“Who Let The Dogs Out?” blasted over the PA system as the Nantucket Land Bank cut the ribbon on the island’s first dog park Sunday afternoon while dozens of island dogs got their first sniffs in.
Welcoming a crowd of more than 50 people and canines who showed up yesterday to see the new dog park off Miacomet Road, Land Bank Commission member Kristina Jelleme did the honors by cutting the ribbon with an oversized pair of scissors. Jelleme was described as the driving force behind the project, which was more than seven years in the making.
“Dogs are a big part of my life, as I’m sure they are of yours,” Jelleme said. “They’re our four-legged children. Having a safe and enclosed area that they can run around free and socialize with other dogs is important for them. As a commissioner of the Land Bank, I thought it was a great way for the Land Bank to help the community by building Nantucket’s first dog park. It became my ‘pet’ project.”
The property was acquired by the Land Bank in November 2017 as part of an exchange of land with the town that also included 39 Washington Street as well as dock and bike path easements along the harbor. But the idea for a dedicated dog park came into focus several years earlier, when a group of visiting students from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute surveyed community interest in the concept and explored the viability of such a facility. The overwhelming support for a dog park led to a challenging search for the right location and land before the Miacomet Road property was identified.
Its central location made it an ideal spot for a dog park.
“The Land bank was a natural fit for this idea because we hold land for public benefit and outdoor recreation is part of our mission,” Nantucket Land Bank executive director Jesse Bell said yesterday. “This park is a shared community resource, in other words, this is our dog park. Its success depends on people familiarizing themselves with the rules, being responsible dog owners, and respectful of one another so that everyone can enjoy it.”
The dog park is now open daily on a year-round basis from dawn to dusk, and there are a host of rules and declarations regarding liability on signs that greet visitors.
The dog park was designed by the Berkshire Design Group, of Northampton, MA, a landscape architecture firm that has completed other dog park project around the state.
Both Bell and Jelleme emphasized that it is the first dedicated dog park on Nantucket. It features two large enclosed areas – one for large dogs and another for smaller breeds – and both are dotted with pitch pines, walking trails and benches.
The layout of the area and most of the infrastructure has been completed for months, leaving many wondering during the fall why the dog park wasn’t yet open.
“The big hold up here was the grass,” Bell explained yesterday. “We wanted to make sure it was as established as possible before we opened because we knew it would experience intense use.”
The Land Bank thanked the committee that helped refine the concept for the dog park, including: Shanna Minior, of Offshore Animal Hospital; Andrea Morris, of NISHA; Janet Schulte, director of the town’s Office of Culture and Tourism; attorney Rhoda Weinman; and the Land Bank’s Jelleme, former executive director Eric Savetsky, and “all Land Bank staff.”
The project manager for the dog park was Matt Tomaiolo.
