The mission of the Tremont Residents Empowering Animals To Socialize is
to effect an enhancement in the quality of life in the Tremont community
through education and promotion of dog parks and responsible dog ownership.
Tremont's Clark Field Dog Park
Amenities: The dog park is located in South Tremont at Clark Field. Its gravel-covered lot features a state of the art drainage system. Trees have been donated by way of grant and planted to allow for shade as they mature. An exciting feature is the water fountain, which not only has a human-sized spout but also has a fountain at the right height for pups! The park also has 8 benches set on cement pads as well as waste stations to help keep Cleveland's first dog park immaculate. Shade and information kiosk coming soon. Click here for driving directions and a map.
Our Vision and History to bring a dog park to Cleveland
TREMONT'S CLARK FIELD DOG PARK OPENS JUNE 24th!
June 24, 2005
- TREATS Update: Press Release for Dog Park Opening June 24, 2005!
Cleveland, Ohio, June 15 – Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell, Cleveland
City Councilman Joe Cimperman, The Department of Parks, Recreation and
Properties of the City of Cleveland, Friends of Clark Field and Tremont
Residents Empowering Animals to Socialize (TREATS) invite you and your
dog to the grand opening of the city’s first dog park on Friday,
June 24 at Clark Field, located off Clark Avenue in Cleveland’s
Tremont neighborhood.
“We are honored to have the city’s first dog park open in
Tremont,” said Councilman Cimperman. “I know that dog lovers
will be excited to make use of it.”
Events kick off at 6 p.m. with remarks from the mayor and city officials,
and will include an ice cream social fundraiser with a suggested donation
of $5 to benefit Friends of Cleveland Kennel, Friends of Clark Field
and TREATS. Purina, TREATS, ClevelandDogParks.com and Happy Tails Pet
Services Inc. have generously donated goody bags for all dogs and dog
lovers in attendance.
The Tremont dog park features an enclosed space of approximately an
acre, a gravel surface, a state-of-the-art drainage system, and a double-gated
entry, which will be kept locked when the park is not open. Hours of
operation are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fresh water and shade are available,
and the park includes benches and trees.
“The city of Cleveland, under the leadership of Mayor Jane Campbell,
is excited about the opening of Cleveland’s first dog park,”
said Antoinette Thompson, assistant director of Parks, Recreation and
Properties. “The administration recognizes that we have to take
these small steps to reach our larger goal of providing quality of life
for the residents of Cleveland. The opening of the dog park is a step
toward that ultimate goal.”
The dog park is the culmination of almost four years of work by TREATS,
which was formed with a mission to educate city officials and residents
about the benefits of dog parks for both the community and dogs and
to create an off-leash dog run in historic Lincoln Park. Following community
meetings and discussions with representatives from the city and Councilman
Cimperman, the decision was made to site the first dog park in the city
at Clark Field.
Using initial drawings, research and ideas taken from discussions with
the members of TREATS, the city included a dog park as part of the master
plan for Clark Field. The dog park is located in a lighted area, near
a large parking lot, at the site of the old tennis courts. Placing the
dog park in Clark Field helps fulfill the mission of Friends of Clark
Field, which is to increase the safety of the park, to organize a variety
of activities to entice the community back to the park and to build
a relationship with the City of Cleveland Parks, Recreation and Properties
Department. Friends of Clark Field, with additional help from TREATS,
have volunteered to maintain the dog park.
For further information, contact TREATS co-chairs Rebecca Riker at 216/789-8109
or Sandy Smith at 216/741-1840. Or, Friends of Clark Field co-chair
Beverly Wurm at 216-310-6810.
May 2005
- TREATS Update: Dog Park Opening June 24, 2005!
Since our last update in September 2003, much has happened! TREATS
is anticipating the opening of the city's first dog park in Clark Field
on June 24.In our efforts to create a dog park in Lincoln Park, TREATS
worked with city architects to create a pleasing dog park for Tremont
and Cleveland residents. We were able to pitch our idea to the public
and get an overwhelmingly positive response. Because of our efforts,
the city of Cleveland was encouraged to support the construction of
a dog park. Although TREATS continued its efforts to open the minds
of city officials and local residents to having a dog park in Lincoln
Park, after much deliberation, it was determined by the city that the
Lincoln Park site originally chosen by TREATS would not be the location
of the first Cleveland dog park. Councilman Joe Cimperman notified TREATS
last fall that Clark Field would be the location. Since that time, Councilman
Cimperman, city and parks officials, and Friends of Clark Field have
worked with TREATS to create an optimum dog park
environment in Clark Field. Although our group retains some of our initial
concerns with the site (isolated location, noise, pollution from ISG,
etc.), we feel the city has heard and addressed many our concerns and
we applaud them for the efforts made to accommodate our many requests.
