Dog park moves forward, Hodrag race starts planning and river trail study completed
By Jared Raney
Reporter
Dog Park
At a meeting of the Rhinelander Parks, Buildings & Grounds Committee this week, Tina Werres presented on the progress of a proposed dog park near Hanson Lake.
The dog park group, led by Werres, is working on getting funding for a fence to enclose the property. Committee members said they would not approve the park without a fence in place.
Alderman Alex Young expressed concern over the fence restricting public access to Hanson Lake, but was assured by Werres that the park would accommodate normal lake access.
“The thing that makes this hard is a what comes first kind of a thing,” said city administrator Kristina Aschenbrenner at the meeting.
The group needs $25,000 for the fencing, of which they have raised $2,000. Werres said they have interest from corporate donors who are waiting for official City Council approval before committing dollars.
In exchange for raising all project funds, the group is asking the city to designate and maintain the facility as an official city park.
No action was taken on the project, but Werres will be scheduled to come before the committee again in December to discuss the agreement between the city and dog park.
HoDrags on Ice
Linda Krebsbach and Dick Jennejohn presented a preliminary request to approve the Hodrags on Ice event for February 27th on Boom Lake. It will be the first time the event has come to Boom Lake. HoDrags began in 2013 on Lake Thompson, and was canceled last year due to poor ice conditions.
The Parks Committee approved the event contingent on completion of an event packet and proof of insurance, pending full Council approval.
HoDrags is a free event with six classes of racing vehicles, with trophies and money prizes. Some of the racing vehicles can reach speeds of 143 mph on the ice. The track will be a 2,000 foot stretch.
The greatest concerns for the event centered on cooperating with ice fishermen, as the track needs to be created weeks in advance, and any holes drilled in that area would compromise the event.
There were also concerns over creating berms out of the snow, that they could be a hazard, and what would happen to them after the event.
River Trail Study
Almost $400,000 in DNR Stewardship grants has been awarded to the city for the proposed River Trail, a biking and walking trail that follows the Wisconsin and Pelican Rivers through Rhinelander.
MSA Professional Services, who was contracted to perform a feasibility study on the project, was approved by the Committee, pending full Council approval, to put together a design proposal for a portion of the trail along Kemp Street and Sutliff Avenue.
This first segment of the trail will begin just east of Culvers on Highway 8, and travel into town on Kemp Street. At the Chamber it will split, travelling north up Sutliff Avenue, and connecting with Boyce Drive as it travels south.
Future trails will stretch up to Davenport Street on the northern half and to Pioneer Park on the southern half.
The design proposal was approved at a cost of just under $30,000, covered under the DNR grant.
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