Mayor Glover Offers Response To Dog Park Ruling

The mayor lost his legal battle against supporters of a proposed dog park in Hamel Memorial Park along the Red River in Shreveport, but he is still not backing down from his stance.

In a written response, Mayor Cedric Glover says the City of Shreveport has a set list of priorities that were established in 2009.  While the dog park is on there, he says in the statement that it was not the highest item on the list.

"The idea of a dog park is fine, but these parks also come with problems and challenges," the mayor explained.  He argues what is not being considered by proponents of the park is the cost to maintain it.

In addition to the cost of the park's maintenance, Mayor Glover disagrees with the ruling by Judge Leon Emanuel because he feels it effectively diminishes the checks and balances that exist between the city's Executive and Legislative branches.

The mayor adds that what the judge has done "essentially neuter the powers of the office of the Mayor" and that all the council would need is just five votes to overrule anything the mayor can do. He also noted that the mayor is the only public official elected by the entire city.

According to the statement, Mayor Glover is concerned that with this ruling the doors will now be open to special interest groups to place pressure on council members to do things that may or may not benefit the entire city.

The mayor closes his statement by saying the $280,000 being provided by the Red River Waterway Commission to the Caddo Parish Commission is not enough to cover the projected cost to build and operate the dog park.