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Future dog park on fund’s wish list

Donations help with activities at the 50 parks that are in the city of Hamilton.

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By Hannah Poturalski, Staff Writer 1:48 AM Saturday, October 16, 2010

HAMILTON — A little known fact about Hamilton is there are 50 different parks in the city.

One way those parks are sustained is through donations to the Hamilton Parks and Recreation Foundation Fund, formerly known as Friends of the Park.

“The fund’s purpose is to provide opportunities the normal park’s budget can’t,” said Councilwoman Kathleen Klink, member of the Hamilton Community Foundation board. “It’s finding ways to make parks the best they can be without using the normal, day-to-day budget.”

The fund dates back to 1994, when Friends of the Park was first formed. The fund is now housed within the Hamilton Community Foundation.

John Guidugli, president of Hamilton Community Foundation, said even before the establishment of this fund in 2008, the foundation has worked with the city’s parks and recreation leaders for many years.

“When they came to us we were certainly willing to encourage people to support parks,” Guidugli said.

Donations to the fund are tax-deductible.

Harris said current ideas for use of the funds are creating a dog park and a spray/fountain park.

“We’ve heard for the last several years that Hamilton doesn’t have a dog park,” Harris said. “We have lots of fans of dog parks.”

Harris said so far around $8,000 has been raised for a dog park. While he has a few local spots in mind, no areas have been designated. City officials visited other communities with successful dog parks to get ideas.

The fund also helps pay for Movies in the Park, the Easter Egg Hunt and maintenance equipment such as lawn mowers.

For more information, call Parks and Recreation at (513) 785-7060 or the Hamilton Community Foundation at (513) 863-1717.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2179 or hpoturalski@coxohio.com.

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