Efforts to bring a dog park in Library Square Park earlier this year were unsuccessful, but some dog park advocates are working to institute a park elsewhere in town.
An eight-member dog park committee has been formed and met for the first time on Thursday, Oct. 25.
“The first charge of the committee is to locate a site and then have more community involvement,” said city manager Terence Reidy. “As we identify areas, we’ll bring the community into the conversation.”
Committee members include Reidy, Tom Pivinski, Werner Baumgartner, Paulette Fant, Gail Finowitz, Gene Mignola, Leslie Ferrier, Debbie Delisa and Councilwoman Sue Henderson..
“It was a great meeting,” Henderson said.
The committee discussed where a park could be located, coming to a consensus that they could not purchase land, so the dog park will have to be on publicly owned property. They also decided to keep a part out of historic Bradley Park and Atlantic Park, Henderson said.
Next week, the committee will meet again to survey possible locations, driving from spot to spot. They felt they should get a firsthand look at potential sites after perusing maps at last week’s meeting, Henderson said.
To keep the public informed, the committee will hold public meetings periodically throughout the process of planning the dog park, Henderson said.
Previous plans for a dog park fell through due to public outcry. Residents living near Library Square Park protested the implementation of a dog park there. For a list of stories on the previous dog park plans, click here.
