Dog park still on the table in Gander despite delays
It may take a little while longer, but pet owners in Gander can still expect to see a new dog park constructed in the Cobbs Pond area.
Residents lost the existing dog park when the provincial government selected that area for the location of a new elementary school.
The Town of Gander put out a tender for a new dog park, but the winning bid came back more than $21,000 over budget.
Sarah McBreairty, chair of the town's recreation committee, said the town is looking at ways to still get the dog park without paying more for it.
"We need a dog park, and we recognize that for sure," she said. "It's not on hold, we are just taking a different direction."
According to McBreairty, Cobbs Pond is in a stewardship zone, meaning there are restrictions in place for the kind of work that can be done.
"We need to kind of do that in a different approach than we normally would do say just a regular clear and fill kind of job," said McBreairty.
"There's some trees that have to remain there, we kind of want to keep it as natural as possible, so there may be some complications inherent in that to a contractor."
'Getting creative'
McBreairty said the town is currently looking at what internal resources can be used to start work on the new park.
"That may change the timelines, but I don't think the scope of work would necessarily change if we handled it internally," she said.
"We're looking at getting creative, I guess is how you could put it."
She added the town has heard loud and clear from residents that they want a dog park, so it will happen eventually.
"We've been hearing that they want a dog park, we've been hearing that for a long time that they want a dog park and it's a shame that we don't have a dog park right now because it was a well-used recreational facility," said McBreairty.
"We know that, we hear that from everybody, so that's why it's not something that we're not going to do. We're just dealing with what's in front of us."
McBreairty said work could potentially start as early as this year, but there's no timeline set in stone.
