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Dog park dead end isn't about raising the money, one supporter says

By Julie Lane

PETER BOODY FILE PHOTO | Dog park proponent Jerry Berner at a recent Town Board work session. He wrote a letter to the editor of the Reporter last week saying fund-raising for the dog park had been hit a brick wall.

After lobbying for more than a year for town land to be used as a dog park, supporters who were tentatively granted use of a parcel on Manwaring Road are at a virtual standstill in their effort to use the site.

One organizer, Jerry Berner, wrote in a letter to the editor last week that difficulty raising money to fund the park’s fencing and other costs was forcing an end to the effort. (The letter was incorrectly attributed to Emory Breiner because the signature was misread at the Reporter.)

It’s not a lack of money for fencing and other expenses, according to organizer Richard Needham. Rather, it’s a need to file for a 501(c)3 to enable contributors to deduct their donations from their taxes, as well as questions about just what costs are being passed along to the organizers.

The group is questioning why it’s being asked to bear the cost of insurance at  $1,500 to $3,000 a year when the town picks up the tab for insuring the skate park and other public venues, Mr. Needham said.

For the full story, see Thursday’s Reporter.