Sounds to me like whoever is responsible for the Golf Course needs to do a better job keeping flying golf balls away from innocent walkers. Put up signs, nets, little gates; it works for tennis courts and baseball fields. Talking about fields: Banning dogs from the MH Memorial Park is about as thought-through and considerate as Mr. Interbartolo's pushing towards sacrificing open space and money to build a soccer field on Mount Hood a few years ago instead of using that money to repair 5 fields in Pine Bank's.
Might want to take down the mission statement on the Mount Hood website: 'Our mission is to protect, preserve, and promote the use of Mount Hood parkland for environmental and recreational uses'. Closing a Public Park to dogs because of a few people who play golf is not really 'protecting and preserving recreational use'

I would suggest that the City obtain a legal opinion form the City Solicitor as to whether this is a legal ban and also as to whether the Park Commission has the authority to impose this ban

If Mt. Hood were exclusively a golf course, it would be inappropriate to have any kind of dog there. If it were exclusively a park, it would be inappropriate to play golf there. However, because it is publicly owned land that has been used for decades as BOTH a park and golf course, this ban is inappropriate and unnecessarily extreme. A better solution should be adopted that mitigates the concerns of golfers but preserves access for responsible dog owners. I acknowledge that some dog owners do not keep their dogs on leash, that some do not clean up after their dogs' waste, and that some people walking near the golf course are less courteous or aware than they should be. In my opinion, these issues can be better addressed with signage and enforcement- add signs at trail heads that make clear the requirement for leashing and clean up, and add additional signs (there are some already) where footpaths cross fairways reminding walkers to be courteous and aware of golfers. People who fail to observe these legal, reasonable requests can be warned or fined as appropriate. Though this would require additional staffing, it's undoubtedly preferable to an across-the-board ban and would generate some revenue of its own through collection of fines.

We have a dog park! Use it... It's been fantastic so far.

The dog park is wonderful. Where are dog park users supposed to park once school begins? The lack of designated parking spaces for the dog park limits its access and use during school hours.

To create bans for 1-2% of irresponsible dogs/owners is ludicrous - it is appropriate to create limits/rules (e.g. certain hours, on-leash, pick up after your dogs, 2-dog limit, etc) but the majority of responsible dog owners should NOT be punished with an extreme all out ban!

The example sited above by Chairman Interbartolo indicates that he almost hit a teenage girl and her brother, not even a dog - are we going to ban people from walking in a public park too?!? This decision needs to be re-visited!

I'm both a golfer and dog owner. Last night in fact, we had a gentlemen running over one of the holes we were just finishing up on. He wasn't running on the road that leads up to the tower but on the greens. Seriously!!! I use to walk my dog up there but the amount of dog poop that I had to walk around or pull my dog away from is/was disgusting. Beaches in our area have no dog signs that are seasonal, why can't Mt. Hood do the same. If dog owners picked up after them I wouldn't have a problem with them being there. People should KEEP OFF the course while people are playing.

I have lived on the second hole for 54 years. I can no longer use my backyard during daylight hours because of flying golf balls on my property. The golf tournamnets are like frat parties with golfers drinking in public while they play. Last week a ball landed 50 yards out of bounds and almost hit me and my dog! When I confronted the golfers, I was threatened and said I had no right to come on the golf course and ask the golfer to have the courtesy to yell, "FORE". He said he would kill the dog. Nice huh? They say if you don't want golf balls in your yard, don't live on the golf course. The fact is, the balls belong on the course, not in my yard. Everybody lives on a street. Is it acceptable for cars to drive across your yard causing personal and property damage? Play has increased on Mt. Hood to maximum capacity. Carts have sped up the game and today's equipment has added 10-20 yards to an average golfer's drive. The further a shot travels out of bounds is magnified by the distance it travels. Public safety is more critical than people walking dogs at Mt Hood. The danger to the dogs and people from the fertilizer and pesticides dumped on the turf is another issue that should be addressed. The growth of Mt. Hood Golf Course is a danger to its neighbors. People have already been hurt. Because the course is a money maker, nobody wants to address this situation and do what needs to be done; the course needs to be re-configured to protect people; it has outgrown its boundaries.

Why on earth would anyone chose to take a leisurely walk on a golf course, with or without a dog? The high school gym is a taxpayer- owned facility but you don't see people walking through the middle of a basketball game. What happens when someone does get hit by a golf ball. What are they going to do, sue the city because someone was playing golf on a golf course? Since golfers have to pay to play on the course why not charge a user fee to walkers and runners too. I bet that might fix the problem.

