Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
City staff have identified a location for a possible future dog park in Shawano; something many residents have been panting for since 2012.
Park and Recreation Director Matt Hendricks said he isn’t ready to divulge the location, however.
“We still have a few more things to work out,” he said.
Hendricks and Department of Public Works Coordinator Eddie Sheppard have been looking at possible dog park locations for the last several months, Hendricks said.
About seven or eight city-owned sites were analyzed before settling on the location being considered now, he said.
“Each site had some positive things and some challenges, but now that we have a site identified at this point, we can begin to build a budget projection,” Hendricks said.
There was no time line for how soon dog owners would be able to romp in the park with their canines, but the city’s capital improvement projects budget for this year includes $50,000 that was set aside in hopes of partnering with other entities for the future establishment of a dog park.
A survey seeking public input from residents on Shawano parks in 2013 cited a dog park as something many respondents wanted to see.
Dog park enthusiasts approached the Shawano County Board on two occasions in 2012 to establish the park at a clay borrows site on Rosebrook Road in the town of Belle Plaine. It was voted down twice over concerns about the proposed lease, the expense and what entity would be responsible for it.