Dear city government:
I am so glad to see that we don’t have a problem with homeless and hungry humans in Apache Junction. I know if we did, our tax dollars would go toward helping them. …
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Dear city government:
I am so glad to see that we don’t have a problem with homeless and hungry humans in Apache Junction. I know if we did, our tax dollars would go toward helping them. Since we don’t have any of those problems here, we just spent over $1.1 million to build a dog park so a small percentage of the city’s dogs have a nice soft piece of grass to do their “business” in.
A recent article in the Apache Junction/Gold Canyon Independent said our food bank was asking for $50,000. Genesis Project was asking for $22,800 and The Salvation Army was looking for $39,000. A mere pittance compared to a million dollars for a place for dogs to play.
A am a senior citizen on a fixed income and I have donated to the three charities listed above. I guess I should have been saving my money so I could buy a piece of sod for the doggies to relieve themselves.
I guess the message here is, if you’re a dog owner and too irresponsible to provide an environment to let your dog play in, no problem, the city will bail you out.
You are terrible stewards of our tax dollars and I am ashamed that you are more worried about providing a playpen for dogs than helping our homeless and hungry.
And I’m just wondering how many times our police and fire departments will have to waste their time responding to calls because someone’s dog has bitten another dog, or worst yet, an innocent human.
Editor’s note: Doug Young sent the above letter to Apache Junction City Hall.
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abravo
Mr. Young did send the letter above to the city manager’s office and we responded to him directly. Our response notes, in part, that funds for Dutchman Dog Park came from development fee revenues, sometimes referred to as “impact fees.” These revenues come from growth -- new residents who moved in and built here in the last several years. Those funds are designated to help city government pay for growth in areas such as parks, libraries, streets and police services. In this case, these dollars could only legally be spent on park improvements. A dog park had been one of our most requested amenities for many years by our citizens. Further, the site selected was environmentally problematic as a retention basin. The project allowed the city to provide a benefit to the community and eliminate the drainage issue.
City of Apache Junction
Tuesday, June 28 Report this