This should have been far more public discussion than it was. I suggest citizens concerned about retaining the fully recreational character of this park perhaps consider some coordinated non-violent non-cooperation....

Dog owners should stop complaining and enjoy their new "dog park" across the high school and by the lake.
I walk the golf course and have found that dog owners do not go by the rules!!

The issue that came to light on Melrose Patch today is about more than dog owners walking their pets. The fact that "signs" were posted today (already printed!) banning dogs from Mt. Hood begs the ? About a decision already "in the bag"......walking (exercise for person/canine) is VERY different than taking a dog to the new park...I do and I love it BUT it has different benefits.....once school/fall sports start where are dog
owners supposed to park...since the numbered parking spots are reserved for the school department?

Mayor Dolan chimes in with some reasonable suggestions:
http://mayordolansblog.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/letter-to-the-park-commission/

These are reasonable suggestions. Actually, there were many similiar suggestions made at the meeting on Monday, by residents who are dog walkers and follow the rules, myself being one of them. We were listened to and then immediately a vote was taken and passed. None of the ideas were considered. I hope that the Park Commission will be more open to recognizing that this is a park, not a private golf club, where of course, dogs would not be allowed..Thosewho follow the rules should be there. Runners, bikers and other walkers need to be educated about walking safely in areas were golf is being played and not interferring with play. We can coexist.

Hi fellow dog walkers at Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course!!!! We need you to show up!

On Monday, 8/20, Peter Mortimor, will be making a resolution to the Board of Aldermen. He will be requesting that the Park Commission not enforce the prohibition of dogs at Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course and rescind or modify the prohibition.

The meeting will be held at in the Aldermanic Chambers on First Floor of City Hall onn Monday, August 20 – feedback is at 7:45. You do not have to stay for the meeting just provide feedback during the pubic feedback section. Peter Mortimer has requested that we keep our comments civil and respectful. (LOL)

How about a monthly fee of 60 dollars which allows for dog walkers to have the right to be off leash. I think if you close the golf course as well Melrose would be very much ahead and we can have a real park

Did you really just suggest that Mt Hood close the ENTIRE GOLF COURSE in favor of allowing people to pay $60 to let their DOGS (Yes, these are dogs, not humans.) to roam unleashed in a 250 acre park? Do you realize how much money that would cost the city in favor of letting ANIMALS run things?

I'm incredibly amazed that people think the dogs should have the run of the world over us tax-paying, land-owning, emotion-having human beings. As I was originally torn in this argument, the dog-owners (or maybe I should address the dogs as "human-owners") have made it very clear that they put their animals on so high of a pedestal that they have lost their ability for cognitive thought.

Do you realize how many human-owners will have to pay this completely arbitrary $60 fee to make up the money lost by letting Mt Hood Golf Course "go to the dogs"? They, on average, have 50+ golfers PER DAY playing 9-18 holes, paying on average $30 for each set. That's easily over $125,000.00 that Mount Hood makes and contributes towards the city of Melrose ANNUALLY. I seriously doubt you're going to find 2,750 people willing to pay for their dogs to run around a 250 acre unkempt, ungroomed mountain.

/smackingmyhead

I think (I hope) someone is pulling your leg. Vivian Pickles is the old English actress from the movie "Harold and Maude". If it's not a joke, I think her comment about dog walkers being off the leash might be telling in her case.

O.K.….Josh…..take a deep breath…..then slowly exhale. I’ve spoken to countless people about this issue and many of them are dog owners and many of the 50-60 people who attended the Park Commission on August 13th, never mentioned or requested that Mount Hood be turned into a dog park! Vivian is the only one who has ever suggested this and I surmise she is probably alone in this thinking and not a dog owner and certainly should not be considered representing a majority opinion in this matter.

All of us involved in this issue want golfing activities to continue at Mount Hood and we are very proud and appreciative of the quality of the golfing experience that GMC management created there as well as for the monies brought into city coffers as a result of their efforts. This has been a real financial win-win situation for the city, for its residents as well as for GMC! This is an example of local government working at its best with private industry for the betterment of its citizens.

There is plenty of land up at Mount Hood to support both golfing and non-golfing activities as described in the 1936 State Act establishing the park and golf course. Reasonable men and women in our community must come together to establish some basic rules of conduct and etiquette for these activities. We encourage all interested and concerned citizens to join us at the next Park Commission meeting on Monday, September 10th, at 7:00pm to ensure that this gets done.

