‘Focus on fixing what they have’ | Volunteers clash with Cincinnati Park Board

Rachel Wells walks to Burnet Woods every day. On a recent Tuesday, she waters flowers near the lake.

“We don't have a yard,” she said. “So this is the first stop when I need to touch grass."

Wells is standing on a corner of grass near the entrance to the park. It’s where a controversial new dog park will be built.

“Generations of people have been fighting to preserve this as a natural setting, and I think that history has been disrespected,” she said. “I don’t want to live next to a dog park. But it’s so much more than that.”

Wells worries the project could keep officials from fixing other issues at the park. She points to a trail closed sign with a note scribbled on it:

“WTF? TRAIL HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE 2022.”

It’s part of the reason volunteer group Preserve Burnet Woods has been protesting outside park board meetings for months. They claim officials don’t listen to residents.

"They want the park board to focus on fixing what they have,” Wells said.

Parks Spokesman Rocky Merz said officials did extensive community engagement about the dog park over multiple years. He told WCPO there are 35 groups of active volunteers across the city's 5,000 acres of parks which they meet with regularly.

“We're fortunate to have their energy, time and talents," Merz said in an email.

The spokesman declined an on-camera interview for this story. As did other park board leaders and board members.

Officials recently approved the dog park, reducing the amount of artificial turf after complaints about environmental concerns. They still need to raise funds for it to become a reality.

"They have a real role in supporting mental health in our community,” said Molly North, park board president, at a Thursday meeting. “That's why dog parks are important."

At the meeting, North said park officials love Burnet Woods. They discussed plans to fix a bandstand in the park, one of the maintenance issues the volunteer group has complained about.

It was a different tone than last month’s meeting when Park Board Member Susan Castellini said she was tired of ongoing discussions about the dog park.

"I also get very tired of Burnet Woods squealing at new ideas. And excuse me for using that way of expressing myself, but it's a burr in my saddle,” she said in July, speaking about the volunteer group. “I’m afraid if we turn this project down, the few will be speaking for the many."

Those comments spurred intense reaction from Preserve Burnet Woods. Vice President Bob Hyland told WCPO his organization, which he says had spent 15,000 hours working in the park, will disband.

Hyland said they plan to form a new group to lobby to change the city’s charter. They want to try to oust park board members they feel focus too much on development.

"The volunteers are fed up,” Hyland said. "It's time for a change."