The Burns Lake dog park project is gaining traction and $14,000 in funding for the scheme has been confirmed.
That was part of the update given by Tracey Payne, one of the leaders of the project, during a presentation to the Burns Lake village council on April 9.
Payne, along with Lynn Synotte and Nicole Gerow first proposed the plan to the village on Jan. 29.
LOOK BACK: Council mulls bid to open dog park in Burns Lake
They aim to build the park in the old Dick Schritt Ball Park site beside the CN rail line.
Of the $14,000, $5,000 was confirmed by the Bulkley Valley Credit Union and Rotary Club of Burns Lake, $3,000 by the Lakes Animal Friendship Society (LAFS) and $1,000 from private businesses, Payne explained.
Her three-person committee has partnered with LAFS, which as a non-profit society can sponsor funding proposals for the dog park project.
It has applied for $13,000 of grants to the Burns Lake Community Forest, the Burns Lake and District Community Foundation and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako.
Also in the works is an application to the Nechako-Kitimat Development Fund for match funding.
“The NKDF portion will be about 32 per cent of the total project. Including $14,000 of in-kind [funding], it’s a $62,000 project”, Payne said, referring to their total hoped-for funding.
They will know by May 29 if their application to the NKDF was successful or not, Lynn Synotte told Lakes District News.
Using PowerPoint images, Payne laid out some of the physical details of the park plan.
The park would be 250 feet by 145 feet in area, bounded by a four-foot tall chain link fence that would cost $10,000.
“There’ll be an entry gate with a small dog lot which is 80 feet by 50 feet. It gives an opportunity for pet owners to sort by size,” Payne said.
Trees and shrubs are slated to be planted and about $3,000 has been budgeted for landscaping.
An information kiosk will list the rules of the park and some information for pet owners.
“Perhaps some information that directs people to local kennels or advertises events for pet owners.”
The committee plans to install two 60-gallon dog waste composters, which would cost $450 in total.
“[They use] a biodegradable bag. The idea is that instead of hauling the dog waste away in a garbage can you’re actually composting it on site,” Payne said.
Other features include a pet watering fountain, expected to cost $1,600 that would connect with the tap already at the site, and a memorial bench - requested by the Rotary Club - for the Schritt family commemorating Dick Schritt. It’s hoped the benches would have design consistent with the benches at Spirit Square.
With signage for the park, Payne said one would face Francois Lake Drive and she wants it to be similar to the sign at the nearby campground.
“Instead of just being a black and white sign we could actually use some coloured backgrounds and produce signs that are probably more in line with the ones at the RV Park so that as you went through town there’s consistency in the signs.”
The committee asked that the village help pay for the cost of a wooden sign, plumbing for the water fountain and some of the landscaping.
The council said it would discuss the requests.
Synotte hopes construction can begin in late June and be completed by the end of July.
The dog park proposal has progressed relatively quickly, after the council agreed on Feb. 26 to support the bid, less than one month after the committee first presented the idea.
LOOK BACK: Burns Lake council green lights dog park plan
Blair McBride
Multimedia reporter
Send Blair an email
Like Lakes District News on Facebook