News and Activities
From DDOG
Update yourself on the happenings in DDOG world! This is where you'll find out what we're talking about, what projects are in the works, and whatever happened with that dang calendar! If you want to get involved in something you see here, please attend our next meeting!
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DDOG Meetings
DDOG meets on the first Thursday of every month, at 6:30pm. The location varies, so sign up for the DDOG list server at davisdogpark-subscribe@yahoogroups.com for announcements of upcoming meeting locations. All our meetings are open to any interested parties, so we hope you'll join us! Take a look at some of our past minutes to get up to speed.
Current Projects
Please visit our Events page to find out about fun dog activities coming up!
501(c)3 Filing
- We submitted our newly drafted Articles of Incorporation to a Sacramento filing service in March 2008! We're currently working with the filing service to get these documents filed with the Secretary of State. The service expects to have approval from their legal department by Tuesday, May 13, after which they will file our paperwork with the Secretary of State.
- Officers and Board of Director members were nominated at our February 2008 meeting and took office at our March meeting. An announcement has been posted soliciting statements from candidates for our 2009 board members.
- 2008 Officers & Directors
- President: Melody Tate
- Vice President: Melissa Bain
- Treasurer: Pat Stark
- Secretary: Regina Patton
- Board of Directors: Sue Bennett
- Board of Directors: Elizabeth Bishop
- Board of Directors: Alison Shilling
- Board of Directors: Christina Steckley (fundraising chair)
City of Davis Parks Master Plan
- The City of Davis has announced a community meeting to be held May 20 at 7pm in the Veteran's Memorial Center in Davis. According to their press release, "the city's consultant has conducted numerous surveys of residents and specific user groups to collect input for the process." The consultant will present results of the surveys and will solicit additional comments at this community meeting. All of the input will be forwarded to the Recreation and Parks Commission for a future public workshop resulting in a blue print for meeting existing and future needs of residents. Community members wishing to comment, but unable to attend the meeting should contact Anne Brunette, City of Davis Property Management Coordinator by phone (530) 757-5689, facsimile (530) 297-5410 or mail [1818 Fifth Street, Davis, CA 95616].
- We've contacted the city and let them know that DDOG is anxious to participate in the process of revising the parks master plan. Since the November 2007 meeting, we have not yet heard from the consulting firm. There have been some delays because of reorganization within the Parks & Community Services Department and other issues.
Toad Hollow Master Plan
- In November 2008, the City of Davis completed construction of a small dog area within Toad Hollow Dog Park. Though a bit different than what was outlined in the master plan, we appreciate the city's quick work in completing this much-needed play space.
- In November 2008, Tiffany S. accepted the board's request that she be our city liaison, in addition to her duties as parliamentarian. Having a one point-person for city business will allow our group to establish a stronger working relationship with the city and will make it easier for the city to communicate with our group.
- In February 2008, the dog rinse station was completed... yay!
DDOG Calendar
- Christina S. graciously offered to complete this project in December. Unfortunately, we need to have our non-profit filing status complete before a DDOG account can be set up through Cafe Press.
Grasslands Regional Park Off-Leash Area
- DDOG has established a Grasslands contact so we can have input beginning in the early stages of planning! Grasslands is county-owned land acquired from the federal government with a land-use stipulation requiring it to be used for community recreation. As part of this land-use agreement, 35 acres has been committed as an off-leash area for dogs, and the City of Davis has already committed to provide funding to fence the off-leash area as part of a mitigation agreement in connection with the Wildhorse housing project. As of May 2008, DDOG has been in regular communication with Friends of Grasslands, the de facto entity overseeing creation of a master plan for the entire 400 acre space. Other special interest groups already established at Grasslands include the Yolo Bowmen, Davis Aeromodelers and the Sierra Club.
Past Projects
Please visit our past events page to learn more about the community activities we participated in recently.
2007 Howl-o-ween at Toad Hollow
- Very successful fundraiser and community building activity! We had great participation by local sponsors and it was impossible to park near Toad Hollow during this event because there were so many people there! The group raised about $400, thanks to the generous contributions of our sponsors. Next year, we'll start promoting earlier to make sure local media are able to cover the event.
2007 End Notes
- Things may seem to have been quiet lately, but much has been happening in the background.
- Earlier this month, DDOG members baked up a storm and delivered cookies to the fantastic city crew that faithfully hauls out the hundreds of pounds of dog doodie generated by our pups throughout the year. The staff and crews were very appreciative and sent us a nice thank you note. Thanks to Sue for the great idea and for coordinating the effort.
- We’ve also been diligently populating our new DDOG website! Many thanks to Chris and Kevin for setting this up for us! We’ve got a ways to go in building our little wiki, but the seeds have been sown. If you’ve got mad web skills and would like to help maintain the website, please contact us at davisdogpark@yahoo.com and we’ll get you set up.
- If you haven’t been to Toad Hollow recently, work has begun on a dog rinse deck just off the parking lot! We anticipate completion by early January, if not sooner. Though there is no money in the city budget to implement our master plan items, the city staff have been incredibly helpful in finding creative ways to meet our goals. This most recent project is hot on the heels of our recent Toad Hollow tree plantings, that also came at no cost to our group. Next time you see any of our city work crews, please thank them for all the extra effort they’ve put into our park!
- And finally, our legal elves have been working in the back room to review our nonprofit paperwork and take care of filing with the state. Though we’re not likely to hit our December 31 target, everything should be ready in January.
- Thanks to all who have really helped carry out all these tasks and more over the past year. A special thanks to our founders for continuing to carry the torch over the past few years when so few of us were on board. Without the contacts they’ve established with the city, and the administrative groundwork already in place, we probably would not have seen the milestones we marked this past year.
Community Watch
- Toad Hollow Master Plan
- Parks & Recreation Facility Master Plan Update
- Cannery Park Project
- Grasslands Regional Park
- Simmons Estate Visioning
