Swampscott sets site, date for dog park

SWAMPSCOTT – A part of Phillips Park will finally go to the dogs this fall, with a goal date of Sept. 1 set for the Swampscott dog park.The park gained approval at a 2008 Town Meeting, but the battle since then has been to find an appropriate location and to settle neighbors’ nerves. On Wednesday, Selectman Glenn Kessler reported the Department of Public Works had measured and staked a 100- by 100-foot area behind the new police station, with a 100-foot buffer to the nearest neighbor.”Kessler and I are very serious about the Sept. 1 deadline,” said Town Administrator Thomas Younger in a May 22 Board of Selectmen meeting.Swampscott Park for Off-leash Time (SPOT), the group that began raising money for a dog park four years ago, will be financing the project, from fencing to any plantings that take place for the park. According to Kessler, SPOT will be holding a few public meetings with abutters to hear concerns and suggestions.”We’re sensitive to requests of abutters that they maintain privacy,” said Kessler.Some other concerns that abutters and residents have had are that dog owners and their four-legged friends would come from out of town to use the park, but Kessler said most other cities and towns including Lynn and Salem now have their own parks. And to be safe, all users including guests will need a special permit to use the park.Kessler added that recently, a meeting was held with the DPW, Board of Health and Recreation Director to discuss the specifics of the park, such as the policy on dog waste, to iron out the details for the Sept. 1 goal date.”We don’t have a lot of area, and the people with dogs want a place to go,” said Kessler.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].