Disappointed in county’s reaction to dog park request

Vox Pop

I was disappointed to see the Taylor County Finance Committee not approve the proposed dog park on Medford’s lower east side. I frequently hear discussions on how Medford needs to provide more quality of life opportunities to attract people to work and live in the area. This would appear to me to be just such one of those items.

I disagree that the dog park is a strictly City of Medford benefit. Most likely people visiting friends and relatives in the surrounding area would be inclined to use the dog park as it would offer a safe and controlled location for them to exercise their dogs. This just seems to me to be a valuable addition to the area and a way to attract more visitors.

As far as concerns with a privately run dog park about costs such as property taxes and insurance are concerned, those may not turn out to be a problem. The land will be basically undeveloped, I mean the dog park folks are not proposing to build a 1/24th scale model of the Taj Mahal. Also, and someone can correct me if I am wrong about this, but as long as you are not collecting a fee for recreational use of property, the property owner is absolved of liability.

In this day and age of government red tape you really can’t criticize the dog park people for wanting a higher degree of control over the facility. Too many gooverment (sic) dictats (sic) by clueless apparatchiks prevent many worthwhile projects from taking place. But government always knows best, right?

I compare this project to the move to establish a homeless shelter in Taylor County. It appears to this observer that the dog park folks have their act together much better than the homeless shelter people. The homeless shelter people did not have a mere $400 to have a building inspection done. The homeless shelter people were asked to provide an operational plan for the facility and well after a year they had yet to produce one. And now comes the homeless shelter people AGAIN with their hats in their hands looking for funding for a concrete sidewalk. The power line monies are supposed to be used to fund recreational projects in the County. The homeless shelter would not appear to be a recreational item unless the group intends to purchase a ping pong table for the shelter.

If the homeless shelter turns out to be an unsustainable fiasco, the homeless shelter people will have no one to blame but themselves.

Even more disappointing was the refusal by certain members of the Taylor County Board of Supervisors to perform a minor action such as reaffirming the US and Wisconsin constitutions. One must ask, “Are the no voters borderline communists?” It’s not like we are asking our County Supervisors to consume a heaping, helping of brussel sprouts seasoned with horseradish and vinegar. Those elected representatives need to be reminded they are just that, representatives of the people. Taylor County is not their personal fiefdom. Keep it in mind who voted how during the next election.

It seems to me we have enough disrespect for the US and state constitutions and other traditions that represent this country. Take for instance the National Football League. They allowed their players to disrespect the national anthem by “taking a knee”. And now we have two national anthems being played at the start of their games. Sorry, but I think there is just one national anthem that represents the rights and privileges you enjoy today. It’s certainly refreshing to see our Taylor County Judge Ann Knox Bauer supports this resolution. Far too many of our judges in high places frequently ignore the law as set down by the US Constitution and hence create law out of thin air.

— Bryan Bormann, Medford