Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Budget Meeting Minutes 6/04/06

Meeting Minutes
McCarren Dog Run Association
Sunday, June 4th, 2006, 6:00pm
PS9 Pet Supplies


Present:
Christine (Valencia), Lauren (Brody), Mina (Nigel), Hilary (Eliott)

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how best to budget the $1,000 we raised on May 13th.

We all agreed that the first priority was to secure the smaller dog run and make it a safe space for small dogs. This will not only prevent injury for the small dogs but also leave more room in the large run for the big dogs to play. It will solve over crowding problems during peak hours. The Parks Department is behind this decision and NYC Dog is a huge proponent for creating separate spaces for small dogs.

We discussed the possible conflict between small dog owners and the dog owners who currently use the run. The smaller run is currently used by large dogs, aggressive dogs or dogs in heat. We don’t want to shut these dogs and owners out of the run. These dogs need a place to go too. However, in a busy city, it is not realistic to offer a run that is used just for one dog during peak times, especially when the larger run is over crowded and small dogs are being injured.

Solution: establish small dog hours for the smaller run so that the space can be shared

Proposed Small Dog Run Hours:
Monday –Friday 4:00PM – Sunset
Saturday & Sunday – 10:00 AM – Sunset

We will create a sign (pre-approved by Parks Dept.) on the gate specifying the hours.
Something like this:

McCarren Park
Small Dog Run

30 lbs and under only during the following hours:
Weekdays: 4pm-Sunset
Weekends: 10am – Sunset


We discussed the materials we will need to buy in order to secure the small run:

Wire fencing to go around the entire inside of the Wraght Iron fence. We may be able to get a certain amount of this free from the city. Hilary is waiting to hear from Jose on how much we can get. She also inquired as to where the city gets this material from and if we might be able to purchase the remainder of it from the same source.

Wire fencing and snow fencing to build the Double Doors at the entrance of the run. We should be able to get both

A Gate for the double doors.

Poles & Cement to secure the gate.

A New sign to go on the gate of the small run specifying hours.

Dog Bowls for small run (plus lock & chain - cemented like in large run).

Bench for small run

Once the above items are purchased, if there is any money left over, we should buy the “rat wire” to replace the flimsy green mesh the is surrounding the large run. After that, we should put any extra money towards a new, permanent Message Board that has plexi-glass and a lock and is water proof. We probably won’t have any money left over for the message board but we will continue to fund-raise for these items.

We discussed a new fund raiser idea based on something “Fido” in Prospect Park does. It’s called a “Coffee Clatch” and we would basically just set up a table with a sign outside the run. We will pass out the new “McCarren Dog Run Etiquette” Document, answer questions, get people to sign up for our Google group list serve and talk to people about what we do with the Association and ask for donations. Fido has had great success with this program and they do it once a month. It helps raise awareness and money and takes very little energy to pull off! Our first Coffee Clatch will be the last Sunday in June – June 25th.

We discussed goal dates for building the small dog run:
Sunday July 9th (along with the regular clean up) – put up inside fencing.
Sunday, July 16th – Put up Double Doors
Sunday, August 6th (along with regular clean up) we will get new chips and do any maintenance needed. That evening we will have a small dog run opening celebration! Fun.

Christine (Valencia) and Hilary (Eliott) are going to talk to some hardware stores and make a trip to Lowes to get exact pricing on all materials.

Lauren (Brody), Mina (Nigel) & Echo (Stuey) are going to work together to create a personalized document based on the “Dog Run Etiquette” Document recently published by NYC Dog. This document should be completed in time to make copies for the Coffee Clatch on June 25th.

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM.