SE FIDO President Chuck Berk

FIDO Quarterly General Meeting Agenda

2008-04-23T20:54:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Open Meeting For South Euclid Dog Park Patrons and Members of FIDO

Date - Tuesday, April 29th 2008
Time - 7:00 pm

Where - South Euclid Community Center

Below is the agenda for the meeting

See You There!!!

FIDO Quarterly Meeting

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 7:00 pm
South Euclid Community Center

Agenda Items

Open Meeting

Presidents Message

Overview of previous meeting minutes

Treasurers Report

Events and Fundraising report

Old Business –
Ground Cover Report

New Business

Future Projects

Small Dog Area
Water Fountain

Announcement of possible changes to FIDO Website

MEMBERSHIPS EXPIRE 6/30/08. PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIPS FOR 2008 TO HELP FIDO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FUTURE PARK IMPROVEMENTS

Auction items on forums

February FIDO Free Press

2008-02-21T19:02:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I just received my new February FIDO Free Press newsletter today and I just wanted to say that if you haven't read one yet, you should. It is 6 pages just jam packed with entertaining anecdotes, breed information, pictures of fun at the park, and great advice on dog booties to help keep our friends paws warm and healthy.

Thanks to everyone who collaborated on this very informative and entertaining newsletter!!!

If you would like to get on the email list to receive a copy or have any ideas for future content, please send an email to emmafido@gmail.com

Chuck

Congratulations to FIDO's new City Liaison !!!

2008-02-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

The FIDO board of directors would like to extend our warmest welcome to Cynthia Hale for becoming our new City Liaison to the City of South Euclid.

Cynthia is also the Chair of the Elections Committee and has done exemplary work on the latest Board member elections in October and at the Annual Meeting in January.

Congratulations Cynthia!!!!

Chuck

FIDO Annual Meeting on January 29th, 2008

2008-02-03T20:06:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

We had a really great annual meeting last week. Thank you to everyone who participated. It was very informative and really showed that we have a great group of people in FIDO.

Below are the minutes from the meeting. Please let us know if there are any questions.

See you at the Dog Park!

Chuck Berk
FIDO President

South Euclid FIDO Annual Meeting

Minutes from January 29, 2008; 7:00 p.m.
South Euclid Community Center

Meeting called by: Chuck Berk/President of FIDO at 7:00 p.m.

Type of meeting: Annual General Meeting

Committee Chair:

Events /Ashlee Brand; Fundraising/Judy Henderson; Communications/Denny
Hatala; Maintenance Committee/Ken Roehl: Electoral Committee/Cynthia Hale
Notetaker: Laura Berk, Secretary

Attendees:

Active Members: Kevin Wachs, Cynthia Hale, Laura and Chuck Berk, Denise

Hatala, Larry Lewis, Jenn Bartlett, Danielle Merriman, Judy Henderson,
Freddie Conwell, Marianne Reeves, Kari-Ellen Organiscak, Aspasia Sicking,
Merrill Henkin, Amy Biro, Carolyn Wadatz, Marcia and Henry Ungar, Philip
Wolpe, Kenneth Roehl, Ashlee Brand, Lou Pitschmann, Sunny Simon, Nina
Sobel and Julia Berkman.

AGENDA TOPICS

Treasurer’s Report— Kevin Wachs

Discussion: Kevin was happy to report that we currently have $10,359.27 in our account. This is due largely to the first of our mailings and events like the annual dog walk, Halloween Party and the Holiday pictures with your dog event. The second mailing on the other hand has not proved as successful.

Conclusions: We have reached our goal for the ground cover and hope to begin this process this Spring.

Events and Fundraising—Events Chair, Ashlee Brand; Fundraising Chair, Judy Henderson

Discussion: In 2007, the following fundraising events occurred:

Brick mailing, over $5,000.00 raised
2nd annual Fido Dog Walk raised $437.00
Halloween Party raised $1000.00
Highland Hts. Tag Sale raised $127.00
Holiday Photos w/Santa raised $419.00

The following non-fundraising events were held in 2007: Clean up South Euclid Day, South Euclid Memorial Day Parade, South Euclid Fun Days and the Fall Clean-Up at the park.

Currently the Events Committee is going to meet and discuss the upcoming year’s events on Saturday, February 2nd at Phoenix Coffee on Mayfield. They will be developing a proposed 2008 Events Calendar.

