What's the best use for three acres of land between the West Loop and Newcastle, just south of Westpark? What's that? You didn't say "
government-subsidized dog crap depository?"
Commissioner Steve Radack looks at a tract of undeveloped land near the West Loop and envisions dogs chasing each other around fake hydrants and splashing in a man-made pond.
Bill Wolf, a consultant hired by a nursery near the site, worries that customers would think twice about coming to his client's business because of odors emanating from the canine playground.
Radack is moving forward with plans to design and build within two months a three-acre dog park on a strip of land owned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, between Newcastle and the West Loop just south of Westpark.
Wolf contends -- rightly, in my opinion -- that huge, steaming heaps of digested Alpo are a detriment to nearby commerce. Radack's response?
"I can't believe that someone who wants to do business in this town is standing in the way of a dog park," Radack fumed Monday.
What does that mean? Is Radack suggesting that consumers will put Wolf out of business because of his opposition to the turd farm? Or is it some sort of veiled threat? More from Commissioner Radack, from the Transparency in Government file:
Radack said county commissioners often create parks and should not be required to hold public hearings on each proposed site.
"I don't need any public input on a dog park. I know how popular they are," he said. "I'm going to build that dog park. I don't really care what Lincoln Property has to say. I don't care what Bill Wolf has to say."
Wow. It's not uncommon for local politicians to become entrenched and refuse to listen to public opinion. But it's not often that you hear them say "I don't need any public input..." I don't have anything against the guy personally. But when he says
things like this, it looks like he's just blowing off the public.
Or maybe he's just looking to again etch his legacy in the hallowed pages of
Dog Fancy.
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