North Huntingdon takes step to make Indian Lake Park good for dogs year-round

Dog owners may soon be able to walk their pets around Indian Lake Park in North Huntingdon year-round, if the township commissioners lift the limits on pet owners exercising their pooches in the park just between November and February.

Township commissioners paved the way to eliminate rules that prohibited leashed pets from being in the park and limited the dog lovers to walking their leashed pets around the lake in colder months.

Commissioners Jason Atwood, Eric Gass, Virginia Stump, Lyndsay Wengrzyn and Ronald Zona voted to relax the regulations on dogs in the park, while Richard Gray and Zachary Haigis opposed it.

The pets would have to be kept on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Pet owners could be fined if the dog is not on a leash.

The commissioners likely will vote in May on whether to approve the rule changes.

Despite the board’s approval of the changes, Daniel Miller, director of parks and recreation, was not in favor of relaxing the restrictions on pets, which are allowed at the park in the winter months.

He said rules prohibiting dogs in the park were relaxed about 12 years ago, “and it did not work.” A sign at the park still states that pets are not permitted at Indian Lake Park but are permitted at other township parks.

Limiting pet owners to using the park in the winter was a compromise that “met both sides,” Miller said. He said he chose to allow dog owners to use the park in the winter because there is less traffic.

Stump said she wants the township to place signs in the park that owners must clean up after their pets and “that dog owners are 100% liable” for the actions of their pet.

Zona said he uses the park a lot and has never had any problems with the pets.

Wengrzyn said the township should not “micromanage” the dog owners but should allow responsible pet owners access to the park year-round.

One pet owner who is pleased with the township moving toward year-round use is Justin Logan of Hempfield, who was walking around the park on a recent Friday afternoon.

“I would love to walk the dog here. It’s the only park around where she’s not allowed,” said Logan, who takes his beagle-Labrador mix to parks in Arona and Madison.