We are going to have a Monthly Coffee House at the Park (non-fundraising). This event will be held the second Saturday of each month from 10:00 am until noon. This event will encourage park patrons to visit the park with their dog for coffee and hot chocolate and conversation. Human and doggie treats will be available also. The dates for the events will be posted on the kiosk, online and in the FIDO newsletter.

Also, on Feb. 17th (Sunday) from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm we will hold a Winterfest Event where we will be serving coffee and hot chocolate and treats for the dogs. It’s a great chance for everyone to get acquainted, dog and humans alike.

Conclusions: Events committee members are always needed. If you are interested in participating, have ideas, or just want to volunteer an hour of your time, we could always use the help.

Communications Committee—Denny Hatala/Chair

Discussion: In July/August an information kiosk went up at the dog park. Chuck Berk and George Iannetta donated their time and materials to build the kiosk. Ken Roehl improved the kiosk by building a locking case and weatherproof frames for the posting of park rules.

In July of 2007 the Fido website was launched. The website was donated. Monthly updates to the site will be provided by the donor indefinitely with a promise of one year’ notice before these funds would be withdrawn.

The website coordinator would like to thank the bloggers: Chuck Berk, Jenn Bartlett, Aspasia Sicking and Kari Organiscak for their excellent contributions to the website.

Beginning in Jan., Mind Vault Solutions, Inc. (our web developers) began to donate 25% of each monthly invoice back to the park. In addition, for every referral that results in a contract, they will donate an additional 5% back up to a total of 50%. We know of one local company that is currently in discussions with Mind Vault Solutions, Inc. to redo their website, and that would bring us up to a 30% donation if a contract is signed.

The dog park was highlighted in the Cleveland Jewish News on Aug. 24th, 2007. The piece was titled "Rediscover South Euclid". We thank Laura Malto, who is a member of the Communications Committee for all the publicity. It can be found at:

http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/pdf/SouthEuclid.pdf

The FIDO Newsletter was launched on Sunday Dec. 16th at the Holiday Photo event. Our first edition of 2008 will be out in late February. FIDO plans to release the newsletter every other month. Ashlee Brand is donating her time to be the editor to this wonderful project. If anyone would like to submit an article or has other ideas that may be of interest to our members, please e-mail Ashlee at ashlee.brand@tri-c.edu

Electoral Committee—Cynthia Hale/Chair

Discussion: Elections were held in October, 2007 for Officers of the Board, and this evening the newly elected officers were introduced. They will begin their term of 2 years starting at the conclusion of tonight’s meeting. Those officers are: Chuck Berk/President, Jenn Bartlett/Vice President, Laura Berk/Secretary and Judy Henderson/Treasurer. Thanks to the outgoing interim Officers for their service: Danielle Merriman/Vice President; Carolyn Wadatz/Co-Treasurer, and Kevin Wachs/Co-Treasurer.

The active members then had to elect no more than 4 members-at-large to serve on the Board. Nominations were opened to the floor. Denny Hatala, Carolyn Wadatz, Nina Sobel, Kevin Wachs and Ashlee Brand were nominated. There were 24 members that cast a ballot. The elections Committee counted the ballots and the Chair reported the results. The new members-at-large are Ashlee Brand, Denny Hatala, Nina Sobel, and Kevin Wachs. Congratulations to all.

FIDO/Café Press-Phoenix Coffee Report—Aspasia Sicking/Jenn Bartlett

Discussion: Since June of 2007 Fido/Café Press has made $211.39 for FIDO.

Phoenix Coffee is selling our FIDO doggie treats up at the counter. The treats are made and donated by Jenn Bartlett. So far we’ve made $200.00 profit in two months’ time. . Thanks to Jenn for all her hard work and thanks to Phoenix for providing the opportunity. New Café Press items are available as well, including a new t-shirt design for dogs that was shared at the meeting by Aspasia.

Open Discussion

Question Raised: There have been some times when there is a dog that seems to be aggressive or out of control in the park. This behavior can be a problem for other dogs and their owners.

What do park users do in such situations?

If the owner of the dog doesn’t correct the situation then it is up to any of us as dog park patrons in the park to locate the dog’s owner and ask politely if they would take the dog out or try to curtail the offending behavior.

Question Raised: What to do about the Pit Bull Situation?

