Donor To Fund Construction Of Dog Park In Seymour

This illustration shows what the new dog park could look like.

SEYMOUR — By late fall, four-legged friends will have a place to call their own, thanks to a resident who is going to build them their very own dog park at Sochrin’s Park on Moss Avenue.

The Board of Selectmen revealed and unanimously approved the location during its meeting Tuesday (Aug. 2) at Seymour Town Hall.

Resident Taylor Westlund, who own T.S.W. Landscape Design and Fence Builders, in Oxford, is donating the fencing, benches, picnic tables, landscaping and other materials for the project.

Westlund, a dog lover who owns a French Mastiff, said he saw posts on the town’s Facebook page about the town wanting to build residents and their furry friends a dog park.

“I figured I would love to help,” Westlund said. ​“There’s nothing like it in town. Nobody uses the park now, except for the geese, really.”

Sochrin’s Park, located just off South Main Street, has become overrun with Canadian geese and unfortunately their droppings, according to First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis, and because of it, has been rendered pretty unusable over the last couple of years. The basketball courts there are also in bad shape, she said.

“Here’s a park that’s not being used by taxpayers, but by the geese, and while we love geese, we need our residents to be able to use what we have,” Drugonis said. ​“With the dogs there, this will likely deter the geese.”

The park is about five-acres, Drugonis said.

Westlund gave the Selectmen a brief power point presentation of the dog park design, which, in part, will feature some 1,400 linear feet of black chain-link to enclose the area for dogs, with separate areas made for big dogs and little dogs to play and roam leash-free. 

Westlund will also install split rail fencing along the outer area of the park along Moss Avenue for an aesthetic look. He also plans to build a walking trail over a quarter mile long, made of asphalt millings that the Haynes Group will donate. Haynes is also going to donate top soil for the project, Westlund said. 

Westlund will also do some landscaping, including planting some new trees. Since there is already town water available near the park, Westlund said he’ll also run some water lines so the dogs have plenty of fresh water to drink. He’ll also be donating several benches and picnic tables.

Westlund estimated the project would cost him between $30,000 and $50,000.

Sochrin’s Park is town-owned property that the Public Works Department already regularly maintains, and will continue to keep maintenance of the dog park in its rotation. Drugonis said the town will likely pick up the tab for disposable doggy doo-doo bag dispensers, unless donations come in to buy them. Drugonis said another resident has stepped up to help with the project, and DiGiorgi Roofing and Siding will make repairs to the existing gazebo at the park at no charge to town. 

Drugonis said residents have been asking for a dog park for more than a decade, and now that the right piece of property has been found to house it, the wait is nearly over.

Westlund said he’ll began work the second week of September and expects the dog park to be up and running by the first or second week of November.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Westlund said.

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