.

Tags for Taylorsville residents: $10.00
Non-residents: $25.00
Taylorsville senior citizens: $5.00
Non-residents senior citizens: $10.00

As a user of this park, it is your responsibility to help make sure that this park remains open for you and your canine companions. This means if a dog is aggressive, you have the right to ask the owner to leave with their dog. And if they do not, you can call animal control.

If you witness a dogfight, please call animal services at 801-965-5800 or 801-840-4000 after hours. Provide them with as much information as you can. Such as breed, color, sex, what the owner looks like, what type of vehicle they left in, license plate number(s), and how it started.

If your dog is aggressive, DO NOT bring your dog into any part of this park! If you do, you will be reported to both animal control and the sheriffs department.

Off-Leash Park Operations hours
Summer Hours, April-Oct.
7:00 am to 10:00pm
Winter Hours, Nov.-March
7:00 am to 8:00pm

Dog park is closed on Tuesday and each Saturday from 4pm to Sunday 4pm.

For Information Call 801-963-5400

(Taken from post in Discussion Forums from PandTmom.)

Those who use the park know how worn out the grass is. During the Spring and warmer Winter days, the amount of water and mud has become a real problem. A number of park members have been discussing, for a while now, about how to get mulch or other substrate to cover areas of the off-lease area.

After making contact with Salt Lake County, the entity responsible for maintenance of the park, they delivered approximately 2 tons of mulch for volunteers to spread around. The first load came last Friday and was dumped inside the off-lease area, by the entrance. People using the park helped to get it spread around Saturday around noon.

The 2nd load came in Tuesday morning (when the park was normally closed) and was dumped inside the park by the east gate.  Because of the weather, those volunteering made the decision to spread it around on the east side since it was close and a lot of people hang out by the benches, not to mention it was pretty muddy there.

After the mulch was spread, some of the poop by the east gate was cleaned up, and some of the ice was removed from the sidewalk to help with the drainage. When the volunteers left there was a steady stream going down the front gate and into the drainage.

Volunteers spent a little over 1 hour to get all of the work done. Those volunteering were the dad's of Buddy, Charlie, and Scout, and the mom's of Odie and Zeus.

We are hoping to continue to get mulch from the County. As long as the park isn't muddy they can drive in and dump the mulch where it needs to be spread. If it's wet, they don't want to bog down while making the delivery. We will continue to post notices on the website and at the park when we have opportunities to make these improvements.

(Thanks to Deborah Polak for contributing to this article.)

Welcome to the new Millrace dog park website. This site was developed in the hopes of helping to foster a sense of community among park members.

It is divided into two basic sections: An article section, where you can read news and stories related to the park, and a discussion forum where you can read the thoughts of other members and share your own thoughts about the park.

To navigate this website, use the links that appear along the left side of this page. At the very top is a search command you can use to search the blog portion of this site. Additional sections are described below.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

This section contains just one link: a link to our discussion forums. Use this link to discuss park-related issues with other members.

PAGES

The links in this section are permanent links to general information pages about Millrace dog park and this website.

CATEGORIES

This section contains links for the categories of articles on this site. You can use these links to quickly jump to a list of articles related to a particular category. The list of categories will grow as more articles are added.

TAGS

This section contains a number of keywords. Click on a keyword, or tag, to view a list of articles that discuss that keyword.

Enjoy,

Jonathan Wood and Suki