Kari Organiscak asked what FIDO and park users could do with regard to the pit bull situation at the park. An active discussion followed with the following points and/or questions being raised.

The question was followed with another question:

Does the park have a pit bull situation?

While there have been some dogs that have visited the park and allegedly displayed aggressive tendencies, the vast majority, if not all of these dogs, were not pit bulls or even pit bull mixes. A discussion of current Ohio law and vicious dogs continued.

Ashlee Brand indicated that the state of Ohio is currently reevaluating the breed specific language in its vicious dog law. Recent court opinions have ruled such language as unconstitutional. Ohio law defines a vicious dog as ANY dog that that has killed or caused serious injury to a person, or has killed another dog.

Julia Berkman emphasized that such an attack must be unprovoked, as a dog attacking an intruder in the dog's own home would not fall under this definition. Such a definition certainly covers Pit Bulls, so there is no need to specify the breed in the law.

Interestingly, it was mentioned that German Shepherds are responsible for more bites than Pit Bulls.

Merrill Henkin noted that municipal ordinances may differ from those of the state.

Denny Hatala stated that the city of South Euclid's vicious dog law was in line with the state's but was, in fact, more open to interpretation.

Those in attendance revisited the previously raised question regarding what to do if a vicious, aggressive or out of control dog (or owner) is at the park and causing problems for others. A general consensus that regardless of breed, addressing the situation and issue politely and with others present is the best way to respond to such behaviors.

Always place your safety and that of your dog first: leave the park if you feel at all uncomfortable. If the problem dog is indeed vicious, as defined by the law, the police should be notified. You can always call 911.

Several area emergency vet clinic numbers will be posted on the kiosk for incidents happening after normal business hours that may require veterinary attention.

The following references were referred to during the discussion directly or indirectly by persons speaking and are provided here for member informational purposes:

Current Ohio law defines "vicious dog" as a dog that, without provocation, meets any of the following criteria:

• Has killed or caused serious injury to any person.

• Has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person, or has killed another dog.

• Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping or harboring of such a breed of dog shall be prima-facie evidence of the ownership, keeping or harboring of a vicious dog.

Section 955.11 of the Ohio Revised Code defines a "dangerous dog" as a dog that, without provocation, has chased or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent attitude of attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any person, while that dog is off the premises of its owner, keeper, or harborer and not under the reasonable control of its owner, keeper, harborer, or some other responsible person, or not physically restrained or confined in a locked pen which has a top, locked fenced yard or other locked enclosure which has a top.
House Bill 366 in Ohio In Ohio, the Ohio House Infrastructure, Homeland Security, and Veteran Affairs Committee heard testimony regarding House Bill 366 in January 2008. House Bill 366 would ensure that dog owners could not be prosecuted under state law due to the breed of their dog or the appearance of their dog.

“Bill Could Change Vicious Dog Law” by Tierra Palmer was published on www.centralohio.com from the Eagle Gazette Staff on January 20, 2008 regarding the proceedings.

• The ASPCA has information about House Bill 366 and their website has a great deal of information about the ineffectiveness of “breed-specific” dog laws and labeling: www.aspca.org

• The American Kennel Club information about House Bill 366: www.akc.org

• Canine Advocates of Ohio & House Bill 366: www.canineadvocatesofohio.org

Question: Why do we want or should we obtain charitable status?

FIDO hopes 501(c)(3) status will bring in more donations from businesses. Also, such status will allow the organization to apply for various grants. Merrill Henkin made an inquiry as to FIDO’s progress in obtaining 501(c)(3) status. He indicated that FIDO would need to really emphasize its educational goals if serious about applying for 501(c)(3) status.

Bud Unger questioned whether FIDO fell under the umbrella of the city’s tax exempt status and suggested someone check with South Euclid's Finance Department. In the past, FIDO has used the city’s tax exempt status for the purchase of goods and services, it is not known whether such would extend to tax write-offs for donations.

Question: What do we know about the material used for the groundcover? Is it safe? Have we considered other options?

Discussion & Response:

Scott Bunch raised the question regarding groundcover materials.

Chuck Berk explained that the #9 washed gravel was selected over the crushed limestone used at Tremont and Lakewood because it was not sharp like the limestone and would be easier on a dogs’ paws. He reported the gravel would be installed in the center of the park, over the heaviest used areas, and grass would be left around the perimeter. It is FIDO’s intention to try to have the outer perimeter of grass present.