After nearly 2 years of campaigning for a local dog park, educating
residents and hosting fundraisers, TREATS is happy that the city of
Cleveland will open its first dog park on June 24. With the help of
Friends of Clark Field and other local supporters, the city and Friends
of Clark Field revised the initial drawings provided by TREATS to accommodate
the new location and created a plan that turned three abandoned tennis
courts into an awesome dog park. The park features a gravel surface,
with state-of-the-art drainage, and has a double-gated entry system,
which will be kept locked when the park is not open. Fresh water and
shade will be available, and the park will include benches and trees.
The benches were purchased with a grant Friends of Clark Field received
from the Neighborhood Connections program of the Cleveland Foundation.
We are looking
forward to the opening of the park on Friday, June 24th, and invite
all TREATS members to attend the grand opening. From that day forward,
with help from Friends of Clark Field, TREATS and Councilman Cimperman,
the gates will be unlocked each morning and closed each evening. Please
remember to clean up after your dog!
While TREATS
supports the Clark Field Dog Park and encourages the creation of other
dog parks around the city, we still plan to lobby Tremont residents
and the city for a smaller dog run in Lincoln Park, where many residents
continue to walk their dogs. TREATS has installed dog waste stations
in Lincoln Park and plans to contribute dog waste stations, as well
as a thank you board, to the dog park at Clark Field.
UPDATE!!! The hard work preparing the City of Cleveland and residents in Tremont for a proposed off-leash dog park resulted in the establishment of a dog park located at Clark Field. This state-of-the-art dog park was openned on June 24, 2004 with the help of The Friends of Clark Field and many valuable volunteers.
9-16-03
-TREATS Update: Notified city of challenges Clark Field dog park
faces.
Continue to support efforts for a dog park in Lincoln Park. TREATS reply
to the City of Cleveland.
9-15-03
- TREATS Update:
The return letter
from Tremont West Development Corp. to Natalie Ronayne.
Did you get
to "weigh-in with your opinion on this matter"? Did you get
invited to this public meeting?
9-12-03
- TREATS Update: Lincoln Park Site REJECTED
TREATS recently learned he city plans to use the dog run use the
dog run proposal as a catalyst for renovating Clark Fields.
Click to read the letter
from the city Parks Department Director to Tremont West Development
Corp.
TREATS position
on this matter is to continue to build a dog run in a safe, secure location.
There is $760,000 of federal and local money allocated to revitalizing
Lincoln Park. The proposed location of Clark Fields offers none of the
key elements to establishing a safe and secure dog park in the city
of Cleveland. Clark Fields are located in an isolated area with little
or no traffic, no lighting and no housing. Residents of Tremont traveling
by foot to Clark Fields are expected to journey across a vacant, dangerous
and non handicapped accessible foot bridge over I-490. This site is
NOT acceptable for a safe, secure dog park.
9-11-03
- TREATS Update
In a few weeks,
Tremont's historic Lincoln Park will begin a revitalization thanks to
a project funded by UPARR using federal funds combined with generous
support from Councilman Joe Cimperman and Mayor Jane Campbell. Thanks
to Mayor Campbell, Lincoln Park was exclusively selected as the only
city park to receive the funding needed to complete this project. Included
in the plan are wider sidewalks, historic lighting, a new children's
playground, the addition of a spray ground to the pool area, modern
park benches, trees and flowers as well as the updating of the centrally
located gazebo. The parks ground breaking ceremony is scheduled sometime
between September 22 and October 15, 2003.
Tremont Residents Empowering Animals To Socialize (TREATS), a citizens
group made up of dog park enthusiasts in Ward 13, is working closely
with city officials in Cleveland to improve the community through the
establishment of an off-leash dog run in Lincoln Park. TREATS is asking
area dog park advocates to get involved and be heard by the decision
makers responsible for building Cleveland's first ever public dog run
in Lincoln Park.
What Can YOU Do?
Cleveland residents are urged to show support for the dog run, specifically
its proposed location Lincoln Park. City officials are in the final
planning stages and they need to hear from you.
City leadership asked specific things of us,
and we delivered. Now at the 11th hour they are trying to backtrack
and put a run in an isolated area, not in Lincoln Park, at an unnamed
future date.
Please place a phone call to our leaders. Leave a message of support
for the Lincoln park location with their assistant. A simple voicemail
message or fax could help keep the dog run in Lincoln Park. Do not underestimate
the power of your effort. If you need a ready-to-fax document (Word)
emailed to you, send a request (subject line: Lincoln Park) to treats@clevelanddogparks.com.
Ask
city officials to support the efforts of TREATS
and keep the proposed dog run in Lincoln Park!!!
