A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
September 24, 2015
R
OMULUS
- W
AYNE
Wayne officials disband recreation board
More than 100 of man's best
friends attended the recent opening
of the second park in the City of
Romulus dedicated to their leisure
activities.
The city celebrate the grand open-
ing and ribbon cutting ceremony for
the new dog park inside Elmer
Johnson Park, the largest park in the
city, on Sept. 1. The first facility dedi-
cated to four-footed furry friends
opened last October at Oakbrook
NeighborhoodPark off EurekaRoad.
City officials were in attendance
along with representatives from the
city Ordinance and Animal Control
Department and Romulus-based
business and project sponsor, US
Ecology. Approximately 250 visitors
accompanied the 100 canines on
hand to celebrate the official park
opening.
Romulus Mayor LeRoy D.
Burcroff officially thanked US
Ecology for the continued support
the company has demonstrated for
the park renovation project. In recog-
nition of that support, the newest
park has been officially named US
Ecology Dog Park as a sign of appre-
ciation.
“This is a true public/private part-
nership with US Ecology and based
on the success of this project we are
seeking interested companies or
organizations for similar collabora-
tions at our other parks,” said
Burcroff.
The newdog park was repurposed
from an unused, crack-filled, asphalt
tennis and roller hockey court. Staff
members from the city Department
of Public Works handled the removal
of the old asphalt surface and instal-
lation of new sod and canine exercise
equipment purchasedbyUSEcology.
In addition to the new dog park
area, Elmer Johnson Park also has a
softball field, archery range, horse-
shoe pits, playground equipment, two
sand volleyball courts and a picnic
pavilion with a large, brick, perma-
nent grill which is available for rental
for private events. The park is located
at 9700OzgaRoad.
For more information about the
dog park, Elmer Johnson Park or
other Romulus recreation opportuni-
ties or sponsorships, call (734) 941-
8665.
Over the strong objections of
Councilman Al Damitio, mem-
bers of the Wayne City Council
voted to abolish the city
RecreationAdvisoryBoard.
The nine-member board was
established in March of 1971 to
“make recommendations to
Council on the expansion, man-
agement and operation of the
recreational system and the
establishment of regulations,
charges and fees for the use of
facilities.” Budget deficits fac-
ing the city forced the closure of
the pool and ice arena at the
Community Center during the
past two years and last month,
the city negotiated a lease of
the facility to HYPE, a non-
profit recreation facility man-
agement company based in
DearbornHeights.
Disbanding the advisory
board was proposed by
Councilwoman Susan Rowe
who said that while the original
intent of creating the boardwas
parks and recreation input, that
eventually became limited to
the Community Center.
Additionally, Rowe noted that
the city no longer has a parks
and recreation director, the
individual to whom the recre-
ation advisory board reported.
“There will be no one for
the advisory board to report
without a parks and recreation
director,” said Rowe. “I under-
stand the rationale of revamp-
ing it. Maybe at this time, we
need to disband it and set up a
parks board. We need to take a
new approach for the duties of
the board.”
Damitio strongly opposed
the motion presented by Rowe
and suggested that the board
could be revamped to meet the
current needs of the communi-
ty.
“We can reconstitute it (the
advisory board). We have recre-
ation and parks. We need citi-
zen input for managing it,” said
Damitio. “I'm completely
against eliminating the Parks
Advisory Board at this time.”
He added that the advisory
board members had worked on
the five-year recreation master
plan in the city. He said the
board involvement went
beyond the community center
and included parks in the city
and other recreationprograms.
During the meeting, no one
from the audience or any mem-
ber of the advisory board spoke
about the issue.
Damitio and Councilman
Skip Monit cast the only no
votes on the disbanding of the
commission.
Visitors and their pets
(above) enjoying the
Dog Park. Elected offi-
cials and US Ecology
Representatives (right)
cut the ribbon to the new
Dog Park.
Romulus celebrates opening of dog park
