Dog park plans move forward in Mattapoisett

Nov 15, 2017

Mattapoisett resident Freemin Bauer took another step toward bringing a dog park to town on Tuesday night.

Bauer met with the Board of Selectmen to discuss his idea and the land he would use. The park would be built on on Hubbards Way next to the skate park and near the police station.

“Instead of a rectangle it’d be a circle so no dog can get cornered,” Bauer said. “There would be two areas, one for small dogs and one for big dogs.”

Bauer said he had walked the area with Police Chief Mary Lyons, who said it wouldn’t be in the way of the police department. He also met with Henri Renauld from the Water Department, who also said there would be no issues.

The only concern of the selectmen in terms of shared space is the possibility of a new Town Hall and fire station eventually going on that property as well.

“The first thing we have to do is figure out how any future overlay, future Town Hall or future fire station would fit into this area,” Select Chair Paul Silva said.

Town Administrator Michael Gagne said that he had recently met with the person doing the space analysis for those buildings, and that the square footage needed had been determined. Last week, Gagne gave him the go-ahead to determine how many parking spaces would be needed.

“Once we have that information we’ll do a scaled overlay with that and make sure it all fits nicely together,” Gagne said.

Once the exact space and area are determined, Bauer can continue to move forward. He is applying for Community Preservation Act funds, which will be recommended and voted on at the Town Meeting in May.

Aside from the one space concern, the selectmen were supportive of the idea.

“We’ve talked about needing [a dog park] for quite some time,” Selectman Tyler Macallister said. “I like the idea. It’s a good spot for it too.”