Residents frustrated by dog park’s closing
The temporary closure of Jade’s Dog Park at Alameda Park has residents frustrated and local officials searching for a solution.
Charlotte Grimme, of Connoquenessing Township, said her dogs Tippy, a pitbull, and Daisy, a yellow Labrador, used the park three times a week before it was closed by the county.
“We have made friends at the park … they both look forward to going,” she said. “A lot of people really depend on that dog park.”
Butler County Parks and Recreation announced the park’s closure last week until March 30, after county solicitor Wil White said safety concerns were brought to his attention.
“Even though (park) roads were closed, people were trying to access the dog park. There were multiple reports of people slipping and falling and even report of an injury,” he said. “I spoke with our insurance carrier, and he agreed with me that if we can’t have people accessing the park safely, we can’t put the county and its taxpayers at risk for liability.”
The Jade’s Dog Park Facebook page announced the road to access the park being closed as of Dec. 1, 2022, and said the park would reopen in April 2023.
Alameda Park and Diamond Park are owned by the county.
“There has been no winter maintenance in the park since well before (the current commissioners’) times, and the gates have been closed in three locations all winter,” County Commissioner Leslie Osche said in a Facebook post Monday. “It seems that perhaps in the park master plan and in the planning of the process for the dog park, nobody anticipated the challenge with the gate being closed and off-season access being limited.”
White said prior to closing the park, signs were posted encouraging bikers, walkers and hikers to enter at their own risk.
“The park is closed during the winter months,” he said. “We don’t have the budgets to maintain winter maintenance for cars to enter. The park is already at a deficit.”
At the Butler County Commissioners meeting in January, parks and recreation director Lance Welliver said Alameda pool prices would be increasing, as the water park operated at a deficit last year.
“To have a loss is normal. A $58,000 loss is more than normal,” he said.
Grimme said the road closure is a troubling aspect regarding access to the park in the winter.
“It’s so frustrating. When they close the gate it’s a long walk,” she said.
She added that her friend had previously tried to speak with park representatives about opening the park when the winter weather was nice, since roads would not need to be plowed.
With her lack of a fenced-in yard, Grimme said she and her dogs would have to migrate to Cranberry Township’s dog park instead.
Jade’s Dog Park is not closed indefinitely, White reiterated, as the parks and recreation board plans to discuss solutions and inform the community in the coming weeks.
“It’s not something I wanted to do,” White said of the park closure. “I have an obligation to the ensure the county doesn’t get sued.”
Osche said in a Friday interview that the park board will meet at 11 a.m. Feb. 21 in Butler Township Park, 468 South Duffy Road, to discuss potential solutions for reopening the park sooner than scheduled.
“We’ve invited interested patrons,” she said. “I think we’re going to have a solution. We’re really looking at having a winter space in the park without having to open up the gates of the whole park (at Alameda).”
Grimme said the meeting can’t come soon enough.
“Mostly (my friends and I) are just all frustrated because nobody cares that it’s a valuable community asset that people depend on,” she said.
Last week, a change.org petition was started called “Keep Jade's Dog Park Open and Accessible Year Round.” Organizer Teresa Angiolieri wrote in the description that the park opened in May 2019, and dedicated walkers depend on the amenity's operation.
“I believe Butler Co. Pennsylvania can do better, do better for our residents and our dogs. Please sign and share if you agree the dog park should be open and accessible by vehicle year-round,” she said.
The petition set a goal for 500 signers and as of Monday evening, 241 people have signed.
