Letters to the Editor

Nix the fur

How disappointing it was that the Harriett’s Park Avenue Fashion Week runway show included real fur, especially when faux fur was also being represented. Millions of animals each year are skinned alive all in the name of vanity. Today, there are many fashionable alternatives to real fur; to showcase it is just cruel and unnecessary.

Many top designers have chosen to go fur-free, including Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, in addition to top retailers such as Ann Taylor and J. Crew.

I hope that Winter Park’s Fashion Week takes a compassionate stand in 2011 to go fur-free.

—Carla Wilson

Winter Springs

City still pet-friendly

Thank you, Winter Park, for remembering that your downtown remains a dog-friendly (and people-friendly) place to visit!

The 11th Annual Park Avenue Pet Costume Contest held on Halloween day was a smashing success with more than 200 pets in the contest. After the contest, the pets and their owners went trick-or-treating in more than 35 downtown Winter Park businesses. The event also raised enough money to help more than 60 greyhounds with transportation to their forever homes through the Sebastian Haul Fund (sebastianhaulfund.org).

Thanks for your continued support of local pet-friendly stores and restaurants. Keep going to your pet-friendly farmer’s market and dog park. Thank you for continuing to clean up after your dogs and for training them to be well-behaved in social situations. We do not need to provide any ammunition for a tiny handful to take away a privilege we enjoy today that helps create community and adds a bit of levity to our world.

—Brian Wettstein

President, Sebastian Haul Fund

Co-owner, The Doggie Door

The dismantling of a friends organization

I appreciate your editorial illuminating the battle between Winter Park government and a popular dog park. Understand, dog owners haven’t perpetuated this controversy as they have no control over agendas. Government does.

When the former City Commission approved the FPP master plan in 2008, Commissioner Margie Bridges added a requirement that the city and the Friends of Fleet Peeples Park work cooperatively to establish a memorandum of understanding. Instead of following their own directive of cooperation, certain city leaders embarked on a ‘fact-gathering’ campaign accumulating exaggerated, biased information aimed at closing or reducing the park size. Any public demand to change the complexion of this park was negligible.

The Friends of Fleet Peeples was constantly threatened off-leash recreation would end if it didn’t raise the $100,000, which Bridges added to the approval while the Parks Board — with the Commission’s consent — relentlessly interfered with fundraising efforts.

In 2009, the Friends hung on by a thread when the Commission reapproved another master plan protecting the park’s size. Bridges and Commissioner Beth Dillaha were the dissenting votes now claiming the biased information proved a dog park was not in the city’s best interest.

When the Parks Commission scrutinized this park in meeting after meeting, public input and notice was severely restricted or disallowed. The current Commission seems to follow the same unfair process.

This summer, when most residents were away on vacation and without public notice, the Commission voted to adopt a fee.

Florida Sunshine Law Statute 286.011 (1) requires:

“All meetings of any board or commission … which official acts are to be taken are … open to the public. The board or commission must provide reasonable notice of all such meetings.”

“The courts have recognized the right of members of the public to participate and present their views.”

Moreover, not realizing a fee would be debated, the Friends never thought to address the issue that evening. We were defenseless listening to Dillaha’s lengthy pro-fee argument predicated by false information: fees are typical at most dog parks. The board’s request for another hearing to fairly present our case was ignored.

In subsequent meetings, the Commission raided $100,000 from other programs to fund fee enforcement, etc. (not improve the park — their chief complaint). And they dismissed the overwhelming majority against fees at a recent meeting when approving a fee schedule.

Arguing fees will grow revenue for park improvements doesn’t add up given they’ve spent $100,000. Claiming fees will offset the huge costs of this park defies Parks and Recreation Director John Holland’s position that maintenance costs have a minor impact on the $6 million-plus budget.

Commissioner Carolyn Cooper argued park users should pay their way. Not only do resident users pay taxes to our park system, but many are Friends members contributing twice by choice. About 150 nonresidents pay membership also. The Commission ignored the fact that Friends has practically matched the city’s contributions for the last 10 years when choosing more government over a community nonprofit.

Sadly, the Commission’s role as public servants has apparently been replaced with change-agent mentality. Forsaking a wonderful park because of minority pressure is not what park users bargained for!

—Sandy Womble

Winter Park