I was named for that actress however I am a jackrussell terrier and not very into golf

So I have a question... while at many parks around the city, ball parks mostly I notice NO DOG signs. Why is it ok not to have a dog on a baseball field, but not ok to ban them from a golf course? Both are public areas.

Mt Hood is not exclusively a golf course. There are many areas that are paved and paths in the woods for hiking, as well as ponds for fishing.
Many of the pople enjoying the park are not golfers.

. Athletic fields are exclusively for athletics.

Ok.. then why not leave the golf course to the golfers and keep the dogs and walkers off the cart paths, greens and such... but allow them to have access to the WALKING trails and the ponds for fishing etc. As long as they clean up after their animals (which I know from experience is also an issue) Golf is a sport.. just as the other athletics are. Unless you are going to open ALL athletic fields to dogs, while people are playing, I don't think you can confine it to one sport.

Just to further clarify this matter since there still seems to be some misunderstanding where dogs hopefully will be allowed at Mount Hood if the Park Commission decides to take the advice of community input as recently described in a letter published in last week's Melrose Press and the Melrose Weekly News.

We are suggesting that dogs on leashes be allowed in all areas except greens, fairways, tees, and practice areas around the clubhouse. However, we recommend that dogs on leashes be allowed on cart paths which circumvent areas such as the FAA tower, Slayton Tower, all ponds, and of course all hiking trails. When golf carts, pedestrians, and dog walkers converge, good manners and proper etiquette would apply.

I'm confident that once the rules and proper etiquette are established for these mixed park activities, that reasonable people will follow them.

Myron- Fair enough. But how will this be given to the public who have not followed the debate (not everyone has time, fair enough) and enforced? I think that either way we go with this that is a difficult and sticky situation.

There's no "misunderstanding" on my part.

You state that dogs should be allowed on cart paths, near the FAA Tower, Slayton Tower and what you call, "hiking trails". What YOU are not understanding is that those areas are not separate from the golf course, they are actually specifically part of it and are used by golfers to navigate the course and the holes. The Tower, while a great location is dead in the center of the golf course and in order to get to it, human-owners need to walk directly across no less than 3 holes. Unacceptable. Good manners and proper etiquette have already failed us which is why the ban has been put into place and it's dog owners like yourself who are further solifying my satisfaction with this decision.

Dogs do not belong anywhere on the Golf Course. That include ALL cart paths, holes, fairways, greens, ponds, Towers, and clubhouse/parking lot. Period.

There's hundreds of acres of public land in Melrose for your animals to enjoy, a short drive can get you to all of those areas.

First, I would like to address Cathy's comment above.....signage and education will help educate and inform the public on these new rules and etiquette. At the Park Commission meeting scheduled for Sept. 10th at 7:00pm, at the clubhouse, I intend to recommend that public workshops be used to educate the residents who use or intend to use the park and golf course. These workshops can be conducted in the spring and fall when activities begin for the season, e.g., spring for golfing, hiking, dog walking, etc. and fall, e.g., repeating the spring session and then adding rules for winter use of the park (e.g., cross-country skiing, etc.). I fully agree with Cathy that there must be an education component along with the rules to ensure that users of Mount Hood know the rules.

Concerning Josh's issues....as was noted in previous comments, Mount Hood was designed as an integrated area with different activities which include golf and non-golf activities by the 1936 State Act. Therefore, Mount Hood was specifically setup with all these different activities in mind.....every effort should be made to accommodate them. So Josh....concerning your idea to prohibit dogs everywhere in Mount Hood....I can only say that reasonable people can agree to disagree.

Very well said Dave, Thank you.

Dave: Perhaps I read more into what Josh was inferring with his statement that “Dogs do not belong anywhere on the Golf Course. That include ALL cart paths, holes, fairways, greens, ponds, Towers, and clubhouse/parking lot. Period. There's hundreds of acres of public land in Melrose for your animals to enjoy, a short drive can get you to all of those areas.”

If dog walkers are excluded from both parking lots at Mount Hood, there is no way one can walk a dog anywhere in the park since you need to go through a parking lot to get anywhere! Also, the fact that Josh suggested driving somewhere else in the city to walk your dog suggests seems to imply that he is against allowing dogs at Mount Hood.

Finally, concerning that you do not need to be educated about golfing etiquette may be true but many golfers do need this education. I have had my neighbors who live adjacent to Mount Hood on occasion hit by golf balls while in their yard because someone didn’t yell “Fore”. Also, golfers have been caught drinking alcoholic beverages while on the course as well as in the parking lot, and there have been instances of damaged golf carts from misuse of the carts while on the course. An occasional reminder about basic rules and etiquette seems appropriate…even for golfers. The term “ignorant” means uninformed or unaware and contrary to what you may believe, education IS the only remedy for that condition.

