Ayer Community Dog Park

Annually, residents in the Town of Ayer register over 600 dogs for licenses.  As we all know, dogs must be walked and exercised because a tired dog is a happy dog – and a happy dog is a good dog!  The question was where? 

To that end, Mark Wetzel, the Superintendent of the Ayer Department of Public Works (DPW), applied for and secured a large grant from the Stanton Foundation in 2014 for the construction of a dog park.  The grant covered all of the design costs and 90% of the construction costs but the Stanton Foundation required that the remaining 10% construction cost be met by the local community.  That is where CPC funds came into play.  At Spring Town Meeting 2017, residents voted to approve the use of $20,000 of CPC funds, from its “recreation” category, to meet the Foundation’s requirement.  This was an excellent use of CPC funds, merging outside grant money with local support.

Clearing for the dog park began in the fall of 2017 on a Town-owned parcel of land on Snake Hill Road.  The park opened in June 2018, featuring two fenced-in play areas – one for big dogs and another for small dogs.  It is also ADA-compliant, with parking for 15 vehicles (including designated handicapped parking), double-gated entrances, and a range of dog park amenities (concrete walkways, benches, water fountain, shade structure, bag stations, refuse containers).  Open dawn to dusk, it provides a great space for canine and human exercise and social interaction – and clearly was a CPC-assisted project that did not bark up the wrong tree!