Scott stated the washing process used to produce the gravel indeed made it rounded and, thus, sharp edges would not be a concern like it is with the product used at the other two parks, but he was concerned that the gravel may get caught in the dogs' paws. He also was concerned that, due to the round and smooth surface of the gravel, it would be slippery when wet, leading to injuries when dogs attempted to run on it.

Jenn Bartlett, a registered vet tech, addressed these concerns. Jenn stated that she had previously consulted with several vets, including an orthopedic vet, regarding FIDO’s choice of groundcover. In summary, Jenn reported that the gravel surface should not create any problems for the dogs; she likened it to walking or running on sand. She did note that there may be some substrate aversion at first, but the dogs should be able to adjust in time. She agreed that the gravel could get caught in a dog’s paw but would be similar to mud getting stuck, thus posing no danger.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:24 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by: Laura Berk
Secretary of Fido

2008-01-18T19:06:00.000-05:00

FIDO ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA

Tuesday, January 29^th, 2008 7:00 pm
South Euclid Community Center

Outgoing Treasurers report

Events Committee Report

Fundraising Committee Report

Communications Committee Report

Maintenance Committee Report - TBA

Electoral Committee: Overview of the elections held in Oct.

Introduction of newly elected board members

Open the floor for nominations for members-at-large. Minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 will be taken

Member Vote on Members-at-Large

Report on ground cover

Open Discussion

Adjourn meeting

Holiday Photos with FIDO and Phoenix

2007-12-17T19:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Sunday December 16th FIDO had our annual Holiday photo shoot. Even though the weather outside was frightful, inside the Phoenix Coffee House it sure was delightful. We had a great turnout and FIDO raised $419.00 towards our ground cover project. We are getting closer and closer to our main goal.

I would like to thank our wonderful and dedicated FIDO members who helped make the day a true pleasure to work.

First I would like to thank Sarah Wilson-Jones superbarista and CEO of Phoenix, her husband Carl Jones, Liz the store manager, and all their wonderful employees for allowing us to have our event in their Green and Mayfield rd. location. The coffee was a much needed pick me up on a cold and snowy day and the food was great!

I would also like to thank Marianne and Ashlee for taking the initiative to plan and implement the event in such a smooth and effortless manner. They also were able to bring the professional style photography lights to really make the pictures come alive. Kudos to Ashlee's Husband Billy for getting up early to bring the wicker settee for Santa to sit on.

I would also like to thank Denny for furnishing her laptop computer, photo printer and camera.
The pictures really came out GREAT!!! and we had quite a production line going with Jenn taking the pictures, Denny on the computer and Laura drying the pictures after they came out of the printer and producing the packets to give to the happy parents of the photographed pooches.

I would like to thank our interim/elected treasurer Judy for guarding the cash box and taking the donations.

Many thanks to Freddie and Jen for the wonderful dog treats they made. Our girls just loved them!

A big thank you to Rusty for putting up with us and wearing that hot Santa suit for 4 hours, and being so great with the dogs, and Santa's other Little Helpers Kevin, Danielle, and Kari for really getting some great looks from the pooches for their pictures.

I would also like to thank Lou, and Nina for their tireless help with setup and take down of all the stuff we had to bring in to make this all work so flawlessly.....

Thank you EVERYONE for a great time!!!!!

Chuck

December Happenings with FIDO

2007-12-06T18:23:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to get everyone up to speed with the current happenings with FIDO and the South Euclid Dog Park.

The lights are now working after dark. It lights things up pretty well, but it is still a good idea to have a flashlight handy.

The water line is in!!!!! The water is turned off for the winter, but we will have water at the dog park in spring.

FIDO is well on it's way to achieve our goal of getting the ground cover for the dog park. We are just a few thousand away. So far we have raised over 8 Thousand Dollars!!! Our events and fundraising committees have been doing a terrific job. Keep up the great work!!!!

Be sure to check out Holiday Photos with FIDO and Phoenix on Sunday, December 16th 2007, at the Phoenix Coffee House. Their address is 4441 Mayfield Rd. South Euclid, Ohio 44121.
The event starts at 11:00 am and runs until 5:00 pm. Santa will be there from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm. For $10.00 you will receive 2 pictures and the file on CD.