Myron- I am not concerned about the golfers and their etiquette on the course. My concern is that you want to allow NON-golfers on the course and cart paths and expect them to know etiquette and rules of golf. How many dog owners, who do not respect the rules of golf enough to stay on the walking paths, are going to care about the rules and etiquette of golf? I spend a pretty penny at Mount Hood each summer for my son to be taught how to play and the rules of golf. Will that be given out for free to dog walkers? *not the swing lessons, but the rules and etiquette of the game* I do it because he loves golf. There is no other course in town that is public. I did look into Bellevue and can't afford it. Will that be given out for free to dog walkers? Meanwhile people who are NOT paying are letting their dogs crap on the cart paths and I am cleaning it out of my son's golf shoes when he gets home. So then what, greens fees increase to cover for the dog owners who are NOT responsible? And I have to pay for the mis-doings??? The 2 areas need to be 100% separate.

I am a Melrose resident who has walked up at Mt. Hood with my dog for the last 4 years. I walk in the mornings. I learned golf etiquette from other dog walkers. Signage would go a long way to help all users of Mt. Hood to learn what is and is not allowed (i.e, dog cleanup/leashes, alcohol, golfer warnings, etc) . I walk at Mt. Hood because I am a small woman with a small dog and feel safer walking there than in the more secluded paths in the Fells. it's because there are paved paths (some of which are also used by golf carts, workers equipment, utility trucks, visitors to the tower, hikers and bike riders) and the active use of the area that makes me feel more comfortable. I sometimes walk the wooded trials but they are very poorly kept, have more ticks and I am more likely to have a run in with a coyote. The area is a mutiple-use 200+ area. I often see people fishing in the morning and there are senior citizens that come up and use the park who need the paved paths. They wouldn't be able to walk the trails. We look after each other. There has never been major any issues until this year. Instead of trying to find a solution for co-existence, the Park Commission tried a total ban without any community conversation. Continued – see following comment for continuation.

Continued from previous comment - While you might feel that Mt. Hood is a golf course, it is a multi-use Memorial Park and Golf Course. it's co-exhisted peacefully for more than 75 years. There's no reason it can't continue to co-exhist with all users working together to find solutions to the problems. If you want a golf course with exclusivity, then play at private course with private course fees. This is shared use public land. I personally believe that there is a greater risk of injury from the golfers who drink alcohol while playing and driving carts on the course and in the parking lots. I challenge anyone to come up to Mt. Hood in the late afternoon and not find empty beer cans in the trash barrels. Twice in the last month I was driving through the parking lot in on a weekday afternoon and took pictures of people drinking beer (and grilling) in the parking lot across from the Club House. Since both the Melrose Park Department and the Golf Course Management have their offices located in the Club House, I would assume they are aware of the drinking in the parking lot and yet, there's been no outcry to make the area safe from the inebriated golfers. Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course is a 200 + acre gem that can be shared by ALL residents of Melrose.

Dave: Please try to express yourself in a more dignified manner without having to resort to demeaning a person who may disagree with you.... it is very unbecoming and really doesn’t add credibility to your comments.

Concerning the cart paths…..these were built with city taxes and therefore all residents should have a right to their use. Case closed!

Were those city taxes/funds raised by people paying to play golf at Mt. Hood?

The undignified comment was "Exactly what part of that escapes your comprehension? This entire business has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.

In regards to Myron's statement about city taxes, he is correct in how the Park and Golf course were acquired and built using both city and federal monies. The city used tax payer money to purchase most of the land and to build the park and golf course in the 1930's. The city started the project and then The Works Progress Administration, a national program that operated its own projects in cooperation with state and local governments, provided 10%-30% of the costs completed the project. The intention of the purchase of land and the development of the land was multi-use, not just a golf course.

I'm told that currently the golf course generates an income for the city of $250,000 a year. This money is put towards the maintenance of parks throughout the city.

The compromise solution put forth by the mayor along with the following letters signers (Peter Mortimer, Ward 6 Alderman, John McLaughlin, Melrose Park Commission and Citizen, Diane Kurkjian, Animal Control Officer, Robert Van Campen, City Solicitor, Mike Lindstrom, Director of Community Services. Mike Lyle, Chief of Police, Myron Dittmer, President of the Mount Hood Park Association , Greg Penta, Melrose Dog Society, Diana Lane, neighbor and longtime dog walker at Mount Hood) does not ban people from walking on the golf paths.
Per the compromise letter that has been sent to the Park Commission:
Dogs shall not be allowed on fairways, roughs, greens, or tees. Dogs and dog walkers will be permitted at all times on the road that crosses the eleventh fairway to access the Slayton Tower and the Major Doak Weston Memorial, and the access roads to the Fish and Game Club, the FAA tower, and First, Second, and Third Ponds.