Natalie
Ronayne, Director
City of Cleveland Department of Parks,
Recreation and Properties
Convention Center
500 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-664-2485
216-664-4086 - FAX
nronayne@city.cleveland.oh.us
|
|
City
of Cleveland Division of Research,
Planning & Development
Mark C. Fallon, Commissioner
1501 North Marginal Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-664-3284
|
|
|
|
|
|
Antoinette
Thompson, Assistant Director
City of Cleveland Department of Parks, Recreation and Properties
Convention Center
500 Lakeside Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-664-2485
216-664-4086 - FAX
|
|
Joe
Cimperman, Ward 13 Councilman
City of Cleveland City Council
City Hall, Room 216
601 Lakeside Avenue N.E.
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-664-2691
216-664-3837 FAX
ward13@clevelandcitycouncil.org
|
9-3-03
-Meeting with Friends of Lincoln Park regarding site location
of the run within Lincoln Park
(5:00 PM at OLA St. Joseph Center - 2346 West 14th Street)
Official minutes not available to TREATS. Instead Tremont West
Development Corp. has provided a list of "notes"
taken at the public meeting.
Here's a summary
of the meeting:
In response to the
concerns brought forth by citizens of Tremont at the last meeting, TREATS
CO-chairs prepared an educational and informative PowerPoint presentation
to shed light on how a dog run can benefit the community. City officials
were on hand to field questions in regards to placing the proposed dog
run in a different corner of Lincoln Park.
It was determined by consensus that the dog run location could be achieved
by moving it to the southwest corner of Lincoln Park. Park officials
will be finalizing details in the coming days.
8-29-03 - TREATS
Update - Dog Run Site Location
Did you get invited to this public meeting?
As is the case with most
things, a few loud voices in the neighborhood are threatening the existence
of the proposed dog run and have shouted out the many (softer) voices
of the folks who support the dog run. Anyone who lives in the Cleveland
area can bring their dogs to the dog run, so this isn't just a Tremont
issue or a Cleveland issue. Those of us who support the dog run feel
it would be a great asset for the neighborhood and the park. It would
become a "destination" for dog owners and walkers in the neighborhood,
a place where dogs can socialize and people can meet their neighbors
(or, if they're from another neighborhood, chat with friendly fellow
dog owners). It is also a great opportunity to show folks who aren't
from the neighborhood what a great area Tremont is to visit...grab a
cup of coffee at Civilization or Lucky's, wander around the neighborhood
and window shop, and visit the dog run. Sounds like a great day to me!
Some opponents of the dog run complain that there are already too many
dogs walking and pooping around Lincoln Park. We think the dog run would
solve that issue, since the dogs would be contained to one area of the
park, which would be regularly maintained by the dog owners who use
it . (Let's face it, if you're a responsible dog owner, you'll probably
clean up after your dog.) TREATS recently held a very successful ice
cream social. Over 60 people attended, and they brought many, many dogs.
Everyone had a great time and learned how much fun a dog run can be.
It gave people a chance to meet and socialize and catch up on news;
it gave the dogs a chance to run around and play...something most dogs
need on a daily basis.
So, we are asking all of you to try to attend the meeting on Sept. 3
to show your support . The more people we have at the meeting who support
the dog run, the better. Please pass this e-mail along to anyone you
know who has a dog or who might be interested in supporting the dog
run. If built, it will be the first one in the city of Cleveland.
Again, we need as much support as possible. The City of Cleveland commissioner
notes that the timeline of this project is sensitive and that a contractor
will be on site shortly. He requests that the location of the dog run
be settled soon. This meeting will be the deciding
factor.
8-18-03 -Meeting
with Friends of Lincoln Park regarding the UPARR/Lincoln Park Revitalization
Project
Did you get invited to this public meeting?
I. Welcome and Introduction
II. Friends of Lincoln Park update
III. Introduction of the UPARR/Lincoln Park Plan
Click to read the meeting
minutes.
8-8-03
-Dog Run Ice Cream Social - Lucky's Cafe at 777 Starkweather
Avenue - 6:00 - 8:00 PM
During our first off-leash fundraiser we raised over $300; all of which
will help keep the Lincoln Park Dog Run beautiful and well maintained
once it is built. Special thanks to our hard working ice cream slingers
and event volunteers: Eric, Dray, Sandy, Martha, Lorelei and Keirsten.
A special thank you to Keith Sutton, LeAnna and Fred of Lucky's Cafe
for hosting the event. We would also like to recognize Smith's Dairy
for donating the generous amount of ice cream, Hershey's Food Corp.
and Happy Tails Pet Services Inc. for the wonderful toppings and Dean
Supply for the discount on supplies for the event. We look forward to
inviting you to many more, fun, off-leash dog events!. WKYC-Channel
3 was standing by and featured our story on their evening news! Thanks
to Eileen McShea.
