A Gray Summit area Boy Scout is continuing his campaign to raise funds to construct a fenced canine play area in the Pacific City Park.
When completed, the project will serve the dual purpose of creating an area where dogs can run unleashed and would earn Dylan Patton an Eagle Scout badge.
Dylan, a member of Troop 443, Gray Summit, is continuing his fundraising efforts through summer.
The cost to erect a 5-foot chain link fence around the rectangular compound is about $4,000, Dylan said. His role was to gain the correct approvals, raise funds for the compound and oversee construction.
The project received enthusiastic support from city officials who agreed to help expand the plan and approved a $3,000 addition to the $4,000 raised by Dylan which would fund exercise elements that the Scout observed in other dog runs in the area.
Dylan said he first got the idea from the park board.
Four previous Eagle Scout projects have benefited the city parks, including signs naming playing fields for local athletes, a walking trail around the city park fishing pond, a replica Civil War cannon on the bluff in Blackburn Park and a flagpole at the entrance to PYA ballfields.
Stephen Flannery III, park board president, said the board had voted unanimously to support the dog area project and discuss the park at every park board meeting.
Flannery said people are now letting their dogs off their leashes in the park.
“When he came to the park board looking for a project we thought about a dog park,” Flannery said. “Throughout the area there are dog parks.”
The park board has already discussed some allowed uses in the dog park. Large dogs would be on one side and small dogs on the other side. Owners would be required to pick up after dogs and would not be allowed to leave dogs unattended.
The park board also will establish other rules for use of the park, hours the dog run is open and how access is obtained. Some dog parks are open 24 hours a day with owners having keys or pass cards to give them access to the park.
The park board also will decide where the dog run would be located, with some favoring the green area behind the tennis courts while others prefer a more shaded area, saying the green area is without trees.
“It’s right to have more people involved in the discussion, but in the end the dog park is Dylan’s project and it’s our job to give him the support that we’ve given other Boy Scouts wanting to complete Eagle Scout projects in our parks” Mayor Herb Adams said.
Dylan has until his 18th birthday next February to complete the project. His most important role in the project is now fundraising, he said.
Donations for the project can be made to Dylan Patton at 636-584-9896.