4. All pedestrians, including dog walkers, shall be able to use all other areas year round. Dogs must be on a leash at all times, and dog walkers must clean up after their dogs.

All reasonable solutions. If you defined golf paths as all paved roads other than the road to the tower (17 and 11 hole) and part of the path around the 8th hold, there would be practically no paved walkways and no continuous loop to walk.

I like how you call the "solution" a "compromise" in that you're assuming both sides (paying customers of Mt. Hood vs. loiterers) are giving something up in this proposition when in reality the only "compromise" is made by myself and the other paying customers of Mt. Hood. You're giving nothing up. Your "solution" is that the paying customers of Mt. Hood simply have to deal with having random people walking through their golf holes, interfering with their play, and distracting them while they try and play a sport they pay to play.

I wish I could be there tonight to stand up for the golfers and their rights which are being completely and indefinitely infringed upon by citizens and animals who don't ultimately belong on the golf course in any manner while golf is being played.

So you believe that anyone at Mt. Hood Memorial Park and Golf Course who does not pay a fee to golf is a loiterer? It's no longer dog walkers?

In regards to the compromise, it was indicated that there were complaints from the golfers and the workers about dogs and walkers. Instead of opening up a conversation about the problems, an outright ban was initiated. The compromise proposed is to work together to try to find a solution so that there is not an outright ban while working together to make the experience for both users of the multi-use area to exist together. Definition of compromise: a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.

None of the areas you mention is a cart path, and none, with the exception of the part of the tower road that crosses the 11th fairway and the path on the 8th hole, is contained within the area of the course. A cart path is a paved or unpaved path about four feet wide contained within the boundaries of the course that is intended solely as a means to traverse the course while playing. The easiest one to view is from the first tee, where it runs down the right side of the fairway from the tee to the bottom of the hill, crosses the fairway, and runs in the left rough to the dogleg. You can access the tower and the Weston Memorial from the tower road. All of the cart paths are contained within the fairways or the rough, and under the terms of the compromise proposal are prohibited areas. The tower road passes third pond on one side and the 17th hole on the other. Feel free to use that road, but about 20 yards away and parallel to that is a cart path on the 17th hole, which you are not allowed to use because it's in the rough on the hole. It seems to me what you are actually advocating is improvement of the paths and trails that don't fall within the course boundaries, and I'm all for and would support that, but it's a totally separate issue, outside the purview of the management company's agreement with the city. You're going to need to address that with the Park Commission and City Hall as a separate and distinct project.

Well as defined by the Dictionary, a "loiterer" is one who wanders about where they are not intended to be so yes, I would consider "dog walkers" loiterers if they choose to walk on a golf course while paying customers are playing their sport of choice. You are not there to golf, you are not there to work. I don't know what other way to describe someone who is mulling about where they don't belong, while interfering with individuals who are there for a specific purpose.

The dog walkers don't need "continuous loop" to walk around and enjoy the park. What's wrong with walking down the paths that don't intersect the golf course, and simply turning around once they get to the end or to a section that enters the course? The "compromise" I have proposed seems pretty fair. There are two sections of the park. One where golf is conducted, and one where there isn't. We stay on our parts, you stay on yours.

If there is another way to access the tower... why do cart paths need to be utilized by hikers and dog walkers?
They are there for golf carts and I believe are maintained with monies provided by the golfers by golfing. So if you let walkers on *Some* then they will want access to all. I think there is plenty of land there that both can co-exist in the own areas. If there was not an issue with walkers on the greens and golfing areas and if they were respectful of the sport, this would not have come up in the first place. Not every golfer is good. It takes a long time to learn the game and even the greats have bad shots. When one of those bad shots goes wrong and hurts someone, who gets sued? The golfer or the town? Do we need to wait for that to happen and then shut down the cart paths to walkers?
If there is a need for better paths for the dog walking and "PARK" areas. I am all for that. Make new paths, pave them, designate them for walkers. But use tax monies to do that, or even better, charge an entrance fee or yearly permit fee (which can be low like $15 per year.) for town residents much like Medford does with some of their swimming areas. Will the dog walkers be willing to pay to use a public area and have that area maintained? The golfers pay to use a public course.