A Progress Report

A small subset of  Friends of Canandaigua Canine Campus volunteers have been meeting with Mayor Ellen Polimeni to review all possible dog park sites before we make a formal pitch to the City Council. The meetings are open to all community members and are posted on this website as well as our Facebook page. We are down two possible locations: our original Baker Park plan with some modifications to address some nearby neighbors’ concerns or using part of the Veterans Administration campus.

The VA option is still being explored. We are in the process of creating a sketch and a budget. Our committee is concerned about partnering with a federal agency (not known for speed or efficiency!).  How a dog park would be prioritized at the VA, what red tape awaits us, what assurances or control we would have are huge concerns. Comparing the VA to Baker Park, which is a City-owned public space, makes us question why we would characterize the VA as a “viable” option. 

We are likely to have one more meeting to wrestle with the VA scenario. A meeting date will be posted when we have our new drawing and budget. The mayor and some lead volunteers may meet with the VA as well.

In the interim, our big push is contacting all licensed dog owners to let them know about the dog park project. Many residents are simply unaware. We are spreading the word through a mail campaign and watching our online petition growing daily. If you have not registered your support, please do it today. Click the box on the right of the homepage: Stand Up & Be Counted! (online petition) and fill out a simple form.

We are still collecting books of postage stamps for our mail campaign. We have close to 400 stamps but we need more to be in direct contact with dog owners. Stamps can be dropped off or mailed to Glattly Pianoforte, 103 Leicester St., Suite A, CNDGA, Note on lower left of envelope: Friends of CCC.

Thank you to those of you who have already donated stamps and registered as a dog park supporter!

Nancy