Bark Park project making progress

Date: 4/23/2012

April 23, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW — With the major procedural hurdles cleared and the majority of the money for the project now secured, the East Longmeadow Bark Park Association's plan for the town's first fenced in dog park appear to be falling into place.

"Right now we are just about at the point where we have just enough money in the fund to construct the fence and we've been approved to do that," Bill Couzelis, president of the Bark Park's Board of Directors.

The project is nearly a year and a half in the making with the Bark Park Association first gaining support from the Board of Selectmen at its Oct. 19, 2010 meeting. It's an extremely short timetable for such an endeavor, said Couzelis, who credited town officials for strong support of the project.

"For us to get this done in about a year and a half is pretty incredible," he said. "It took Enfield [Conn.] six years, but they didn't have the kind of support from the town that we have here."

While the timeframe has been shorter than anticipated, it was not always easy for Couzelis and the rest of the Bark Park supporters.

"In between that October of 2010 and now, I think I've been in front of the Board of Selectmen two or three times, the Planning Board once, the Conservation [Committee] a couple of times and the [Department of Public Works] at least three times," he said.

The biggest issue standing in the way of the park's creation was location. Eventually, the town and the Bark Park Association agreed upon a site at Heritage Park to the west of the access road that leads to the soccer field.

"We were bounced around to a number of different sites over the course of the past year and a half," Couzelis said. "We had probably looked at a half a dozen sites before we came up on this one."

Couzelis said the committee has been in talks with area contractors regarding the construction of 922 feet of fencing around a half-acre plot of land and he holds out hopes of having it open by June 20.

"My personal goal was to have it open by the first day of summer," he said. "It's still a possibility. It's almost up to the contractors now. We have the approval, now it's just a matter of when the contractors can come and do the work."

In addition to the fencing, Couzelis said some brush and debris removal is necessary, especially following the Oct. 29, 2011 snowstorm.

"The Department of Public Works (DPW) did a great job cleaning things up after the storm, but there are still some areas that need some attention," he said.

The dog park, which will feature two separate sections for large dogs and small dogs, will have regular trash pick up provided free of charge by McNamara Waste Services of Hampden and is also working with A.W. Brown on choosing an animal waste bag system.

The project, Couzelis said, is being made possible through fund-raising efforts and donations from local companies.

Most recently HealthTrax hosted a Zumba event to raise money and Robert Charles Photography recently took part in a fund-raiser during which it offered a photo shoot complete with an 8x10 portrait for families and their pets.

Thomas Wheeler, owner of A.W. Brown has also pledged monetary support to the project.

"[Wheeler] wants to provide enough donation to, in his words, 'put us over the top,'" Couzelis said.

The Bark Park will also sponsor a car show benefit in on May 5 at Stanton Auctions on East Longmeadow Road in Hampden.

A $10 donation is requested for show cars and the cost is $5 for two spectators.

Couzelis said the park will benefit the town two-fold in providing a secure, enclosed location for dogs to run, while also providing a social venue for fellow dog owners.

"If you go to the park now, you see people getting out their cars, they walk 50 yards and they let their dogs off the leash and they roam all over the place," he said. "This will centralize all that and provide a place for the dogs to have fun and for people to socialize with other dog owners."