The Stocker Dog park proposal draws mostly negative feedback from residents

By Mark E. Vogler

As the lead-off speaker at Monday’s forum on a proposed dog park in the area of Stocker Playground, Julie Mills professed her love for dogs and her strong support for a dog park. “I am owned by two dogs,” the Saugus woman said.

“I’m 100 percent in favor of a dog park. We need it. A dog park is a great meeting place,” she added

But Mills spent the rest of her time at the lectern at the second floor auditorium of Town Hall explaining her vociferous opposition to a dog park at the proposed site. “Stocker is not the place for a dog park.” Mills expressed her concerns that a dog park at the proposed site of the rundown basketball and tennis court posed a potential threat to the Saugus River and the wetlands. She also raised the issue of potential health hazards for children using the playground and concerns about an adverse impact on the eagles.

Mills was one of about a dozen people who spoke during Monday’s forum hosted by the town’s informal dog park committee, with Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree chairing the forum. Most of the people who spoke were opposed to the dog park being located at Stocker Playground. The purpose of the forum was to update the public on plans for locating a dog park in Saugus and a specific proposal to transform the basketball court and tennis court into a dog park.

A representative of Warner Larson Landscape Architects presented copies of the “Saugus Dog Park Concept Design,” dated April 29, the date of Monday’s forum. The plan noted:

• The Dog Park as proposed would have separate places for large and small dogs.
• The park would provide a water source.
• The dog park will be fenced in with double entry gate access.
• The overall square footage would be 32,130 or .74 acres.
• The park would include a dog pool, pet fountain and shower station.

“I really think this would be a betterment to the community in this area,” Crabtree told the audience, which numbered close to 100 people.

“It’s an underutilized area,” he said.

The town manager said the proposed dog park project would not increase flooding in the area.

Future plans include improving the playground area for children and the baseball park, according to Crabtree. “The idea is to bring life back in the park,” he said.

Monday’s meeting was strictly to get public feedback on the proposal. Crabtree said his office is interested in further public comment about the proposal.

The dog park committee, which had several of its members seated with Crabtree at a table in front of the audience, is working on a potential grant to fund the project. Crabtree said there is no timetable for the proposal and said no decision has been made on a final site for a Saugus dog park. However, committee members said they looked at a dozen sites throughout Saugus and determined that Stocker was the best location for a dog park.

Meanwhile, much of Monday’s public testimony focused on public concerns that Stocker is not a good location for a dog park.

Lisa Lavargna testified about her concerns of the potential impact of dogs on wildlife in the Stocker area. “The presence of dogs causes wildlife to move away, temporarily or permanently reducing the amount of available habitat in which to feed, breed and rest,” Lavargna said.

“Animals become less active during the day avoiding the dogs. The scent of dogs repels wildlife and the effects remain after the dogs are gone,” she said.

Lavargna cited an April 2016 study by Metro Parks and Nature, which she said showed that dogs’ negative impact on wildlife is overwhelming.

Kim Calla, of 7 Stocker St., was one of several residents whose property abuts Stocker who spoke in opposition to a dog park at Stocker. “I support a dog park in our town, but not at Stocker,” Calla said.

“The playground needs TLC and upgrades,” she said.

Calla complained that “not one abutter was contacted” by town officials considering the Stocker plan.

Selectman Jeff Cicolini, who is a member of the dog park committee, said the neighbors would  still have a baseball field and a playground – both of them substantially upgraded. “We reviewed 12 areas,” he noted, adding that no final decision has been made.

Scott Vandiver, of 2 Wakefield Ave., said he thinks the proposal would be a vast improvement for the area, which features a rundown basketball court and tennis court. “That park is used for two things – smoking weed and having sex,” Vandiver said.

Crabtree expressed frustration several times at Monday’s hearing that some residents were hogging the speaking time, thus discouraging others who wanted to speak.