Dog Park Receives Matching Gift
Dog Park Receives Matching Gift as Fence Prices Nip at Heels
Plans for an off-leash dog park in Belfast experienced both a setback and a leap forward last week.
The setback came when Friends of Belfast Parks (FOBP) learned that the price of chain link fence for the 1.4-acre park had jumped twice since the group obtained bids last fall and soon would climb again. C.J. Fence Company of Liberty informed FOBP that rising steel prices had pushed the cost of installing a six-foot, industrial-gauge fence around the park to $33,100, or $3600 more than budgeted, and that it would go substantially higher in early March.
"This is daunting," said Carol Good, president of FOBP. "We went ahead and ordered the fence, but now we need to raise more than $10,000 in the next month or six weeks to pay for the fence in full. If we had waited till we had more money in the bank, then we would have needed to raise even more."
Fortunately, Friends of Belfast Parks has some friends of its own. Two households that had, between them, already given $2500 to the dog park construction fund and a third individual came forward to make a $3000 challenge to FOBP: If the dog park subcommittee can raise $3000 in new gifts between February 28 and March 15, the three donors together will give another $3000 to the effort. All three declined to be named, said Good.
"Now that we've ordered the fence, the pressure is on," Good said. "The time has come for people who support the idea of a dog park in Belfast to put their money where their hearts are. Three very generous sets of dog lovers have done that by making this challenge, and now we really need others to respond."
In September, the City Council approved FOBP's proposal to create a dog park at Walsh Field, on Route 52 just off Route 1, with all construction funds to be raised privately. The original budget to open the park was $40,000, and so far FOBP has raised $23,000.
The proposal also promised educational events to help dog owners use the park safely and wisely, and the first two such events have been scheduled. On March 15 Steve Jacobsen, executive director of Kennebunk's Animal Welfare Society, will talk about their experiences in opening and running an off-leash dog park. On April 26 certified behaviorist Don Hanson of Bangor will make a multi-media presentation on canine behavioral language and stress signals. Both talks will begin at 2 p.m. in the Abbott Room of the Belfast Free Library and are free.
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