Council members continue to discuss solutions for Baker Dog Park
The Norwich common council voted to keep the hours of operation for Baker Dog Park the same. Open hours are from dawn to dusk. (Photo by Tyler Murphy)
NORWICH — During the common council meeting on Tuesday, June 15, council members held a public hearing to hear Norwich resident’s opinions on the possible change in hours to Baker Dog Park. After discussion the council ultimately voted not to change the hours at this time.
The park was created in 2019 and has operated according to the town-wide park hours, which is closure from dusk to dawn.
However, since establishing the park officials reported they had received noise complaints from residents prompting council members to consider limiting the park’s hours of operation from dusk until 8 a.m.
The creation of a dog park in Norwich was proposed by local Norwich teen and community volunteer, Hannah Baker, who attended the meeting and spoke during the public forum. She explained why she believes the hours should not be changed, and possible solutions to the noise complaints.
"I do not believe the hours of the dog park should be changed. Currently they are from dusk until dawn. And I think there are other ways to go about possible noise complaints, such as I could put something on the Facebook page, signage on the fencing that says, you know, please be respectful of neighbors at so-and-so times," said Baker.
She also suggested having a police presence in the park from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., to assist in making sure visitors to the park are being respectful and keeping noise to a minimum.
"I think just a police officer, just sitting out front for the half an hour, between 6 [a.m.] and 6:30 [a.m.], that's been reported would help in addressing that and with community policing as well," she said.
One other Norwich resident, Kathleen Campbell, spoke during the public hearing and added that the dog park is being used and enjoyed by the community.
“I echo what Hannah just said, and I think that the community has had such positive feedback about the dog park since it’s opened. So many people are using it and enjoying it,” said Campbell. “And while we recognize that maybe there is a dog that’s barking early in the morning, I think it can be addressed on an individual basis rather than a global swipe saying that, you know, we need to make a change.”
Council members had mixed views on the issue, with Alderman David Zieno saying using a police officer to enforce the rules was a "misuse of the police department."
Alderman Matthew Caldwell voiced his concerns that by changing the hours of one park, it could set a precedence in the future for residents to request hour changes to any other parks.
"One thing I'm thinking of is eventually pickleball will be here, and if there is a sound that is annoying to some people, and players want to play at 7 a.m., we're gonna be back here again changing the times," said Caldwell. "It's not that I'm not sympathetic, but I just don't know that I think this is the appropriate solution right now."
Zieno disagreed, and believed the request to change the hours was reasonable, as people are entitled to peace and quiet in their own homes.
"First of all we're not telling them any other park, this is a specific issue so to extrapolate that to other parks doesn't make sense at all. And I think the people that live next door to the dog park have a right to the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of their homes," he said.
Alderman Brian Doliver acknowledged that changing the hours of one park could balloon into fiddling with the hours of other parks, but stated there were other alternatives that could be explored first.
"Whether I agree with things or not, I think everybody should have a voice and be able to play things out. You know and you're correct in saying this could kind of mushroom into other things, like the pickleball idea too," said Doliver. "So I do feel that we do need to address it, but like Ms. Baker had said, there's other alternatives we can try."
The final vote on whether to reduce the hours of operation was Alderman Zieno and Alderwoman Kays-Biviano voting in favor, and Alderman Caldwell, Alderman Doliver, Alderman Jeffrey, and Alderwoman Allaire voting not in favor.
"The proposal was to change the hours of just that park and we did vote 4 to 2 not to change the hours, so they will stay the same at this point," said Caldwell. "Hannah's done an awesome job with this dog park. It's a huge improvement for the community, a lot of people enjoy it, and we want to make it work the best we can. And I personally think there's a lot of other viable solutions, and we'll just keep an eye on it."
While the Baker Dog Park will continue to be open from dawn to dusk, this doesn't mean the conversation is necessarily over.
"I'm not opposed to maybe coming back to this in the future if other solutions don't provide the relief that some of the neighbors are requesting," said Caldwell.
The park was created in 2019 and has operated according to the town-wide park hours, which is closure from dusk to dawn.
However, since establishing the park officials reported they had received noise complaints from residents prompting council members to consider limiting the park’s hours of operation from dusk until 8 a.m.
The creation of a dog park in Norwich was proposed by local Norwich teen and community volunteer, Hannah Baker, who attended the meeting and spoke during the public forum. She explained why she believes the hours should not be changed, and possible solutions to the noise complaints.
"I do not believe the hours of the dog park should be changed. Currently they are from dusk until dawn. And I think there are other ways to go about possible noise complaints, such as I could put something on the Facebook page, signage on the fencing that says, you know, please be respectful of neighbors at so-and-so times," said Baker.
She also suggested having a police presence in the park from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., to assist in making sure visitors to the park are being respectful and keeping noise to a minimum.
"I think just a police officer, just sitting out front for the half an hour, between 6 [a.m.] and 6:30 [a.m.], that's been reported would help in addressing that and with community policing as well," she said.
One other Norwich resident, Kathleen Campbell, spoke during the public hearing and added that the dog park is being used and enjoyed by the community.
“I echo what Hannah just said, and I think that the community has had such positive feedback about the dog park since it’s opened. So many people are using it and enjoying it,” said Campbell. “And while we recognize that maybe there is a dog that’s barking early in the morning, I think it can be addressed on an individual basis rather than a global swipe saying that, you know, we need to make a change.”
Council members had mixed views on the issue, with Alderman David Zieno saying using a police officer to enforce the rules was a "misuse of the police department."
Alderman Matthew Caldwell voiced his concerns that by changing the hours of one park, it could set a precedence in the future for residents to request hour changes to any other parks.
"One thing I'm thinking of is eventually pickleball will be here, and if there is a sound that is annoying to some people, and players want to play at 7 a.m., we're gonna be back here again changing the times," said Caldwell. "It's not that I'm not sympathetic, but I just don't know that I think this is the appropriate solution right now."
Zieno disagreed, and believed the request to change the hours was reasonable, as people are entitled to peace and quiet in their own homes.
"First of all we're not telling them any other park, this is a specific issue so to extrapolate that to other parks doesn't make sense at all. And I think the people that live next door to the dog park have a right to the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of their homes," he said.
Alderman Brian Doliver acknowledged that changing the hours of one park could balloon into fiddling with the hours of other parks, but stated there were other alternatives that could be explored first.
"Whether I agree with things or not, I think everybody should have a voice and be able to play things out. You know and you're correct in saying this could kind of mushroom into other things, like the pickleball idea too," said Doliver. "So I do feel that we do need to address it, but like Ms. Baker had said, there's other alternatives we can try."
The final vote on whether to reduce the hours of operation was Alderman Zieno and Alderwoman Kays-Biviano voting in favor, and Alderman Caldwell, Alderman Doliver, Alderman Jeffrey, and Alderwoman Allaire voting not in favor.
"The proposal was to change the hours of just that park and we did vote 4 to 2 not to change the hours, so they will stay the same at this point," said Caldwell. "Hannah's done an awesome job with this dog park. It's a huge improvement for the community, a lot of people enjoy it, and we want to make it work the best we can. And I personally think there's a lot of other viable solutions, and we'll just keep an eye on it."
While the Baker Dog Park will continue to be open from dawn to dusk, this doesn't mean the conversation is necessarily over.
"I'm not opposed to maybe coming back to this in the future if other solutions don't provide the relief that some of the neighbors are requesting," said Caldwell.
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