“Olsen asked that dog owners contact the MPRB directly with what mattered most to them about the park.”
Lol. I would say you can’t make this up, but I suspect the Monty Python troupe would’ve done it well. The dog park community has been asking the Park Board for transparency and engagement for nearly 2 years now, and our requests have fallen on deaf ears.
When the Park Board was looking to fence Minnehaha Dog Park in the fall of 2024, this question was put into the FAQ section of their project website a month or two after they announced the fence:
Q: Was this decision made transparently?
A: This project fell under the “inform” level of community engagement which means that staff needed to inform the public about the plan to install fencing at the boundaries of the off-leash area. Previous public engagement efforts have not led to changes in the behavior of some park users, and more communication would not change the issue of off-leash dogs going onto adjacent property or Park Board property requiring leashing of dogs.
The website is still up. Nothing has changed with Park Board’s transparency and engagement since.
The 2026 budget for Mpls Parks is $160MM. If the Park Board continues to be a net negative to me personally, I’d be fully comfortable driving their budget to $0.
“Olsen asked that dog owners contact the MPRB directly with what mattered most to them about the park.”
Lol. I would say you can’t make this up, but I suspect the Monty Python troupe would’ve done it well. The dog park community has been asking the Park Board for transparency and engagement for nearly 2 years now, and our requests have fallen on deaf ears.
When the Park Board was looking to fence Minnehaha Dog Park in the fall of 2024, this question was put into the FAQ section of their project website a month or two after they announced the fence:
Q: Was this decision made transparently?
A: This project fell under the “inform” level of community engagement which means that staff needed to inform the public about the plan to install fencing at the boundaries of the off-leash area. Previous public engagement efforts have not led to changes in the behavior of some park users, and more communication would not change the issue of off-leash dogs going onto adjacent property or Park Board property requiring leashing of dogs.
The website is still up. Nothing has changed with Park Board’s transparency and engagement since.
The 2026 budget for Mpls Parks is $160MM. If the Park Board continues to be a net negative to me personally, I’d be fully comfortable driving their budget to $0.
I had you in mind when I asked him about it.