A person walks their leashed dogs in Hubbard Park in Montpelier on Friday, March 6, 2026, Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Neil Herrick and Ryker used to avoid Hubbard Park. The trails through the wooded hills outside of Montpelier had become the center of too much conflict. So he and his resc ue dog stayed away.  “There was a lot of yelling and a lot of accusations,” Herrick said. “So we just didn’t come.” But that was back when leashes were optional throughout the park. Then, in 2024, the leash rules changed. Pups – and their owners – were partitioned into leashed and unleashed sections. Since then, Herrick and Ryker started making the drive from Barre Town again, so Ryker could run off-leash in the northern trails, as Herrick kept a watchful eye. “That divide has made it more comfortable,” Herrick said. But who knows how long that will last? On Montpelier’s relatively quiet Town Meeting Day last week, with uncontested races for mayor and city council, the contest for a parks commissioner seat was decided by a razor-thin margin. Rebecca Copans, who defined her candidacy around relaxing dog leash regulations in Hubbard Park, edged out challenger Mattison Brady by just 41 votes.  “Dog issues in Montpelier are like the third rail of politics,” former Mayor Mary Hooper said. Indeed, after 18 public meetings, more than 150 pages of public comments, three surveys and the creation of a “Canine Committee,”  according to the city’s 2025 annual report, that rail is as live as ever. The contest was a small but telling indication of how seriously Vermonters take even the most local questions about shared public spaces — especially when dogs are involved. Hooper, who served as Montpelier mayor from 2006 until 2012, stopped going to Hubbard after her dogs were attacked, only returning to the park after leash rules were instated.  “It just takes all of the pleasure out of walking in a beautiful, beautiful place,” she said. When community members were surveyed in March 2024, about a third of respondents said they didn’t use Hubbard Park because of off-leash dogs. It was by far the most cited reason for why people did not use the park.  In the same survey, respondents were nearly evenly split on whether the latest rules were sufficient. At the time, off-leash dogs were allowed in all parts of the park as long as their owners maintained control.  After an extensive public process, the Montpelier Parks Commission decided in 2024 to require leashes in part of the park in an attempt to provide more equitable access.   Current policy, adopted by the commission in 2024, allows dogs to roam off-leash on trails in the approximately 150-acre northern section of Hubbard Park and requires leashes in the other 100 acres closest to the city center.  “It was definitely the highest, one of the higher engagement issues that we’ve ever had in my time here,” said Alec Ellsworth, the trees and parks director for Montpelier.  Despite the extensive public process around the 2024 policy, it’s far from clear that the issue is resolved. A “temperature check” survey conducted by the Parks Commission in 2025 indicated that the community remains split on the policy. To see how the public would adjust to the new rules, the commission baked in a review after two years, with the board scheduled to revisit leash regulations this fall, according to Ellsworth.  In her candidate statement, Copans said that the policy had “fractured” the community of people who walked their dogs off-leash in the park.  “A lot of people are saying, ‘Oh, we’re not going to waste energy going back to this conversation,’” said Rebecca Agone, who walks her dog in Hubbard. “But for dog people, it’s actually really important. Many of us just feel that dogs and their people were kind of left behind.” Other park users, though, including some who walk their dogs off-leash, said they were happier with the park after it was designated a no-leash area.  Nancy Munno has lived in Montpelier for about 17 years and has been using Hubbard Park almost as long. She walks her dog Chloe there regularly, usually off-leash. “I think the regulations are a perfect compromise,” Munno said as Chloe barreled through the snow in Hubbard Park last week.  Munno said the policy allows those who aren’t comfortable with loose dogs to enjoy the park while still maintaining an area for those who want to walk off-leash.  “The park should be for everybody,” she said.  “Dogs are a user group” Ellsworth, the current parks director, said that the policy represented compromise from both sides of the debate.  “Dogs are a user group,” Ellsworth said. “They’re an important one, and we should celebrate that and encourage their use. But they do have an impact, just like any other, you know, user.” But a year after the policy change, the community still seemed divided on the issue. In a survey conducted by the parks department in fall 2025, about 35% of people said they went to the park less often than before the no-leash area was designated, while about 25% said they went to the park more following the new rules. Of the 137 people who responded to the survey, nearly 40% said their use of the park hadn’t changed.  In comments provided by email after the election, Copans said she believes the policy should be revised to allow people to walk their dogs off-leash in the 100-acre ”core” of the park during certain times of day. She said any policy change would be considered by the full Parks Commission, along with staff and the public.  “I have been outspoken that I was running with a clear purpose, and 51% of voters chose me,” Copans said. “A close election is still a win, even if some 49% would have preferred a different outcome.” Copans, who told The Bridge that she raised her kids on the edge of Hubbard Park, is a long-time follower of the contentious leash issue. Two dogs playing it in the snow in Hubbard Park, Montpelier, on March 5, 2026. Photo by Brendan Rose/VTDigger “Clearly, the town is divided on the issue, and that has not changed over the past 10 years,” Copans said, referencing a 2017 advisory vote on the subject.  Still, she felt the leash policy didn’t adequately reflect her concerns.  “We advocated to the Parks Commission for a softer stance, and we were not heard. That is why I stood up on Town Meeting Day — to ask for a more measured approach.” The other parks commission candidate in last week’s race, Mattison Brady, moved to Montpelier a few years ago. During his campaign, he argued that the leash regulations had reached a good compromise. He said he was open to the commission continuing to monitor and make changes down the road.  While Copans made the leash policy a key issue of her campaign, Brady focused more on climate resilience and broadening access to the parks.   He said he would consider running again next year.  Ellsworth, the current parks director, said that the election of a new commissioner would not result in any changes overnight. He expects the review of the leash guidelines in October to result in small “tweaks,” not wholesale changes.  For now, the debate about Hubbard Park seems to be back, with a steady stream of Front Porch Forum posts still coming in, even a week after the election.  “I just hope it doesn’t become this huge contentious issue again,” said Munno, the longtime Montpelier resident who walks her dog off-leash in the park. “How many times do you need to relitigate dog leashes in Hubbard Park?”  Read the story on VTDigger here: One close election, two vocal sides and a dog leash debate Montpelier can’t shake. ...read more read less