Fundraiser to benefit leash-free dog park in Chestnuthill

Runners — on two legs and four legs — are getting ready for the third annual 5K9 trail leisure walk/run on Saturday.

The race takes place at the West End Regional Park, 578 Evergreen Hollow Road, Saylorsburg. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the race begins at 10 a.m. Cost is $20 per person. Dogs are welcome and must remain on a leash.

This is a fundraiser for the new leash-free dog park under construction on Merwine-Hilltop Road in Chestnuthill Township.

“We are so excited. Been anxiously awaiting since we saw they were planning to build one,” Cassie Tweddale said. “We drive by every so often to see how the progress is going. I can’t wait!”

She and her dog, Kenai, will not be able to run the race. Her son has a baseball game, but they will use the park when it’s open later this summer.

In previous years, there have been 30-60 runners. There is no limit on the number of runners.

“We hope we have a couple hundred. The race is rain or shine,” said Bernie Kozen, executive director of West End Park and Open Space Commission.

The dog park is phase II of the regional park development plan and will be connected to the Dave Fleetwood Memorial Trail by a trailhead.

“I didn’t know about this, but that is exciting,” Shirley Serfass said when first hearing about it.

The entire park is 244 acres, of which 3 acres are the dog park.

“It will be finished sometime next month. Construction will be done far ahead of when it opens because we have to wait for Mother Nature to grow the grass,” Kozen said.

There are 10 phases, including multipurpose fields, skate park, sand volleyball court, adult and youth baseball fields and pavilions.

A colorful sketch, which was adopted in January 2008, is available at http://weposc.org/pdfs/Final_Master_Plan.pdf.

In 2016, the commission decided the dog park would be the second phase.

“The dog park to me is more of a place where dog owners can meet and let their dogs have fun. It’s not only for the dogs to socialize but for the owners,” said Tina Drake, a WEPOSC board member and a Ross Township supervisor.

Drake has two beagles, Zach and Ben, who loved to run and play.

Kozen agreed it is important for dog owners to socialize — maybe make new friends or even meet a significant other while at the dog park.

“It will have three separate fenced-in areas. One area is for large dogs, one is for small dogs and one will be a reserved area,” Kozen said.

The reserved area will be used later when a section needs to regrow grass and rejuvenate.

They have picked out the fences but have not put them up yet.

“There are no squared-off corners, so no aggressive dogs can corner a dog. It is mostly 45-degree angles,” Kozen said.

It will have amenities such as jumps, stairs to climb, tubes to go through and other obstacles for the dogs to play on, he said.

The dog park cost $230,000 to design, engineer and construct.

At this time, the park is completely funded.

They raised about $33,000 from the runs, a mountain bike race, tricky trays and basket raffles.

They received a Department of Conservation of Natural Resources grant for $115,000; $50,000 from Monroe County Act 13, which is the Marcellus fracking project; and $33,000 from county gaming funds.

RGC Development LP of Bath is doing the construction. Reilly Associates of Stroudsburg are the designers and engineers, Kozen said.

The commission has not yet decided on rules and regulations.

“There are three options. It could be a free membership. It could be a fee-based membership. Or completely free and just show up,” he said.

The hours of operation have not been established, but might follow the protocol of other parks, and be open dawn to dusk.