Duffeeland Dog Park and the Club

Duffeeland always was a problem waiting to happen. We knew that when we (RCSC) bought it from Bob Knight in 2012. We also knew we needed to own at least one dog park. The original plan was to develop the land behind the Sun Bowl softball field that is a holding pond into a dog park. It would have worked 90% plus of the time with so little rain fall in AZ. Carole Martinez campaigned on opening the park and was elected on the premise we would have second park, one owned by the RCSC.

Around the same time Bob had lost his wife, he had health concerns and was moving out of the community back to his home state. The park was nowhere near what is is today, but it was the only game in town. It was more centrally located and was already better developed. We bought it for about half the estimated market value and then put a fair amount of money into updating it. Carole always wanted the Sun Bowl site to be added, but from the day we took ownership of Duffeeland, there were challenges.

The loudest cry came from the members immediately behind the property. Our town hall sessions got heated as those living with the noise argued now that the RCSC owned it we had to make it more quiet. Some of those using the park wanted it divided into two parks, large and small. Other issues were non-residents using the park while others complained about owners who paid no attention to their dogs and just sat listlessly chatting away. Yes, socialization is important, but not more so than controlling your dog(s).

Shortly after it opened, the RCSC set up a paid monitor who sat at a card table and signed members in. That helped stop non-residents but they their primary duties were collecting member numbers and opening and closing the park. I think that lasted 2 to 3 months (early fall) as it was expensive and staffing it as we were approaching colder weather and nowhere for the monitor to go to a bathroom wasn't practical.

The battles continued with nothing overwhelming but clearly with angst from both home owners and park users. A solution finally came when two dedicated park users volunteered to start a club. Membership in the club was voluntary, but they accepted the responsibility for oversight. Dottie and Tracie did a great job along with the rest of the club members. It wasn't perfect, but easily the most tranquil of solutions we had found since the purchase.

Unfortunately we lost Dottie a year or two back and everything changed. I know there's been turmoil for months now with the park users blaming the COC for coming down on them. The Committee On Clubs is intended to help clubs set and follow their rules. Apparently the new club officers saw things differently than the past officers. That's not unusual.

Worse yet, there's been incidents at the park that have been less than pleasant. The worst was one involving a stun gun. There's also been some issues between dogs owners and their dogs being aggressive. Look, it's a dog park and stuff happens. That said, those bitching about the GM, need to understand one of his jobs is to protect the assets of the RCSC. The liabilities that come with owning a dog park are plentiful and can be large if there aren't checks and balances in place.

I would guess the point of all that has transpired has been an effort to mitigate those liabilities and place greater emphasis on the responsibilities of the member using the park. It's simply about holding those using the park accountable.

 

Did the park have the same issues when Mr. Knight owned the property, and if so how were they handled by him?