Does Derby need a dog park?
City officials are researching the question and will be talking about it Thursday.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri asked Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley to research the issue. She’s scheduled to talk about it tonight (Thursday, July 22) at a Derby Board of Aldermen meeting.
The discussion tonight is just that — a discussion.
City officials have no firm plans at the moment to move ahead.
“We’ll talk about it and see what people think. If people say ‘It’s a dumb idea, why waste your money on it,’ then we won’t do it,” Hughes said. “That’s how government works.”
O’Malley estimated a dog park would cost about $10,000. It appears that Derby already has the money in hand in the form of a specialized grant.
Most dog parks require at least an acre of land. That’s not easy to find in Derby. O’Malley said the area near O’Sullivan’s Island or in a field off the Derby Greenway is a possibility.
However, the dog park would most likely be less than an acre.
O’Sullivans Island is a field next to the Derby Greenway where the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers meet.
Dogs pooping on the Greenway has been an issue in the past.
Having a dog park nearby might make sense, O’Malley said, by keeping dogs off the Greenway and into a dedicated area.
“We want to gauge everyone’s interest,” O’Malley said. “There’s been a lot of talk about keeping the Greenway clean. This might be killing two birds with one stone.”
In addition, dog parks are nice amenities for municipalities, O’Malley said.
Hughes said dogs, in general, have been a source of headaches on the Greenway. The walking path is narrow. Even dogs on leashes create problems there, at times.
Shelton Aldermen recently approved a dog park at the corner of Nells Rock Road and Route 108. They also allocated up to $16,000 in Local Capital Improvement Program (LOCIP) funds to pay for the necessary fencing.
Colleen Sadick, of Seymour, was one of the few people braving Wednesday’s heat to exercise on the Greenway. She likes the idea.
“Here on the … walk, some people with dogs are not responsible,” she said, alluding to the poop problem.
Sadick said having a designated park for dogs would make the Greenway better for non-dog walkers.
“It’s something we’ve been kicking around for the last four years, but it boils down to space and money,” Hughes said. “Now if the money’s there, we have to talk about space.”
The Board of Aldermen meeting starts at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Derby City Hall.