Monday, August 3 | 9:42 p.m.

BY HOWARD BUCK
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

WASHOUGAL — The City Council agreed Monday to let the dogs out, authorizing a land lease agreement for what will become Clark County’s fourth off-leash facility.

Officials hope to open the canine play area by late autumn.

The new park will cover about 7 acres near 32nd Street. It’s now a vacant, blackberry-smothered commercial lot just west of the Bi-Mart store between Main and Addy streets.

Visitors will have convenient use of the adjacent store parking lot.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the city,” said council member Jennifer McDaniel after a 4-1 vote. “It’s an inexpensive way for us to test out if Washougal benefits from having a dog park.”

The council’s decision followed review on July 30 by the city’s Park Board, after some council members had balked at the city’s costs, liabilities and long-term prospects for keeping the facility open.

Under the lease, landowner D.M. Stevenson Ranch of Hood River, Ore., will charge $1 per month for a year-to-year lease either party could terminate at will.

City officials believe there’s little chance for private development on the site anytime soon, given the depressed economy.

But they negotiated an opt-out clause, just in case: Stevenson will pay the city $2,000 if it moves to develop the land during the first year of the contract, and dislodges the dog park. The penalty would be $1,500 for displacement during the second year of the lease, $1,000 in the third year.

The city expects to spend about $17,000 on site cleanup, fencing and startup needs. Annual maintenance costs, including routine trimming and garbage pickup, would run $7,000 to $9,000, the city’s public works department estimates.”

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