Be sure to check out FIDO's auctions on the forums web site too. All proceeds go to the dog park groundcover fund. Bid early and bid often.

Also be sure to check out FIDO's Cafe Press site for some great Christmas gift ideas for the dog lover in your life.

That is about it for now.....

See you at the dog park........

Chuck

Thank You

2007-11-01T20:55:00.000-04:00

A great big thank you to everyone who helped make the FIDO Howl 0 Ween party a rousing success. We raised over $1000.00 and we are slowly but surely reaching our goal of ground cover for the dog park. Thank you to all the members of the FIDO events and fundraising committees for a job VERY WELL DONE!!!

Chuck

FIDO Quarterly General Meeting Minutes

2007-10-10T20:35:00.000-04:00

South Euclid FIDO Quarterly Meeting
Oct. 09, 2007
Held at: The Community Center Rm. A

Board member Attendees: Carolyn Wadatz, Jean Durant, Denise Hatala Lewis, Danielle Merriman, Kevin Wachs and Laura & Chuck Berk

The meeting was called to order by the President at 7:07 p.m.

The President had all of the board members get up and introduce themselves to those in attendance.

The president then called for the Secretary to read the minutes of the last quarterly meeting in July.

Treasurers Report: Kevin reported that Fido had a total amount of $8,229.00. Fido owes the city of South Euclid a total of $824.11 for the last mailing fundraiser. It gives us a total of $7,404.89 in our Fido account.

Elections: The Elections for the officers of the board were held at the meeting, and results from the Electoral Committee’s chairman Cynthia Hale are as follows: We had 40 votes out of a total of 57 members, which equals a 70.2% voter turnout.

For President, Chuck Berk ran unopposed and received 38 votes (95%) of the vote.

For Vice President Jenn Bartlett ran unopposed and received 37 votes (92.5%) of the vote.

For Secretary Laura Berk ran unopposed and received 37 votes (92.5%) of the vote.

For Treasurer we had 2 people running for the position. Judy Henderson received 32 votes (80%) of the vote. Carolyn Wadatz received 7 votes (17.5%) of the vote, making Judy the new treasurer for FIDO.

Congratulations to all.

Thanks to all who participated and voted.

President’s Report: Chuck reported that he had tried to get an update on the water/lights/dog park rules sign. He was unable to get a hold of Ed Gallagher of the S.E. maintenance dept in time to make the meeting. He will keep everyone informed as he receives the information from the city.

Creation of new committees: Ken Roehl and Philip Wolpe have been approached about the new committee, and have accepted the positions of members of the Maintenance Committee: Ken said that the first job will be to fix a couple of spots in the fence that need mending. Thank you to both of you for accepting the job.

Communications Committee: Denny Hatala, Jean Durant, Laura Malto and a brand new active member Ashlee Brand. Thanks to all of you for your tireless efforts. In addition to serving in the
Communications Committee Ashlee has graciously volunteered to create an electronic newsletter to be e-mailed to all members of FIDO and to be posted on the website. Welcome aboard Ashlee!!

Jean Durant’s report:

The coyote roller will cost approximately $4,936.00, which does not include the cost of labor. This cost is prohibitive for the benefits we would receive.

Magnetic latches for the dog park Jean researched the latches and found that the latch would cost around $800.00 to install and that it wouldn’t work with the current gate configuration.

Enlarging the park, Jean has been asking people at the park if they think we need to enlarge the park. The general consensus is that everyone likes the park the way it is. Any bigger and people might not be able to keep an eye on their dog or dogs.

The artificial turf ground cover - Jean brought and passed around a swatch of artificial turf from a manufacturer of dog park artificial ground cover. She found that it was very expensive and the ground cover we had already chosen was much better and less expensive. Thanks Jean for all of your hard work on the research.

Kiosk posting rules: Danielle Merriman will be creating and laminating a sign to put up on the kiosk. The agreed upon rules are:

1. Postings over 1 wk old will be removed.
2. No staples or tacks. Tape ONLY
3. No advertising.
4. Fido reserves the right to remove any posting.

Events/Fund raising: Howl-o-Ween Event to be held on Saturday, Oct. 27th. It will begin at noon and end by 3:00 p.m. Judy, Jean, Ashlee and Cat are all selling a lot of raffle tickets for the event, a big THANK YOU for all the hard work.

