Plans for a potential Derby dog park took a tiny step forward Thursday with the Board of Aldermen focusing on a new location.
Aldermen Ken Hughes said a subcommittee of Derby lawmakers have identified some cleared land next to the former Derby dog pound on Coon Hollow Road as a prospective place.
The land sits next to the Derby Department of Public Works. The dog pound itself is empty and has been for a few months after Aldermen voted to have Woodbridge handle animal control calls in Derby.
The Aldermen have not decided yet whether they’ll actually move forward with any plans.
Elected officials have been discussing the dog park idea for well over a year. Previous efforts have focused on putting a park for pooches in the area of O’Sullivan’s Island, next the Derby Greenway.
The O’Sullivan’s Island spot seemed to make sense, Mayor Anthony Staffieri said, because so many people already exercise with their dogs along the Greenway a few feet away. Also, complaints about dog poop on the Greenway is a constant in Derby. The original idea was to put a park where the dogs are already hanging out.
But that location drew a few complaints from residents who worried that dog poop would somehow pollute the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers.
Plus, after receiving so many complaints about dog poop on the Greenway, the Aldermen voted in March to ban dogs from the Greenway.
In an e‑mail after Thursday’s Aldermen meeting, Hughes explained that it didn’t make much sense to put the park next to the Greenway, where dogs had just been banned.
The Coon Hollow land is manageable, there’s running water available and the city could, possibly, incorporate the dog pound building into the park in some way, Hughes said.
“It is the responsibility of the aldermen to come up with the best solutions, and also to mitigate any public concerns along the way the best we can,” Hughes said.
Aldermen Art Gerckens and Carmen DiCenso are also on the Aldermen subcommittee that has been exploring the dog park idea. At past meetings, both have pushed the city to look for locations other than the Greenway area.
While the city hasn’t voted to spend money on the dog park yet, the Aldermen do have an estimate from Walsh Fence, LLC.
The company said fencing for the park would cost $10,241.32 as of June 25. That would get Derby 550 linear feet of chain link fence.
DiCenso said Thursday Ansonia officials are also interested in using the Derby dog park and willing to donate $2,000 toward the cause.
