More soccer fields could replace Genesee off-leash dog park

Budgetary deficits in the City of Seattle coffers could spell dire consequences for the Genesee off-leash dog park. City policymakers may contemplate razing the dog park and replacing it with a third, all-weather, synthetic athletic field dedicated flag football and ultimate Frisbee. Based on the city's ordinances banning canines from municipal play areas and fields, your dog could be on the outside looking in at yards of Astroturf.

The city Parks Department plans to renovate the Genesse Park athletic fields by using $2.1 million renovation project slated to commence construction this autumn. The Parks department explains the process on its website:

Completed construction documents will go to the Department of Executive Administration for review and approval in April. Parks anticipates that this project will go to bid in May with actual construction beginning at the end of May or early June. Construction will last 60 working days, with Substantial Completion in September 2010 and the field open for use at this time.

A link from the city's Parks and Recreation site is provided for your reading pleasure:

http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/projects/genesee_playfield/

The demands for a myriad of sports - adult and children's soccer, lacrosse, flag football, Ultimate Frisbee -- may require more than the two athletic fields presently available at Genesee Park. Rather than finance a dog park that costs the city monies spent on field maintenance and dog-poop removal -- the city may instead look at the the prospect of building an athletic field that generate revenue through user fees. Consider that potential new rental fees for a possible new flag football and Ultimate Frisbee field generates around $40 to $60 an hour. Six hours of rental fees would net the city $240 to $360 in a single weekend... and no dog poop to clean up.

It's a tough new world in the aftermath of the Bush recession.

A decision to scrap the dog park generates support from neighborhood residents who resent the abandoned piles of canine excrement left behind by dog owners with willful or negligent frames of mind. If ongoing problems persist, the Seattle Municipal Code 18.12.010 gives the Parks superintendent authority to review the complains in consultation with the city council. According to the ordinance:

D. If,based on this review, the Superintendent finds significant problems that cannot be practically corrected the Superintendent may close the site to off-leash use. In addition to any action taken pursuant to the review described above, the Superintendent is authorized to close to off-leash dog use any area described under subsection B of this section on a temporary or permanent basis if significant problems arise which cannot be resolved jointly by the Department of Parks and Recreation, Seattle Animal Control, and COLA, and if the Superintendent determines that such closure is necessary for the preservation and protection of the natural environment, public health or safety. Prior to closing any off-leash area, the Superintendent shall consult with the Director of Executive Administration. The Superintendent shall state in writing his or her reasons for closure.

Kind of makes you wish you were more diligent in picking up the deuces from your Dalmatian and Dandy Dinmont.

Be glad that the city isn't claiming the around the dog park to construct a mix-use facility: A Check Into Cash, Arby's and a dollar store on the main level, "congregate housing units in the four or five upper floors. But limited parking given the regional access to link light rail.

We had joys, fun, and seasons in the sun at our dog park. Now, it could be "na-na, hey-hey, kiss it goodbye."

One dumpster, one disaster

Say good-bye to the garbage cans that collect dog dowdy at the Genesee off-leash park. The great minds in Seattle's municipal government is removing the garbage cans that collect refuse and replacing the receptacles with one dumpster for doody collection. The one-dumpster policy begins January 9.

Think dog-waste collection compliance is bad now? Imagine the fecal land mine that will develop when people become less inclined to walk across the 3.2 acres of the park with the rusty scooper to collect doody.

We are not debating the point of collecting your dog's waste: the law requires your compliance. But when the great minds of the city enact a policy with little explanation or rationale for the policy change. Nobody has explained:

• What is the waste collection policy changing?
• What i the frequency of waste collection of the dumpsters?
• Will the city provide additional poop bags to ensure compliance?
• Are all city-operated off-leash parks subject to the one-dumpster policy... or is it only dog parks in the Lovely Rainier Valley? (Do you believe that all the cans at Magnuson and Golden Gardens parks will be replaced with one dumpster per location?)
• Why aren't the garbage cans at the soccer fields being replaced by a single dumpster? Is this a dog-park policy?

Contact the city's park department for their rationale:

• Park maintenance at (206) 684-7250;
• General parks information at (206) (206) 684-4075;
• City of Seattle's parks department website: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/contact/

Do your part: dig it, dig it...

Dieters' meals and responsible personal spending aren't only things taking holidays this month. Some owners are taking a break from their responsibilities as park users.

The cold weather and muddy field are no excuses for owners not cleaning up when their dogs take a deuce in Genesee Park. Park upkeep is a year-round activity.

Don't care if you don't want to touch the pooper scoopers at the park. The facility provides plastic bags for your convenience.

Don't care if you're chatting to your realtor about buying the fixer-upper in Beverly Park that you can "flip" for a hefty profit given the buyer's market. It takes less than a minute to clean up.

Don't care if you can't multi-task... watching your toddler and cleaning up after your Brittany spaniel. Hello... this is a dog park.

Don't care if you tweaked your back golfing 18 holes at Mount Si yesterday -- and bending is painful. Bet if you dropped the keys to your Saab or BlackBerry Storm, you'd bend at the waist without a second thought to pick them up.

Your dog poops; you scoop. It's that simple.

Don't pick up, and you could find your and Rex's image on a FaceBook page.

The tribe has spoken: Wrap it up and ship it out!

The polls have closed and the readers of the Dog Denizens of Genesee Park have spoken -- and the news isn't good for those patrons who refuse to clean up after their pooping pooches.

Sixty-six percent of those surveyed said that the compliant park users should pick up the discarded feces, put it in a care package and deposit the dog waste on the offender's yard.

Sixteen percent of respondents said the offenders should be coerced into picking up the dog waste. The 16 other percent -- perhaps taking a page out of the Tony Soprano playbook -- said the offender should get out a spoon to get every drop.

Nobody endorsed the idea of turning the other cheek and giving the offender a "pass." We may not be Paramus, NJ, but we're not pushovers, either.

The Dog Denizens of the Genesee Park blog does not endorse violence or criminal mischief. But we strongly encourage park users to pick up after their dogs. The weather is getting colder and wetter, if not downright crappy.

If the offenders don't fear shunning by your fellow park users, the offenders should consider Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 9.25.282 (offenses relating to safety and sanitation). The SMC says it is unlawful for an owner to:

(B) Fail to remove the fecal matter deposited by his/her animal on public property or private property of another before the owner leaves the immediate area where the fecal matter was deposited;

(C) Fail to have in his/her possession the equipment necessary to remove his/her animal's fecal matter when accompanied by said animal on public property or public easement.

We don't want to rat you out. Pick up.

Pick up, clean up... or stay home

The weather is getting colder.

The days are getting shorter

The ground is wet, and the grass is longer.

All excuses for not cleaning up after your dog. And all are lame.

The grassy knolls of the park are dotted with fecal landmines with the piles of poop that aren’t being picked up and deposited in the waste cans. Even worse, the sandy and rocky areas are camouflaged with doody-coated surprises. Just what the surface of your waffle-soled shoes or boots that you're wearing need.

Good people of the park: Pick up after your dogs. We users are all stewards of the park, and bear responsibility for its upkeep. Inattention and indifference are poor excuses for failing to pick up after your pooches. Put your iPhone and coffee cup down, take a break from your conversations... and put fecal litter in its place.

If this were FaceBook, we could start a group called "Pick up after your f*****g dog" -- and post pictures of repeat offenders. Dogs and humans.

Hopefully, it won't come to that.