Kevin Sullivan
For those who’ve been involved in the process all along, the meeting did not go as planned.
“My reaction was … surprise,” said Ira Morgenstern.
“People might have felt very dismissed,” said Alexandra Machado.
“It was a surprise to me,” said Paul Cowing.
They are talking about a Jan. 8 joint session of the Select Board and Board of Health where the Recreation Department presented “Paws in the Parks,” a plan to revise the town’s off-leash dog regulations.
Cowing, Machado, and Morgenstern helped draft the proposal after volunteering to join a Recreation Commission working group last year. Cowing is the commission chair, while Machado and Morgenstern are part of a community of dog owners, who meet up and walk their dogs on Belmont fields every day.
The 10-member working group spent four months researching dog parks in neighboring towns, reviewing concerns from Belmont residents, and meeting as a group to draft new rules.
Their proposal would continue the tradition of allowing dogs to run freely in four Belmont fields: Grove Street Field, Winn Brook Elementary, Pequossette (PQ) Park, and Town Field. However, it calls for stricter oversight and enforcement, more clearly defined hours, an online registration process, and increased park signage, among other changes.
‘Black Box’ Process
The Board of Health and Select Board both needed to approve the plan, but that didn’t happen.
“I don’t think it’s possible for the Select Board to vote tonight on a program, because the program is not really defined,” Select Board Chair Roy Epstein said that night, adding that a group of town officials would be formed to finalize the plan.
A new proposal is expected to be presented at the Select Board’s March 4 meeting.
But some Working Group members tell The Belmont Voice no one consulted them about the new plan, and they have no idea what the proposal is or who took part in drafting it.
“The process went into a black box,” said Morgenstern.
The town is struggling with major financial issues and is proposing an $8.4 million override on the April ballot. So rules for off-leash dogs might not be of paramount concern.
But how this process played out is a window into how residents are called on to help Belmont run a town with more than 40 temporary and permanent committees, made up largely of volunteers.
Canine Connections
On an 18-degree February morning, Grove Street field is barren and brown, dotted with sporadic packs of dogs and their owners. Morgenstern comes here every morning to walk his Catahoula leopard dog, Khusi. She stands out among the doodles and retrievers for her distinctive eyes – one blue, one brown.
“There’s something magic about the dog park in terms of other dogs and relationships and everything else,” said Morgenstern, who’s been frequenting Grove Street since 2016.
Machado takes her goldendoodle, Oscar, to a daily meet-up at Town Field. She says she’s found a community worth preserving.
“Those personal connections to issues in the town are what keep people invested in the town,” she said. “I know so many people from the dog park community that voted for things like our rink, because we had those conversations about it at the 7 a.m. meetings.”
Working Group Formed to Address Complaints
The Recreation Commission formed the working group because of complaints dogs were digging holes in parks, leaving droppings, interrupting youth sporting events, and having run-ins with residents, sometimes leading to injuries.
The 10-member group included dog owners, youth sports coaches, Recreation Commission members, Recreation Department Director Brandon Fitts and Animal Care and Control Officer Suzanne Trasavage. They came up with the “Paws in the Parks” program, and presented it to the full Recreation Commission in December, which unanimously approved it.
Working Group members say they knew the Select Board might want to tweak the six-month pilot program, but they expected to be consulted.
Epstein said the Working Group completed its task by coming up with the plan, and the Select Board would take it from there. He said the proposed schedule for when dogs could use the parks was incomplete and didn’t include enough input from town departments.
Cowing said the idea was to start a pilot program and adjust as needed.
“I was surprised because the whole point of running a pilot program … was so we could collect data and get feedback,” said Cowing.
“People really gave time that they didn’t necessarily have to work on this,” said Machado. “At the very least, it would have been nice to be thanked for our time.”
Epstein said he has been consulting with Fitts, Trasavage, the police department, the town administrator, the school department, the School Committee, and others to revise the plan. Fitts said he hasn’t been involved in drafting a new plan but has answered questions.
No Designated Dog Park
Epstein has abandoned an idea that he floated at the January meeting of building a designated dog park. He says no one could identify a site that would be feasible.
“That was something that I investigated quite intensively in January,” he said. “The Working Group didn’t do that, but I did.”
Morgenstern said the Working Group did research that idea and also determined it wouldn’t work.
Epstein said the Working Group’s input will be substantially reflected in the revised plan on March 4.
“I believe the Select Board will be shown to be well-informed and, in fact, better-informed on certain points than the Rec. Commission was. So the overall product, I think, will be better,” Epstein said.
Working Group members said they understand that the Select Board has the final authority and respect the work of the town leaders. Some are concerned about the message the Board is sending to other would-be volunteers.
“I get really concerned about people feeling like their voice doesn’t matter or their input doesn’t matter because then people don’t really think that they should spend any time or put any effort into the community because it won’t matter,” said Machado. “So these things have a trickle-down effect.”
