Seven months later, wait for CV dog park continues

Seven months after Los Angeles County officials agreed to build a Crescenta Valley dog park, they have yet to settle on who will construct it.

Now roughly a month after work on the much-anticipated park was to begin, officials this week said they are deciding whether the county will build the park or solicit bids for the project, after the contract with the firm originally slated to do the work wasn’t renewed for issues unrelated to the project.

Imee Perius, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Parks and Recreation, said the ground-breaking has been delayed “because we haven’t completed our evaluation of the most effective way to complete the project.”

“We came upon some issues in contracting, and at the moment we are looking at all our options,” she said.

In October, the county committed $300,000 for a 1.5-acre dog park at the northwest corner of Crescenta Valley Park after supporters sent more than 2,000 petitions to Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

With the firm first chosen for the work no longer involved, county parks officials are trying to find the fastest, least expensive method of building the park, which will include fenced areas for small and large dogs and other amenities.

Perius said officials would make a decision on how to proceed later this month, and that it was too early to set a date for when work might begin.

Tony Bell, a spokesman for Antonovich, said his office would work closely with parks officials to make sure the project “is built as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.”

Cheryl Davis, a member of the Crescenta Valley Town Council and CV DOGS, or Crescenta Volunteers for Dogs Off-leash Gathering and Socializing, said it is disappointing that the project has been delayed, but wasn’t worried about its prospects.

“I am absolutely confident it is going to happen,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said, dogs will still have their day in Crescenta Valley Park on April 16, when the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Hometown Country Fair returns for its sixth year.

A pet parade is one of the featured events.