COEUR d'ALENE - Kathleen Ross has been bringing her dog, Abbie, to "Central Bark" - an off-leash dog park in the Northshire neighborhood of Coeur d'Alene - five times a week, beginning when the smooth coat border collie was just a puppy.

Abbie bounded through the snowy park on Wednesday, eagerly retrieving a flying disc thrown by Ross. The Coeur d'Alene resident told The Press that the dog park is the only one in town large enough to let dogs like Abbie really stretch their legs.

"I love this dog park so much," Ross said. "I'm always amazed at how many people use it and you'd really be surprised at how many still come in the winter."

Ross said she and many of the other park-users panicked when they learned that the property was sold by the Coeur d'Alene School District to Grace Bible Church at the end of 2014. Before the sale, the school district had an agreement with the city that allowed the dog park on the property.

Ross said residents feared "Central Bark" would close and they would lose the park they and their four-legged friends have enjoyed since it opened in 2010.

But there was a smile on Ross' face when she learned that the city of Coeur d'Alene signed a three-year agreement with the church on Tuesday night to lease the land for a total of $3.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Bill Greenwood was also pleased with the agreement. When the property was listed for sale, Greenwood said his department began planning to remove all of the infrastructure built by the city and volunteers who helped with the construction and held fundraisers to purchase the needed materials.

The plan was to reuse those materials at Northshire Park to keep a smaller dog park open in the area.

"It was a group effort and we had a lot of time and money invested into the park," Greenwood said. "So we were really pleased when the church said it was a good thing if the park stayed where it was. I didn't have to bother with our contingency plan because they came forward and did that."

Pastor Paul Peabody said Grace Bible Church purchased the land with the intent of building a new church facility in three to five years.

"We're moving from two acres to 10 acres of property, so I am not even sure when we will have use for the dog park portion of it," Peabody said. "With the lease, people can keep using it and it'll stay available to the community."

The only hitch to keeping the park open was that the church's insurance did not cover that use of the property, which further encouraged the pastor to contact the city to facilitate a lease.

"We were glad to supply the grounds to the city for the dog park and leave it as-is with all of the improvements they made if they took the liability," Peabody said.

Greenwood said the city's insurer, Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, stated it would cover any of the liability issues that could arise in the park.

"We've not encountered any incidents or reports of dog bites at any of the three, soon to be four, dog parks in the city," Greenwood added. "There has never been anybody who said they have had problems."

Even when the weather is bad, Greenwood said, he always sees a good number of people using Central Bark, and that the park gets the heaviest traffic of the three in the city. He thanked Grace Bible Church on behalf of the city for its continued use.

As she threw the disc to Abbie, Ross too said she was grateful that the park would remain open for at least three more years.

"I'm excited to keep using this park," she said. "And I'm sure people will be happy when I tell them about the agreement because this is a big meeting place for a lot of folks."