Boardman family’s idea is off the leash

A meeting for those interested in starting a dog park is set for Oct. 12 at the Boardman Government Center.

By DENISE DICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — A township family of dog lovers hopes to recruit others to develop a place where Fido, Spot and Rover can play together safely.

Jason Loree, his wife, Abbey, and his mother, Vicky, want to start a dog park and are trying to get others involved in the effort.

A meeting for those interested is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the meeting room of the Boardman Government Center, Market Street.

“It would be a great place for people to bring their pets, to meet up with other pet owners and to socialize their dogs,” Loree said.

Loree, who is the township administrator, is organizing the effort as a private citizen and dog lover, not as administrator. He and his wife own two dogs, a Labrador retriever and a boxer. His mom has three Italian greyhounds.

At next month’s meeting, he and family members hope other people will join in. They need to raise money and determine what type of facility to build.

He posted fliers at area pet stores and within the township building to generate interest.

Loree envisions a park with separate fenced-in areas for large and small dogs, a dog wash and play areas for the four-legged friends. Users would pay a nominal annual fee per dog to use the park. To register, owners would have to provide proof that their pet is vaccinated, licensed and spayed or neutered, he said.

“It would be the only dog park in Mahoning County,” Loree said, adding that a check with the dog warden’s office showed 35,000 dogs licensed in the county.

“The closest one is Mosquito Lake, and that’s a half-hour away,” he said.

Both Poland Municipal Forest and Austintown Township Park offer areas where people may take their dogs off leash, but neither of those parks provides a fenced-in area for the animals.

Loree has approached both Boardman Park and Angels for Animals in North Lima about developing his plan at those facilities.

“Boardman Park said they have some land that we can use for a dog park if we raise the money,” Loree said.

He believes the township is an ideal location because it’s the center of Mahoning County’s commercial activity.

Dan Slagle, park executive director, said about 1.5 acres near the park’s Southern Boulevard entrance could make a good spot. The plan would be subject to approval by Ohio Edison, which owns the high-tension wires than run above the property.

That parcel is part of about 27 acres the park bought from Ohio Edison in 1997. The park bought the land without a specific plan, Slagle said, but the Masters Pavilion and the Lariccia Family Bocce Pavilion were constructed on a portion of it.

“Dog parks are popular all over the states, particularly in California and Florida,” Loree said. “They’re great places to go for dogs to play and to relax a little bit.”

How much money must be raised will be determined by how elaborate a facility the group plans.

“I’ve seen dog parks go in for as little as $10,000 all the way up to $60,000,” he added.

denise_dick@vindy.com