Dogs finally might have a place of their own in Inver Grove Heights.
City officials again are tossing around the idea of building the city’s first off-leash dog park and are considering Heritage Village Park along the Mississippi River as the spot.
Supporters of a pooch park say it is long overdue and would go a long way toward building up Heritage Village Park, a former contaminated railroad yard site that is pegged for passive recreation but has been slow to be developed.
The city acquired the park land from the Rock Island Railroad after the property went into tax forfeiture about 20 years ago. In 2008, the process of top-filling the polluted land with clean soil began.
Other than the Mississippi River Regional Trail, which has wound through the site since 2010, the park is barren land without amenities to draw in users. Long-term plans for the 60-acre park — which is along the river, east of Concord Boulevard and north of 65th Street — call for a multipurpose building with picnic shelters, playground areas and small amphitheater.
“It would be a start,” Eric Carlson, the city’s parks director, said of a dog park. “There are people there now using the trail, but this would bring more people down there. And that’s been our goal for the whole area from day one.”
At a city council work session last week, Carlson was given the go-ahead to seek bids from consultants to design a 10-acre dog park. Council members also asked for more accurate costs for all parts of the proposal, which was created by Mark Freer, a member of the city’s parks and recreation advisory commission.
The city has discussed the idea of a dog park several times since 2009. Two years ago, the city held public open houses, formed a committee to explore sites and surveyed residents to gauge their interest. But discussions eventually fizzled out.
This latest go-round, however, is different, Freer said.
“I believe this is the right time,” he said at a recent parks commission meeting.
With past proposals, he said, city officials could not nail down a location or funding.
But he noted how the city has state grant funds that could pay for half the cost, which is pegged at $300,000 and includes a parking lot for users of the entire Heritage Village Park.
Also, he noted, Heritage Village Park is not adjacent to homes, which was seen as a drawback by some residents in previous years.
“And we have a community (showing support),” he added.
He noted how a group of residents are organizing online on Facebook and are showing up at city meetings to voice support for the plan.
Lori Mo told the parks commission that she and other residents are already buying permits from nearby cities to use their dog parks.
“We’ve talked about it a long time,” she said. “We’ve got a viable site now, some financing benefits. I think it’s time to move ahead.”
Added resident Charlotte Svobodny: “This is the most concrete thing I’ve seen for a dog park in Inver Grove Heights in my 40 years here. We’ve got those funds. Let’s take it and run with it. Let’s go.”