An Introduction

Hi Everyone! I’m Kelly Morenus, and I’ve lived in Babylon, NY since September 2016. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. This blog is going to be about my efforts to save the George Street Dog Park from being closed. Just to warn you, I can be a bit long-winded at times and I tend to drone on about things. But I’m going to try to keep this information relevant.

I decided to start this blog after a recent frustrating experience with my local village  government. I want to introduce you all to this issue from my perspective and give some background.

I first discovered that some people were petitioning to have the dog park closed in December 2021 and were attending a village board meeting on December 14. I, along with another neighbor who regularly uses the dog park, attended this meeting and spoke in defense of the dog park. I then asked others to do so as well at the subsequent meeting on January 11. Several of us spoke about our love for the dog park and our desire not to see the village give in to those complaints. No one on the village board gave any indication that they intended to close the park. I thought the matter was over, until I was blindsided on January 20 when I found out the village had voted to close the park at a work session the prior day.

Within a matter of days, I organized a petition and began to drum up signatures. I presented these signatures at the village board meeting on January 25. On January 26, I sent an email to the members of the village board (I will publish that email in a separate post). I presented further signatures at the meeting on February 8 and once again made my case for keeping George St. Dog Park open. I also presented a proposed compromise to move the park further back in the field away from the condominiums in Whalers Cove. Less than 24 hours later, Mayor Adams called me and told me that the Village Board would not be changing their minds and the decision was final.

Over the next few days and weeks, I will be chronicling my efforts in this matter and including my presentations to the village board. I will also include relevant facts, and I will of course be including my own perspective, thoughts, and opinions. Although the Village Board has said that their decision is final, I am still hopeful that they will reconsider after hearing logical arguments as well as input from residents. This also too important to me to even consider giving up on this matter without a fight. 

I promise anyone reading this that I will do my best to present my arguments in the most honest way. While I cannot promise that I will never get anything wrong, I can promise not to be deliberately misleading nor to misconstrue my intentions. Also, as I have said to the Village Board, I stand behind anything I post online  related to this matter.  Whatever I post here, I would feel as comfortable saying in person or over the phone. 

If you have questions or would like to discuss these issues with me, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you again for visiting this page and reading this information. I hope I am able to convince you that the George Street Dog Park should remain open!