For anyone wishing to buy raffle tickets, they are 1 ticket for $1.00 and 6 tickets for $5.00.

Marianne Reeves has been in contact with the new PetSmart in Golden Gate and was finding out if we could do a Santa paws photo event with our dogs. The corporate offices of PetSmart only do business with humane societies and animal rescues, so we turned over the research she had done to the S.E. Humane Society so that they might pursue this opportunity. We are still pursuing a Santa Paws event with our own photographer and Santa to take holiday photos of our pups. Good job and good thinking Marianne.

Mayor Welo stopped by to compliment FIDO for reenergizing the neighborhood, and to also let us know about the new website for the city of South Euclid, FIDO will have our own webpage.

Thank you Mayor Welo, it was great news.

A motion was made to end the meeting, which was overwhelmingly seconded.

The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

What's Happening at the Dog Park!!

2007-10-01T18:52:00.001-04:00

Hi fellow dog park users,

Here is a quick update on what FIDO has been up to at the South Euclid Dog Park lately:

1. The Bricks have been installed in the area between the entry gates, along with a concrete pad to help keep the mud off those little paws. It is a little dusty up there now since there has not been enough rain to let the bricks settle in, but with a little rain it will clean up nicely. Come and see your brick if you purchased one, and see what the other patrons have written on their bricks. If you have not purchased yours yet, There is still time, they are always on sale. We have already placed our 2nd brick order which will be shipping in the next few weeks. We are also going to be adding some more bricks along the top edge of the concrete pad, and also around the water concrete pad when it has been poured.

2. We will be having the water line run in the next few weeks I have been told. The city needs to rent a trencher to dig the run for the water pipe and they will be doing this along with another project they are working on.

3. The city is working with CEI on having the 2 lights that point to the dog park fixed so that they will stay on for a longer period of time. I am waiting for an eta from the city on when this will be repaired.

4. Don't forget that the FIDO general meeting is on Tuesday, October 9th at 7:00 pm at the South Euclid Community Center. FIDO members will be able to vote for president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

5. Please buy a raffle ticket. FIDO members are selling raffle tickets for our Howl-0ween bash. They cost $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00 There are wonderful baskets created just for this raffle. One from Trader Joe's and a beautiful basket for your four legged best friend. The Howl-oween party will be on Saturday, October 27th from noon to 3:00pm. South Euclid's K9 officers, either Rex or Recon will be doing a demonstration for us, and there will be lots of activities and prizes for you and your best friend.

That's it for now, Stay tuned for more exciting news....

Chuck

Work in progress at the dog park

2007-09-12T21:40:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I was at the dog park today and the city is not finished with their work yet. They poured the concrete between the double gates today and it is still not dry yet. From the looks of the ground I do not think the water has been run yet either.

Please do not go into the park until the city has finished their work. The city put up yellow caution tape across the gate, but it is partially open since they had to take part of the fencing down.

Several people have tried to go into the park and we would like the concrete to get dry before people try to walk on it. Also part of the fencing is down so dogs may escape if they are let loose in the park.

I will be contacting the city tomorrow to find out what the status of the work will be.

Thanks

Chuck

South Euclid Dog Park Construction

2007-09-10T19:25:00.001-04:00

Monday, September 10th, 2007

Hi Everyone,

I stopped up at the dog park to see how the new pads and water are coming along. The entrance has been dug up and the wood concrete pad forms are in. The water has not been put in yet or the pad where the water is supposed to be. The gates are all padlocked and the first of the double gates has been removed and yellow caution tape is across the entrance.

I will keep everyone informed on what is happening.

ps

A bunch of us will be at the Bratenahl dog park on Tuesday, September 11th at about 7:00 pm. The girls are already starting to drive us crazy since they have not been to the dog park since saturday......

Fixing one hour time discrepancy on Forums Board

2007-08-11T22:41:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I have been receiving questions from some people that the time on the forums seems to be off by an hour. I have noticed this too, and I just wanted to share how I fixed mine.

To fix the time discrepancy:

1. Using your user id and password, log onto the forums
2. Click on My Controls on the upper right side of the forums window
3. From the options on the left side of the screen, click on board settings
4. It will bring up a screen with all kinds of settings to change
5. In the Time Zone box on the upper right side of the window, check Auto correct DST?
6. Make sure the time zone is set to GMT - 5:00 hours Eastern Time (US & Canada) Bogotá, Lima as shown in the picture below

7. Then click the button Save my account options at the bottom of the page to save the settings

That's all there is to it. Enjoy the Forums.

