Leadership Mineral Wells to Crowd Fund “Crazy Dog Park”
By Amy Bearden
If you favorite pooch doesn’t play well with others, it may be time to start teaching them manners because Leadership Mineral Wells Class 27 has found their service project and your dog is going to love it!
LMW 27 is determined they are not biting off more than they can chew, but certainly have lots of funds to raise in a short amount of time. They actually need close to $150,000 and hope that through community fundraising and corporate sponsors, the park can be open by spring of 2023.
The financial viability of the project isn’t out of reach according to Marcelinda Williams who helps oversee the leadership program through the MW Chamber of Commerce. She said the Class 24 project was the most expensive endeavor yet, but the Crazy Dog Park is almost as costly. The Class 24 project was the restoration of the Crazy sign that now spans Highway 180 West and is seen by almost anyone driving through Mineral Wells. It was funded through private donations as well as community fundraisers, so organizers feel confident they can see the dog park through.
Time is of the essence, as Class 27 has only until the end November to collect all the funds. There is no Plan B according to the volunteers organizing the project.
“There is no back up plan and failure is not an option,” said Brook Barnett, who is the president of the Class 27. Barnett is a pet owner with a very large dog who sees a need for the park.
“I recently moved into the city from 10 acres I and have a 160 pound Pyrenees/Lab mix. As I was moving, I was thinking what am going to do with my dog. We’ve been walking in the mornings and at night of course, but this park would be the perfect place for him,” Barnett said.
Hannah Burkhall is the vice-president of Class 27 and is no stranger to supporting pet friendly environments. She and her husband are co-owners of Bankhead Texas Wine Bar in Mineral Wells and they welcome their patrons to bring pets to the patio. She says building a dog park has been discussed by many organizations over the years, but now this group is ready to act.
“None of those other were ready to do it right now. They absolutely loved the idea of the leadership class taking it on and making into a community project,” said Burkhall.
She also said she constantly hears there is nothing to do here in this town and thinks this will give families something else to do together.
The Location
The site for the project sits on the corner of Northwest 4th St and Northwest 1st Avenue. It is currently an empty grass lot with a few shade trees and is owned by the Public Benefit Corporation that also owns the Crazy Water Plaza, which sits directly to the south of the planned project.
“This land was set aside for public use and that’s what we’re going to do with it,” said Barnett. “It’s going to be a community project and we will have kids involved. We can get the athletic kids to help us roll out the sod. And the Ag/CTE kids can help build the garden boxes. We’re trying to bring the community together with this project.”
Once the project is complete, according to Kayli Green who serves as the group’s secretary, the city will eventually take over and maintain the park. “This is a partnership with the city of Mineral Wells. Right now the land is privately owned and donated to us and we will hand it off to the city,” she stated.
“David Hawes and Dean Sullivan are 100% on board with partnering with the leadership class,” Barnett said. “It may take a couple years to happen but they will be figuring it into their budget to maintain it.”
Design Inspiration and Expertise
As the leadership class latched on to the idea of a dog park, they knew they would need some help from a green space expert to make it all come together. Insert Mineral Wells resident Willis Winters.
Winters is the former director of the Dallas Parks and Recreation where he retired in 2019 after twenty years of service. Lucky for local dog owners, he retired to the “Crazy” community from the Big D and is lending his knowledge and expertise to the leadership class. With over 20 dog parks under his belt, they are sure to be in great hands.
“Willis Winters is the glue that makes this all come together,” said Burkhall.
Winters helped the group with the space design that includes two separate areas for large and small dogs divided by limestone benches for owners to sit down as well as community garden boxes maintained by Let’s Grow Crazy . Watering stations and pet waste stations are included in the design along with a 100 foot shade covering.
Raising Funds
“We aren’t opposed to a name change if a sponsor wants to come in and help us,” said class secretary Kayli Green. For now, the name is Crazy Dog Park but a big donor could still make that change.
Ideally the group is hoping for some big name sponsors to help them reach their goals, but would love to see small donors get involved.
“This is supposed to be a community project. We want all kinds of people to get involved, to be a part of this,” said Barnett. “We will also be using local contractors to help complete the work.”
The class has established a Go Fund Me account but there are many ways individuals can donate. Groundbreaking is set for this August. Be sure you are following their social media page to stay up to date with all of the progress. Crazy Dog Park Check out their brochure for more sponsorship details.
Good luck Class 27! Mineral Wells Area News looks forward to sharing your updates with the community.
Mineral Wells Area News is a nonprofit digital newspaper working hard to keep the citizens in the community informed, but we need your help to keep our mission moving forward. We are completely funded from donations by our readers. Please consider a donation through Venmo @mwareanews, or our PayPal Link or send a check to Mineral Wells Area News, PO Box 2 Mineral Wells Tx 76068 Anything will help keep the mission alive!
