Letter From The Crazy Dog Park Lady

SENT VIA E-MAIL

Robert Goss
Parks & Recreation Director
City of Folsom
50 Natoma Street
Folsom, CA 95630

Dear Mr. Goss,

I am writing to let you know of my extreme disappointment as a Folsom resident, home owner and dog owner regarding the way that the City of Folsom has managed FIDO Field. I've had a growing dissatisfaction for some time, but was finally motivated to notify the Department and City today.

This afternoon, I took our Jack Russell Terrier to the park only to find it closed. Upon returning home, I called the number which stated that the park would be "closed because of recent rain," however, it has been sunny for two days straight and both sides of the park were quite dry - dryer in fact than many other days when it has remained open.

As I mentioned above, this incident is not the only one that gives me pause. Over the past 12 months, I have also noticed that while the park is closed for "rest and maintenance" two days a week, maintenance is regularly neglected. Specifically:

• Refuse containers are rarely emptied, and are sometimes left to overflow for several weeks. At one point, owners resorted to hanging additional garbage bags on the fence since the cans were full (the same bag was hanging on the fence for two weeks straight). As a result, the odor of dog feces emanates from the area of the garbage can, even on the coldest of days. Given the nature of the park ,it's understandable that the cans WILL smell of dog feces, however I am unclear on why it would be left to pile up for more than 5 days at any given time.
  

• The lawn on the small dog side was completely neglected during the entire summer months and died from a lack of water. In August, a thick layer of fine dirt and grass seed was tossed on top of the dead lawn and was not watered in. This careless "reseeding" attempt resulted in asthma inducing dust for over 3 weeks, followed by mud which choked and killed any of the original lawn that managed to survive the summer.

The dog owners who frequent this park have formed a true community and we pride ourselves on picking up after our dogs and maintaining a pleasant park - that is, when it is open. 

More than a response letter listing excuses, I would truly like to see some action taken on the above issues. Folsom says it prides itself on its parks and open spaces, and that should most certainly extend to the dog park it has taken on as a responsibility of the City.

Sincerely,

Kristine Sandvik
#### Xxxxxxxxx Court
Folsom, CA
916-###-####