Regina city council looks to approve funding for 2 new off-leash dog parks

Dog owners in Regina could soon have more options when it comes to places for their pets to play.

Regina city council is looking to approve funding for two municipal off-leash dog parks during its budget meeting in December.

The proposed parks would be at Mount Pleasant in the northeast and Harding Park in the east end.

“I’m very pleased with the progress that’s been made and even more pleased with the desire of councillors to get things moving faster,” said Connie Buchan, Off-Leash Dog Park User Group chair.

The decision came after council voted against implementing unfenced dog areas anywhere in the city.

“I was really pleased that they have decided not to go with the unfenced. That was a real concern for a lot of dog owners and dog park users,” Buchan said.

The new proposed locations would be in addition to the two dog parks already being designed at Regent Par 3.

“The current dog parks are overused and really showing a lot of wear and tear and dispersing out some of those dogs and their owners would really make for a lot better community interactions,” Buchan said.

City administration estimates a new park dog park at Mount Pleasant would cost about $160,000 and somewhere around $220,000 for Harding Park.

“Council wants to move on dog parks. We’ve been waiting for a number of years for administration to come forward with a plan to have off-leash parks with fences,” said Michael Fougere, Regina mayor.

“This is the impatience of council to move forward.”

The budget meeting will also look at adding a $10 fee to dog registrations, making licenses $35.

Changes could be coming to Regina’s board of police commissioners

Changes to Regina’s board of police commissioners could be coming in the new year after council passed a motion to increase representation and diversity to the board on Monday night.

Right now, the board consists of Fougere, two members of city council and two civilians — one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous.

Council is looking at other western cities, including Saskatoon, for comparison, where citizen members outnumber elected officials.

They’re asking for a report that evaluates community representation, members’ appointments, and the length of terms.

However, Fougere said he believes the city is well represented.

“Members who are elected, elected officials, are also citizens, we are also accountable, we’re accountable to council, and we’re accountable to residents,” Fougere said.

“It think it’s important we don’t assume an elected official is not accountable — we are.”

City administration will now consult the current board of police commissioners regarding potential changes.