 |
|
County eyes Tidbury Park for dog run site By Melissa K. Steele It’s been only in the past year that Elizabeth Evans began to understand all the things dog owners do for their pets. Driving to New Castle County’s dog park in Pike Creek twice a month to let her vivacious 1 1/2-year-old dog Isis run off her extra energy is one of them. “Kent County doesn’t have a dog park and I thought, ‘why not?’” Evans said. She’s been hard at work ever since. Last July, Evans started posting display boards and petitions in favor of creating a dog park in Kent County. From the six locations covering pet stores and veterinarian clinics in Smyrna, Dover, Camden and Milford, she’s gathered more than 1,000 signatures of residents in favor of one. With that, the 22-year-old Dover resident developed a convincing PowerPoint presentation and then began contacting the powers that be. Her first call was to her county commissioner who put her in touch with Harry Van Sant, director of community services for the county. “I invited her to the February Parks and Recreation meeting and she presented a PowerPoint presentation. She made a very good presentation, and the commission was impressed,” Van Sant said. “There are no dog parks in Kent or Sussex County but there seems to be a whole lot of interest in it now.” About four years ago, Van Sant said the county turned down a request for a dog park because the community did not seem to be interested. The 1,000-plus signatures on the latest petition drive proves otherwise today. Tidbury Park considered After reviewing county park areas, Evans said she believes Tidbury Park off of South State Street extended would be an ideal location. “Tidbury Park was picked because the natural lay-out makes it a perfect place,” she said. “It’s not a highly used park with a lot of young kids running around like Brecknock [Park].” Levy Court Commissioners recently agreed a dog park is an excellent idea after Evans pitched the concept at a recent meeting. “She clearly demonstrated that there’s a need that I didn’t realize was out there,” said Commissioner Eric L. Buckson. “We agree that it’s something we’d like to see, however, our funds are limited.” Van Sant said the county’s insurance company sees no problem with the park as long as there are rules regarding aggressive dogs. To address this, he said the county intends to create a system to test dogs — possibly through a partnership with an animal group such as the SPCA — to ensure they aren’t aggressive before they can use the park. “The idea is we don’t want aggressive dogs,” he said. Though this may put Evans in a Catch 22 since her dog is a pit bull terrier — one of several breeds listed as aggressive — she doesn’t foresee it as a big obstacle and expects a proper evaluation process will be established. “I hope I don’t do all this work only to have them tell me my dog can’t use it,” she said. “The kind of people who have aggressive dogs aren’t likely the ones who would use a dog park.” The only other hurdle is acquiring neighbor approval. Within the next two weeks, Van Sant said they intend to contact residents of the dozen homes next to the park so there is no confusion about the dog park. Evans said she’s ready to begin raising the estimated $20,000 for a 6-foot high fence to encompass the 3/4-acre plot. Additional money will be needed for signs and trash receptacles. Once she’s given the official go ahead, Evans intends to approach area businesses – including fence companies – to raise the bulk of the money but also will accept individual contributions. The county intends to create a fund for the dog park and handle the money in the event the park does not go through and refunds are required, Van Sant said. For now, however, it appears the park is a go and Evans is anxious for the next step. “I have a lot of phone calls coming in about this,” she said. “People are real excited about it.” Van Sant said he expects to hear back from residents in about a month at which time dog park plans could be finalized. In the meantime, Evans said anyone interested can email her at kentdogpark@hotmail.com.
|
|
|||
