Light at the End of the Tunnel

[Councilor Palomba]

Dear Members of the Dog Park Task Force,

It has been a long haul but the creation of a dog park at the Grove Street entrance to Filippello Park is taking shape.  On Wednesday, March 16 at 7:00 PM in the Town Council Chambers there will be a public meeting to discuss the latest rendition of the plans for the Grove Street entrance to the park.  You may recall that the original rendition, presented at an earlier public meeting, included a small dog park set off to the side. Nearly everyone who was looking for a state-of-the-art park was disappointed, including members of the Town Council.

Fortunately the draft rendition that is attached here is a great improvement.  It represents a compromise between the advocates for a dog park and the Conservation Commission who were pleased with the original rendition.  The working group that has been representing the Task Force has worked tirelessly to make the case for a quality dog park to Town officials.  There is not complete agreement among this group, but the majority feels that they have reached a workable agreement with the Town. We hope you agree.

It should be noted that the attached rendition is a draft and that there are many details to be worked out such as whether there should be an area of large dogs and an area for small dogs, whether there should be a time out area, how many trees will be inside the park, what type of ground cover will be used, where the entrances to the park should be located, etc. etc. The working group has made it very clear to Town officials that the Task Force must be represented on the committee that will work through these issues. 

Finally, it is critical that there be a good turnout of dog lovers at the meeting on Wednesday, March 16.  We recognize that we have asked you to come to many meetings during the last two years, but this may be the most important meeting of all.  PLEASE plan on attending and please invite as many dog loving friends and neighbors to come.

Thank you for your continue support of the Dog Park Task Force.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reply to this email. 

P.S.

There is also a meeting of the Town Council's Committee on Human Services on Thursday, March 24 at 6:00 PM in the Town Council Chambers to review the dog park regulations recently updated by the Health Department.