Violators to pay $60

Dog walkers who enter Winter Park’s Fleet Peeples Park will get more than just a slap on the wrist if their dog isn’t vaccinated and registered with the city — they could receive $60 fines.

The City Commission approved the first reading on an ordinance on Monday that would set up a punishment system for those who walk their dogs into the city’s dog park without paying for a permit to do so. Mayor Ken Bradley dissented.

Some commissioners said that the permits, which would mandate that dogs be up to date on vaccinations before using the off-leash portion of the park, would improve safety.

“To me, the registration of the animals that frequent the park is as important or more so than the fees for the park,” Commissioner Phil Anderson said.

Registration remains at $75 per year for the first dog and $50 total for all additional dogs in the household. The $60 fee for using the park without a permit is the only fee the city has proposed, though City Attorney Larry Brown said that repeat violations could see higher fines in the future if the Commission voted to do so.

The use of the dog park will be enforced by two park rangers, which the city hired in December. Initially, the rangers will give verbal warnings and information about the permit program to those who violate it, but by the end of this month, the city could begin collecting fines for breaking the rules.

The fines would be charged to whoever is in custody of the non-permitted dog at the time they’re caught, regardless of ownership.

“Anyone who has possession of the dogs shall be in violation of the permit,” Brown said.

But even while the Commission was finalizing its punishment and enforcement plans, residents were openly balking at the idea of any fees for the park at all.

Former Mayor Joe Terranova said that any fees would be too much.

“I can tell you that the people I’ve talked to about this are very upset that the city is going to be charging these fees,” he said. “All you’re doing is creating a big monstrous public relations problem going forward.”

The slow economy coupled with distaste for a fee structure would make it difficult for some residents to use the park, Terranova said.

“For those in the upper levels of the economy, this isn’t going to bother them, but for those in the lower levels, they’re not going to be able to use this park,” he said.

Commissioner Beth Dillaha said that the fines should be earmarked for Fleet Peeples Park to help in its operating costs. Though the two recently hired rangers will cost the city $60,000, they would be used to enforce rules in all of the city’s parks.