Ice
Cream Kindly Provided by
7-20-03
-Taste of Tremont
|
Thanks to TWDC we were
able to participate in this years first Taste of Tremont event
and collect funds!!!. Becca, Sandy and Dray chased down the happy
tails that were lucky enough to attend the street fair and invite
them to the upcoming Ice Cream Social. We were collecting "spare
change" donations to fund the event and others to come this
summer and fall. See you at the social!
Pictured:
Sandy and Dray
|
 |
7-7-03
-Fundraising Meeting & Calendar of Events
Sandy, Martha and Becca have been very busy talking with area restaurants,
pubs and the like about hosting some of our planned events this summer
and fall. We are now working on holding an Ice
Cream Social in Tremont on Friday, August 8th from 6:00 pm
- 8:00 pm in conjunction with the Tremont Art Walk. As soon as the details
are ironed out we will post an uddate here. All donations are tax-deductible.
Proceeds will go toward beautification and general maintenance of the
dog park. Stay tuned!
6-26-03
-Fundraising Announcement! - TREATS PARTICIPATION
CANCELED!!!
TREATS will be participating in the 3rd annual Tremont Neighborhood
"Show Your Stuff" Garage Sale. The event will be held Sunday,
July 13 at Lincoln Park from 11 AM to 4 PM. Anyone wishing to donate
items for the sale should contact Becca at 216-771-1551, Sandy at 741-1840
or Martha at 696-3205. All donations are tax-deductible. Proceeds will
go toward beautification and general maintenance of the dog park.
5-29-03
Site Design & City proposal
We were asked to meet with the City of Cleveland architect, Stephen
Long, to assist with the planning of the dog park in historic Lincoln
Park. The park is slated for a complete renovation this coming September
to improve sidewalks, amenities such as the children's playground, city
pool and the addition of a dog park. We are eagerly awaiting to see
the final drawings and will post them on our website shortly.
3-19-03
Fundraising Meeting - Lucky's Cafe
Our group met to discuss possible fundraisers to help fund the creation
of the park. Many ideas were shared and we will be working hard the
next few months to finalize our plans.
3-11-03
Cleveland Foundation Interview -YMCA at West 25th & Dennison
The Cleveland Foundation received and reviewed our grant application
and invited three members of TREATS to attend an informal interview
to learn more about our project. Becca, Eric and Sandy attended and
impressed the group with our knowledge of how a dog park in Tremont
with benefit our community as a whole. The grant making committee will
be making final decisions on March 24th and will notify recipient's
shortly there after. We have been asked to provide letters of support
from Councilman Joe Cimperman as well as copies of the many signatures
we have acquired from Ward 13 residents. We also need to supply them
with an aerial map of Lincoln Park showing them our layout for the off-leash
area. Next meeting will be held 3-19-03.
2-26-03
Meeting - Lucky's Cafe 7:30 PM
The grant application for the Cleveland Foundation was prepared by Becca
and Eric on behalf of the group. A formal budget for the cost of the
park has also been determined and submitted to Joe Cimperman, ParkWorks
and the City of Cleveland Parks & Recreation Department.
2-5-03
Meeting - Lucky's Cafe 7:30 PM
The group discussed important fundraising ideas. We are also each trying
to get our efforts involved with all of the local block clubs with the
help of Tremont West Development Corp. We are exploring a grant through
the Cleveland Foundation's Neighborhood
Connection (thanks Scott for the heads up). Next meeting scheduled
for 2-26-03.
1-22-03
Meeting - Lucky's Cafe 7:30 PM
Our group prepared a proposal
for review by Ward 13 Councilman Joe
Cimperman. Joe was enthusiastic about our efforts and gave us the
much needed details to accomplish our goal. We are now preparing a formal
proposal for the City of Cleveland Parks & Recreation Department
and ParkWorks.org. A grant has been given to Lincoln Park to revitalize
the park. It is our hope we can prepare a cost effective solution to
include a fenced in area for the dogs to socialize.
Our group had previously been operating as the Tremont Dog Park Enthusiasts.
At tonight's meeting, with plenty of pre-meeting brainstorming, we were
able to come up with TREATS - Tremont Residents Empowering Animals To
Socialize.
Press Releases are being prepared by CO-chair Karen Rouh fore immediate
release to local media outlets.
11-25-02
- Lincoln Park Pub
1. Meet & Greet – First "real" meeting with fellow
neighbors
2. Update on local park (Lincoln Park and Clark Fields) revitalization
projects
3. Discuss other Tremont sites for potential dog park / dog run
9-21-02
- Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival
ClevelandDogParks.com and Happy Tails Pet Services Inc. provided a community
booth at the annual Tremont Arts & Cultural Festival. It was a great
time and place to meet the residents of Tremont, collect signatures
for our petitions and form a small group of folks willing to help create
our reality. We collected signatures for the dog run and met lots of
energetic residents to join our mission.
