Dog park in planning stages for city of Jackson near Civic Center

Jackson's Board of Aldermen will consider at its Dec. 20 meeting a proposal to authorize engineering services for a future dog park in a field off Deerwood Drive and Cricket Lane.

Aldermen will be asked to approve a $9,200 contract with Jackson's Strickland Engineering to create a design for the park, to be situated on 1 acre west of the Jackson Civic Center and nearby to Hubble Creek Recreational Trail.

"We have visited the dog park in Cape Girardeau and also the one in Perryville [Missouri] to get an idea of what could be possible," said Shane West Anderson, city parks and recreation director, who added the Dog Park Committee has also done some Internet research.

Area dog parks

• Cape Girardeau: Kiwanis Park, "Dogtown Dog Park," at 2100 Rotary Drive, between Perryville Road and Lexington Avenue.
• Perryville: Perryville Dog Park on Huber Road, on the site of the old football field near the community gardens.

The site

A previous location considered within Jackson was Litz Park, according to previous reporting by the Southeast Missourian.

"The field seemed to be the best place in relation to our park system. It's connected to trails, it could represent a trail head, you could walk your dog to the park and could park your car in a lot close by," said Anderson. "Plus, if you wanted to use a restroom, the Civic Center is right there. All these items seemed to add up for a good dog park and they all came together for that location."

The tentative plan up for consideration by aldermen also calls for a designated parking lot with 12 spaces.

Anderson said there is no timeline, assuming aldermanic go-ahead, for Strickland's report to be issued.

"This is a function of Strickland's workload," noted Anderson, adding the money for engineering services is already in the city budget.

"There are question marks the engineering report may answer -- including what we have in the flood plain area of the parcel. We also need the scope of work and project definitions before we can establish a tentative timeline to build," said Anderson,

Design

"We want a very smart and solid design accommodating large and small dogs, providing a rear exit and front exit plus other important details such as the right depth to bury the fence underground so dogs don't dig it up," said Anderson, who is planning to retire in February after 24 years with the city's parks program. "Walking dogs is quite a popular activity and a dog park could be a gathering place not only for canines but their owners, probably with a lot of social interaction. Our committee and Strickland Engineering are putting together all the needed ingredients to make the project a reality."