See you at the Dog Park,

Fido General Meeting Minutes 7/24/07

2007-07-26T18:52:00.000-04:00

South Euclid F.I.D.O. Dog Park Meeting

Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

FIDO Membership list of attendees: Jennifer Bartlett, Chuck & Laura Berk, Amy Biro, Freddie Conwell, Jean Durant, Cynthia Hale, Denise Hatala, Judy Henderson, Merrill Henkin, Danielle Merriman, Kari-Ellen Organiscak, Marianne Reeves, Aspasia Sicking,Kevin Wachs, Carolyn Wadatz.

Welcome to our new members: Marsha Ungar, Henry Ungar and Oscar Saks

FIDO Supporting Member list of attendees: Hanne Jonikall (I hope I spelled it right Hanne), Ken Roehl, Norah Joseph and Philip Wolpe, (Please excuse me if I left anyone out).

Meeting started at 7:05 p.m.

Chuck began the meeting by thanking everyone for showing up to the meeting. And we quickly introduced the interim board members to the attendees.

1. Secretary’s Minutes: The secretary read the minutes from the last meeting of May, 22^nd.

Treasurers Report: Numbers from the Treasurers' Report of 7/24 (all numbers correct as of 7/23):

Revenue

From membership dues = $500.00
From Dog Walk Event = $437.00
From Brick campaign = $5,885.00
Total revenue = $6,822.00

Expenditures

From postage for first mailing = $942.21
From postage for thank you notes = $24.60
From purchase of bricks = $1,058.50

Total expenditure = $2025.31

Net gain = $4,796.69

Estimated expected cost of postage for second mailing (3800 pieces at .277) = $1052.60. Savings by using 5-digit presorted bulk over first class $505.40.

Report from the Board: Danielle and Amy were nominated for interim Vice President. And Danielle was elected by a vote of 12 to 1. Congratulations Danielle for being elected to Fido’s interim Vice President. Jean and Denny were appointed by the board to be Board Members at-large. Congratulations to them also.

Proposed revisions to the bylaws: For the replacement of website and e-mail addresses. Change to the bylaws was voted on and amended by a vote of 12 to 0.

Events and Fundraising report: The next event and fundraiser is the South Euclid Fun Days. Slated to start this Saturday, July 28^th, from noon till after the fireworks. Sunday, July 29^th, from noon till 6:00 p.m. FIDO will have a booth at the Fun Days. We will be displaying some of the Café Press items that people can view and order online. Also, there will be brick fundraiser forms and membership forms available. Also, Jen who is a Vet-Tech will be at the booth various times on both days to answer any pet related questions.

Kiosk Update: Chuck reported that the kiosk should be completed in approximately 2 weeks. Chuck also talked to Ed Gallagher (the Maintenance Director of South Euclid) and he reported that the water to the dog park will be installed in approximately 2 weeks. The Contractor had been hired and it is a matter of scheduling. Also, he reported that the 2 lights will be repaired in approximately 4 to 6 weeks. CEI has been contacted to do the repairs.

New Business: The Electoral Committee was formed and will be taking nominations for the upcoming October elections. The Electoral Committee consists of following members: The Secretary (Laura Berk), Marianne Reeves, Jen Bartlett and Cynthia Hale. We will be accepting nominations for Board Member positions for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The nominations must be made in writing by delivery to a electoral committee member or via email to any of the electoral committee members email accounts, by August 21^st. Any active member may make a nomination, and the nominee must be an active FIDO member in good standing and willing to serve.

8.Open Discussion: These are points brought up during the open discussion period.

Enlarging Dog Park downhill.
Coyote roller for on top of the fence for escaping dogs that like to jump fences.
Can we fix the double gate to keep small dogs in?
Signs that say Do not open both gates at the same time.
Get paper recycling bin for paper, newspaper and magazines. To provide income for FIDO. Maybe even a plastics recycling bin.
Apply for grants to pay for park improvements.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

These minutes are respectfully recorded and submitted by the FIDO interim secretary Laura Berk.

