PORT ANGELES — The Gateway transit center will go to the dogs today during a fundraiser for a dog park.
From 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., canines will be allowed to run loose in the facility’s pavilion, which will be closed in with temporary fencing, and items will be auctioned to raise funds for an off-leash dog area at Lincoln Park.
The pavilion is located at the corner of Front and Lincoln streets.
Richard Bonine, city recreation services manager, referred to the event as a meet-and-greet for dogs and dog lovers alike. It will be a taste, he said, of what it would be like to have a dog park in Port Angeles.
“I just see a good time,” Bonine said.
Auction items
He said ceramic drink and food bowls, a mountain bike and even three truckloads of wood are among the items that will be auctioned. Additionally, there will be a cash raffle, drinks provided by Kokopelli Grill and, yes, hot dogs.
A dog park fundraising group started by Bonine and Port Angeles’ two Rotary clubs is hosting the event.
Between $40,000 and $45,000 needs to be raised to build the three-quarter-acre dog park east of the BMX track and cover maintenance costs for three years, as required by the city. Steve Zenovic of the Nor’wester Rotary Club said $1,500 has been donated so far. Bonine said donations would be returned if the dog park doesn’t come to fruition.
Zenovic said the goal is to get the dog park started this summer because the area needs to be regraded and then replanted with grass.
“I think we can go as late as August and September and get done in there and get it planted,” he said.
If that is missed, Zenovic said, the group would likely have to decide whether to continue the fundraising effort.
Donations can be made to the Nor’wester Rotary Club at P.O. Box 176, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
For more information, phone Bonine at 360-417-4551.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
