St. Ignace City Council voted in support of the construction of a dog park on three acres of land bordering Cheeseman Road and the snowmobile trail at its Monday, November 16, meeting. The land is a portion of the city-owned property between the trail and I-75, north of Little Bear East arena.

This decision came out of discussions between a committee of citizens working to fund and build the dog park, city officials, and the St. Ignace Recreation Department. After a meeting with the Recreation Advisory Committee, a subcommittee was created consisting of George and JoAnn Ford representing the Dog Park Committee, City Manager Eric Dodson, Recreation Director Scott Marshall, and Fred Paquin, representing the Recreation Advisory Committee.

Mr. Marshall outlined his future plans for the property just north of Little Bear East, a vision of a community sports complex including soccer, softball, and other fields. The committee agreed, however, that the three-acre slice of property bordering Cheeseman Road is far enough from the arena to allow for future recreation department development and still leave room for construction of the dog park.

Mr. Dodson told Council members that this resolution does not contain the final legal definition of the property, but would at least allow the dog park committee to seek funds. Mrs. Ford said most of the grants the group is pursuing require applicants to already have a property on which to build the park.

"One thing I like about this park area is it's closer to the animal shelter," Mayor Paul Grondin said, "and it allows for the expansion of services and fields that the recreation committee may want to insert in the future."

City Attorney Prentiss Brown, Jr. reminded council members that they would still need to approve a transfer of the property or allow for its management by the dog park group before they can develop the property.

Downtown Development Authority Director Deb Evashevski said, since the entire property along I-75 was purchased through the Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund, the city cannot sell it and must use the property for community recreation.

Mr. Dodson said there are many issues that need to be decided, including how the park would be maintained, who would be responsible for the park if its committee dissolved, and how a lease or property management agreement might work.

"There are still 100 different issues with this idea that still need to be ironed out," he said.

City Council regularly meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 8 p.m. in City Hall, and meetings are open to the public. The next City Council meeting is a special budget workshop scheduled for 8 p.m. Monday, November 30, which is also open to the public.