Lynn dog park takes shape on Parkland Ave.

LYNN – Work has started on the dog park destined for Parkland Avenue but pooches will have to wait until spring before they can shed their leashes for some fenced-in fun.”We thought we’d get the fence up before winter while the prices were still relatively good,” said Community Development Director James Marsh. “That will give us the winter to develop a maintenance plan, oversight, rules and regulations and then we’ll have an official opening in the spring.”Steelco, the city’s contracted fence company, began digging post holes for what will be an L shaped enclosure on the grassy lot on Parkland Avenue, adjacent to a Public Works salt shed and across the street from the Pine Grove Cemetery.Marsh explained there will ultimately be two fenced-in areas, one roughly 300-by-60 feet and a smaller area that will be 60-by-100 feet, to accommodate both large and small dogs.The 4,000 square foot area is actually under the cemetery’s jurisdiction but the Pine Grove Cemetery Commission voted to approve use of the land in June.While it seems simple enough to open a dog park, mayoral aide Mary Chalmers, who has been working on the project with Marsh, said there are details to be worked out. She said they have visited dog parks in Salem and even Portsmouth, N.H. to see how other communities are doing it.”A lot of other communities have them,” she said. “We’ve been getting an outpouring of support ? We don’t want to rush this. We want to do it right.”The plan is to have residents register to use the park when they register their dogs. Chalmers said that way the city knows the dogs are up-to-date on shots. Marsh said the city also needs to lay down basic rules, such as dogs will have to be leashed before entering and as they exit the park; youths of a to-be-determined age must be accompanied by an adult; and lastly the definition of aggressive dog.”There is a lot to vet and a lot to figure out,” he said.What they do know is the park will be open from dawn to dusk and there will be parking available in front of the fenced-in area.Marsh also called the work on the park timely considering the city is on the cusp of hiring a new dog officer, since Kevin Farnsworth retired last summer.”At some point it would be nice if we could build a (room) for the dog officer to work out of,” Marsh said. “It would make sense to put it at the dog park and it’s right in the middle of the city.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].