Your Subtitle text
Desert Vista Park
The History of the Fountain Hills Off-Leash Desert Vista Park and ADOG
It all started in August 1997. A Fountain Hills greyhound owner requested permission from the Parks & Recreation department to use Golden Eagle baseball field to run his greyhounds off-leash. Thus began the prolonged quest for a permanent off-leash recreational facility in Fountain Hills. At the same time there was growing opposition to the presence of these dogs; it became a “children against dogs” issue. The dispute escalated and in April 1998 the Town Council suspended dog use of the Golden Eagle field for good, with no alternative area offered.
In March 1998 a group of 19 dog owners, together with Al Lorenz, a Parks Commissioner, met to discuss the Town establishing a permanent dog park. In April 1998, ADOG (Association of Dog Owners Group), was established with a group of ten people. The membership soon increased to 24 families with a mission statement and by-laws. The first Board of Directors consisted of Dan Regard, Cloud Downey, Morton Mitchell, Hillary Quinton, Phil Gollon and Ken O’Hara.
From April through September 1998 a major controversy between those favoring the establishment of the park and those adamantly opposed took place. After many emotional debates and ADOG’s determination to stick with this project, the Town Council voted overwhelmingly to establish a 3.5 acre facility at Desert Vista Park in September 1998. This land (12 acres) had been originally donated to the Town by MCO as a potential school site, but was later designated as a park. What most people don’t know is the off-leash facility cost the Town very little money to establish. The Town agreed to pay $18,000 for fencing, then the Sanitary District funded the grading, watering system, seeding and landscaping. This helped the Sanitary District continue to meet their need to dispose of the Towns treated wastewater.
On December 11, 1999 (20 months from the establishment of ADOG), the off-leash facility was opened. The park soon became the most used park in Fountain Hills, silencing detractors and changing many minds. ADOG was formally incorporated as an Arizona non-profit organization in March, 2000. In those early days ADOG was able to raise enough money to fund many of the park improvements we still enjoy today. These include the multi-station watering fountains (these were to be maintained by the Town) and two of the three shade structures. Since those early days we have continued to raise funds through annual membership and additional contributions. They have allowed us to replace the dirt / mud under two of the shade structures with crushed granite. They have also helped to provide for many of the benches and trees in the park.
In May 2000 ADOG created a donation account for the purpose of raising money to have lighting installed in the off-leash facility. The fund grew to a total of $27,217 thanks to the hard work and efforts of many of our past and present ADOG members. This money was made available to the Town in May 2007. The actual cost of the lights was in excess of $100,000, so our thanks goes out to the Town for its help and support with this project. What was once only a dream -- to have lights installed in the park -- has finally reached a successful conclusion.
ADOG will strive to maintain a strong organization to work with both our members and the Town to ensure we continue to have one of the greatest off-leash dog parks in the country!
Diagram of Desert Vista Park
It all started in August 1997. A Fountain Hills greyhound owner requested permission from the Parks & Recreation department to use Golden Eagle baseball field to run his greyhounds off-leash. Thus began the prolonged quest for a permanent off-leash recreational facility in Fountain Hills. At the same time there was growing opposition to the presence of these dogs; it became a “children against dogs” issue. The dispute escalated and in April 1998 the Town Council suspended dog use of the Golden Eagle field for good, with no alternative area offered.
From April through September 1998 a major controversy between those favoring the establishment of the park and those adamantly opposed took place. After many emotional debates and ADOG’s determination to stick with this project, the Town Council voted overwhelmingly to establish a 3.5 acre facility at Desert Vista Park in September 1998. This land (12 acres) had been originally donated to the Town by MCO as a potential school site, but was later designated as a park. What most people don’t know is the off-leash facility cost the Town very little money to establish. The Town agreed to pay $18,000 for fencing, then the Sanitary District funded the grading, watering system, seeding and landscaping. This helped the Sanitary District continue to meet their need to dispose of the Towns treated wastewater.
On December 11, 1999 (20 months from the establishment of ADOG), the off-leash facility was opened. The park soon became the most used park in Fountain Hills, silencing detractors and changing many minds. ADOG was formally incorporated as an Arizona non-profit organization in March, 2000. In those early days ADOG was able to raise enough money to fund many of the park improvements we still enjoy today. These include the multi-station watering fountains (these were to be maintained by the Town) and two of the three shade structures. Since those early days we have continued to raise funds through annual membership and additional contributions. They have allowed us to replace the dirt / mud under two of the shade structures with crushed granite. They have also helped to provide for many of the benches and trees in the park.
In May 2000 ADOG created a donation account for the purpose of raising money to have lighting installed in the off-leash facility. The fund grew to a total of $27,217 thanks to the hard work and efforts of many of our past and present ADOG members. This money was made available to the Town in May 2007. The actual cost of the lights was in excess of $100,000, so our thanks goes out to the Town for its help and support with this project. What was once only a dream -- to have lights installed in the park -- has finally reached a successful conclusion.
ADOG will strive to maintain a strong organization to work with both our members and the Town to ensure we continue to have one of the greatest off-leash dog parks in the country!
Diagram of Desert Vista Park