SAUGUS — Stocker Park has been the subject of debate in the town for more than a year, with Stocker Street locals leading the charge against a dog park being added to the property.
On Tuesday, Sharon and Marie Floramo, who both live on Stocker Street, addressed the Board of Selectmen in their continued effort to keep a dog park out of the Stocker Park area.
Both women have been very vocal about the dog park and came to the meeting with new information to add to the discussion.
Sharon Floramo got in contact with The Stanton Foundation, who will be providing the grant money for the dog park. According to Floramo, the foundation does not have an opinion on the location of the park.
“Nowhere on the grant in terms of dog park location criteria does it specify the need or requirement to exclude any vacant or offline school,” Sharon Floramo said.
An example she provided was the Oaklandvale School, which shut down in 2021. The school was originally on the list of possible locations for the new dog park, but was scratched off.
“They were scratched from the list because they wouldn’t qualify, but I have direct information from Stanton that the foundation does not have input to the location,” she said.
The Stanton Foundation said former school property was not an issue as long as it was a recommended site by the town.
Marie Floramo spoke next, presenting a letter from the Historical Commission Chair Stephen Carlson.
In the letter, Carlson mentions the Stocker Playground has historical significance in two ways: It was the site of the Stocker Brickyard, and it has been an open space of public recreation for around 90 years.
Members of the Save Stocker Park Facebook group continue to post photos and information about the park and its wildlife. They hope to keep the land as is.
One thing to note is the dog park would not be encroaching on Stocker Playground, but would be in a different section of the park, near old basketball and tennis courts.
