Council Praises Dog Park Volunteers

If a good dog's guiding rule is to 'wag more, bark less,' there was lots of wagging going on Monday night at Doylestown Borough Council meeting.

Borough Council members unanimously approved a resolution praising the efforts of the all-volunteer Friends of the Doylestown Dog Park, which worked for five years to raise $200,000 to build the park.

The park opened in September on Almshouse Road in Doylestown Township, and council members said the finished product is even better than they could have hoped.

"I was really, really impressed," council member Joan Doyle told Kelcey Meadows Lucas, Christa Tinari and several other members who represented the Friends group Monday night.

The idea for a dog park first was discussed back in 2007, council president Det Ansinn said. Bringing the project to fruition amidst their busy lives is a credit to the volunteers' determination, he said.

Council member Don Berk read the resolution, praising the volunteer group for its tireless efforts in building the park.

The effort brought together people from all around Central Bucks, Lucas said, from Perkasie through Doylestown Borough and Township and beyond.

"The common denominator is we love dogs and we love our community," she said.

Council member Marlene Pray noted that the park planning was "another really fine example of cooperation between residents of the borough and township. Most people who live in Doylestown just think of it as Doylestown and don’t recognize those borders."

While Doylestown Borough officials had planned on honoring the dog park volunteers, they were surprised when those volunteers were ready with a surprise of their own.

"We don’t have a resolution, but we just want to thank you," Lucas said, handing out certificates of thanks to borough manager John Davis, finance director Caroline Brinker and to public works director Phil Ehlinger to take to the public works crew.

Each person helped guide the volunteer group and allowed them to hold organizational meetings at borough hall, Lucas said. Brinker, especially, donated "thousands of hours" worth of work to the group, she said, handing a golden paw print pin to Brinker and another to Davis.

Davis was effusive in his praise of the group.

"This was by far the most amazing volunteer group I’ve ever worked with in the 20 years I’ve been here," the borough manager said. "The amount of work they accomplished and the amount of fun they had doing it was just staggering. They were just an absolute joy to work with."

To learn more about becoming a member of the Doylestown Dog Park, click here.

To ensure the park continues to run smoothly now that it's open, a Dog Park Advisory Board will be formed. Anyone interested in applying is asked to submit a letter of interest and a resume to info@doylestownpa.org.