Community Corner
Dog Park Supporters Still in a Waiting Mode
S. P. O. T. leaders hold their regular meeting Monday night to discuss the latest issues concerning the Swampscott dog park.
members got together Monday night at Starbucks in Vinnin Square to discuss items on the agenda, share their love of dogs and have a cup of coffee.
Secretary Jennifer Dorsey was joined by treasurer Andrea Diamant and Vice-Chairperson Lynn Zabar at Monday's meeting. Members of S. P. O. T. meet on the second Monday of every month to bounce ideas off each other and discuss where the park stands.
Organizers had hoped to break ground earlier this year and get the pooches in the park, but the groundbreaking has been delayed. Group members hope that construction on the park can begin before winter sets in.
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“I joined this group because I’m a dog lover and I want to see this park become a reality,” Diamant said.
Smokey, Diamant’s Pomeranian will be 10 years old later this month and she’s hopeful the park becomes a reality sooner rather than later.
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The park was originally scheduled to be constructed on the site of the former Kid’s Cove, but those plans have changed, and the park will be located further back on the land behind the Bertram House, next to the football team’s practice field.
“There was some concern from the abutters along the Puritan Road area, and they voiced their concerns at a recent meeting with the town’s selectmen,” Lynn Zabar said. “Hopefully, those concerns were addressed and we’ll break ground in this calendar year.”
Zabar has a four-year old Boxer named Sampson.
“The park is a go, that has been determined, but the exact location has not been designated by the town and the DPW,” Zabar said.
“Salem has a wonderful dog park, and they got that park off the ground slowly, we hope to do the same thing here in Swampscott,” Jennifer Dorsey said. “We want this to be a beautiful place that improves the quality of life for the people in town, and the dogs in town too.”
The Dorsey’s share their home with a 90-pound mutt named Luther.
“We are still looking for some help in actual landscape design, we want to have benches at the park, and of course it will be enclosed by a fence,” Zabar said.
“We’ve raised most of the money, we had a booth set up during the Strawberry Festival, it would be wonderful to get the park started this year, but if not, definitely next spring,” Zabar said.
For more information, or to make a donation to the dog park, check out www.bigbluespot.org.
