Published: November 17, 2009 11:30 pm      

Raleigh County Commission considers dog park

The Raleigh County Commission urged supporters of an off-leash dog park who appeared at Tuesday’s commission meeting to ask the president of privately owned Beaver Coal Co. to donate land for the park.

Commissioner John Aliff promised supporters he would ask Beaver Coal President Woody Duba to “be a willing supporter” of the project.

“That’s where we have to begin at, is the properties,” Aliff said. “I don’t know that we have anything that’s suitable for anything like that.”

Aliff said the park project sounds like a “good idea” and accepted from McKay 2,000 signatures of local and out-of-town supporters of the project, information on off-leash parks in other cities and a large-scale map of the potential park.

Marshall McKay, chairman of the Beckley Area Recreation K-9 Park Action Committee (BARK PAC), said support for the project is widespread and that the signatures were collected in three weeks.

He added he came to ask the commission for help at the urging of Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh. At the last city council meeting, Pugh advised BARK PAC to ask the county to help find land for the project, suggesting the project could possibly be a point of collaboration between county and city government.

McKay explained the off-leash park would be similar to parks found in Denver, New York and Philadelphia.

“West Virginia is moving toward tourism,” McKay added. “To have people come here and stay and have a place in the area to put their dogs, even if it is just for a couple of days or overnight ...”

McKay said the park would be at least 3 acres, fenced in and would host a section for larger dogs and another one for smaller breeds.

He said the county could possibly impose a dog tax and that BARK PAC members would host fundraisers to pay for the park.

McKay also said BARK PAC would be reliant on the county workforce for maintenance. “It’s something like New River Park, except exclusively for animals,” he noted.

McKay said the group is in search of property close to the city, possibly near Tamarack or the YMCA’s Paul Cline Youth Sports Complex.

In another matter, Trap Hill area resident David Barnette told the commission he was recently notified by Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation Chief Officer Eric Coberly that he will receive water service from Glen White/Trap Hill Public Service District in Phase 2 of a $4 million project.

If the water service is added, a long-standing struggle by Barnette to have water at his residence will end.

Barnette said he should receive the service in late spring or early summer.

“I’ve been fighting a struggle for water service for Trap Hill PSD since 2001,” he said.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for Dec. 1.