Citizen Committee Shines as Driving Force Behind Oak Park’s New Dog Park
(Terry Lakins, Sept. 1, 2023)
Oak Park, MI —A city-run dog park called Oak Park and Bark is now open and taking applications for membership. This park, designated for Oak Park residents, will be a new place for dog owners to spend time with their animals. An official grand opening ceremony will commence on October 15, from 12pm to 3pm.
Amenities of the park include several benches, natural shade, a donated community art mural and drinking fountains for both humans and dogs. Its biggest feature is the designated areas, each for a different type of dog and separated by fence.
One section is for big dogs, another section for small dogs and the last section for yellow tag dogs (meaning fearful or anxious dog). These were designed with accessibility in mind for the different types of dog owners.
Mayor Marian McClellan hopes Oak Park and Bark will become an important community space that will foster connections amongst the residents. Planning for the park began in earnest during the pandemic.
“We don’t come together for community things anymore. We’re all sitting at home now with loneliness and depression.” McCellan said. “The cure for that is to bring people back together. The dog park will bring dog lovers to together and may even start friendships. It’s a community gathering place to help solve the loneliness problem.”
McClellan said she was aware of the idea for a dog park before she took office in 2011. During her initial outreach where she knocked on many Oak Park doors it became a common desire that kept coming up.
“People told me they wanted nice restaurants, a more beautiful area, more interesting businesses, and they also asked for a dog park,” McClellan said. “So that was on the radar back then.”
McClellan said there were many things in Oak Park to address when she first took office. Among those things were blight, economic issues, a lack of quality community spaces, and the challenges of a city with aging homes and infrastructure. While city officials focused on those core needs of reviving the city, the dog park was never forgotten amongst the people.
Andrew Cissell, an avid dog lover, was one who really took the desire to heart. Cissell, an Oak Park resident since 2011, often spoke of his dream for a city made dog park in conversations with friends, and even campaigned on that when he ran for city council in 2017. Though Cissell lost the race he was determined to make a difference and later served on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Cissell was persistent about the dog park, and in 2020 it was finally on the city’s docket.
“It all came together at the right time. We had enough momentum to get rolling.” Cissell said.
A dog park subcommittee was created, with Cissell as chairman, and the members consisting of both city workers and regular citizens united with a common goal.
This project would take three years to realize, with the first two years having heavy research and development of the dog park. Cissell said they conducted a lot of their research by touring other dog parks, meeting with dog trainers, and learning from other citizen driven initiatives. Members met monthly to keep everything on track, and while the length of time was certainly a challenge Cissell said it was necessary to make sure the proper channels were being followed. In the end Oak Park and Bark was modeled after a combination of the many dog parks they visited.
Though Cissell was the head of the committee he said that the whole process was collaborative and democratic amongst the team. He emphasized that the community and city team up was essential, and they were a great group to work with.
“We had a lot of power being united with each other to determine a lot of things with the dog park.” Cissell said. “Ego was left at the door, and we came in with a common goal to work together. It was a very cohesive crew, and everyone made it happen.”
Speaking of the group, here’s who’s on the team. From the city we have Councilwoman Julie Edgar who kept the city goals and the dog park goals aligned. Cissell said she was the main decision maker, as well as acting as liaison between city and citizens. Laurie Stasiak, the Director of Park and Recreation, and Dave Decoster, Director of Public Works, both working to take care of the administrative side of things. Cissell described both Stasiak and Decoster’s effort as the one-two punch when it came to the day-to-day heavy lifting. Rounding out the city workers is Toni Christofel, code inspector, making sure the city code is properly implemented and enforced for the park.
On the citizen side we have Leslye Harelik-Richie and Mark Phillips, serving as vice chairs. Sarah Allan serving as secretary, with Dana Jafa and Theresa Henderson as members at large. Cissell said the citizens brought the human aspect to the table, voicing ideas, concerns and being true leaders to their neighborhoods.
The park also features a colorful mural by artist Joey Salamon, who was commissioned by Mark Phillips in honor of his late son Idan who worked at the Animal Welfare Society in Madison Heights and was known to be a “huge dog lover” and “dog whisperer. In a previous Oakland County Times article, it was noted “Phillips chose Salamon as the artist because of his local connection, as an Oak Park resident for about six years, and the impact his art instantly had on him. Phillips said that seeing Salamon’s artwork was like “love at first sight” and he knew that he wanted Salamon to execute the project.”
Cissell said that he feels a sense of accomplishment that Oak Park is very community-oriented, which allowed such a smooth city-citizen collaboration to even happen in the first place. Now that Oak Park and Bark is literally built and in use, Cissell feels sentimental.
“This wasn’t for nothing. We did make a change and we did open a dog park.” Cissell said. “It took time, it took about three years, and we did it. The biggest thing is there is a lot of happy people that are going to use that park and be grateful for it being in the community.”
Access to the park itself is currently only for Oak Park residents, and requires a key fob for access, which is granted on completion of the application process. Requirements include dog licenses, vaccinations, and an orientation process, as well as a required $40 annual fee. Visit bit.ly/OakParkandBark for more details.
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