Dog Park Ground Cover Contractors

2007-07-25T22:40:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Jean asked me to post this info on the contractor quotations that we have received so far concerning the ground cover at the dog park. The question was asked at the general meeting as to the status of the ground cover.

Please keep in mind that these are not decisions and only Jean's opinion of the different contractors to this point.

Monachino is my first choice. ($9,800.00) He’s done a lot of work for local contractors and I’ve never heard anything but good about him. He is a dog owner and seemed to have a genuine interest in the project. He spent almost two hours testing the dirt, discussing the project with me, and asked the most (and most intelligent) questions of any of the contractors. Also his bid reads that if more gravel is needed than was stated in the bid it would be at no extra cost to us for the gravel or the labor.

Cooley is my second choice. ($10,115.75) He also showed a genuine interest in the project and said that he would work with us (some) with the bid price. He seemed to be competent and knowledgeable, but I don’t know anyone who has used his company.

Chagrin Enterprises is my third choice. ($15,850.00) His company has a good reputation but it’s a subcontract company and his price is way high. Usually subcontract companies have to give a portion of their profit to the main company.

SEVCO is my fourth choice. ($10,900.00) Sevco is the main company, but the work would be done by an independent contractor. The bidder (who would be the actual contractor) was very nice but didn’t seem to have much experience with this type of project.

We will keep everyone in the loop as the project goes along.

Dog Park Waste

2007-07-21T17:23:00.000-04:00

Several people have been telling me about dog droppings left in the park that have not been picked up and what we should do about them. We do have some very dedicated park patrons who graciously patrol the park every morning picking up the droppings from the previous day, and I definitely thank them for their hard work and diligence.

It is up to the individual dog owners to pick up after their dogs and remove the waste they make. We do have signs that were generously donated put up in the park to remind people to keep an eye on their dogs and pick up after them.

The main purpose of FIDO is as a fund raising organization, and not for the purpose of maintenance of the dog park on a daily basis. FIDO can help to organize people for fund raising, obtaining a kiosk, ground cover, and water, but FIDO has NO power over the day to day activities or rule enforcement at the dog park. It is up to the individual dog owners to control their dogs, pick up the waste and keep the park clean.

The rules on the dog park sign are based on the rules at other dog parks around the country, and must be reviewed by the city of South Euclid Law director prior to posting at the dog park.

Please help keep our dog park a clean and healthy place to have fun.

See you all at the dog park

Revised General Meeting Agenda

2007-07-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone, I have made some changes to the agenda for the July 24th 2007 General meeting. Here is an updated version. Please keep in mind that this may be subject to change prior to the meeting.

See you at the Dog Park...

FIDO South Euclid Dog Park Committee

General Meeting Agenda
South Euclid Community Center
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 7:00 pm

1. Call to Order

2. Secretary Report and minutes of last general meeting - Laura

3. Treasurers Report – Kevin / Cat

4. Report from the Board

a. Appointments to the board
b. Proposed revisions to the bylaws

5. Committee reports

a. Fundraising - Kevin
b. Events - Kevin
c. communications - Laura Malto
d. Maintenance ?
e. Kiosk update

6. 0ld business if there is any - ?

7. New business
a. nominations and Interim Vice President (re-vote for at large members)
b. Creation of Electoral committee
c. Nominations for permanent committee members for next general election (yearly) in October

8. Open discussion

9. Adjourn meeting

Welcome To The New South Euclid FIDO Website

2007-07-16T14:47:00.000-04:00

Hello and welcome to The FIDO Committee's New Website at www.SouthEuclidFIDO.org. First of all, I would like to thank all volunteers and donors, past and present, for their tireless work and support of FIDO. Without their help there would be no dog park.

FIDO, which stands for Friends of the Ideal Dog Park, Off-Leash was created in mid 2004 by South Euclid Councilwoman Sunny Simon and a small group of citizens dedicated to creating a place in our community for dog owners to exercise, socialize their dogs, and promote responsible dog ownership. It is also a great place to meet your neighbors and make new friends.

My wife Laura and I have been associated with FIDO since its inception, and we are very excited about the direction that the committee and dog park have taken, and the bright future ahead.

In this blog I will be posting meeting agendas, meeting minutes or anything else that would be of interest to all the dog park patrons.

I hope you enjoy our new web site and I hope you will consider joining FIDO or making a donation.

See you at the Dog Park,

Chuck, Laura, Lucy, and Tillie