New Vernon Dog Park Slated To Officially Open Next Week

VERNON, CT — Vernon's new dog park is scheduled to officially open next week.

Mayor Daniel Champagne is set to preside over a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Saxony Dog Park on Monday at 10 am.

The sign for the park is up, as are fire hydrants, tires and a tunnel obstacle for the dogs.

A parking area is set up on Regan and West streets. Town officials will be asking humans to respect social distancing while using the park.

The Vernon Town Council in January approved plans to build the dog park on a flat parcel of municipal land — the Saxony Mill property. It cost about $61,000 to build the park and sponsors and donations could offset the public contributions from the general fund, town officials said.

Mark Boyer, a local Eagle Scout candidate, agreed to contribute to the efforts as part of his Eagle project, according to the commitee.

The dog park consists of a two-area, fenced-in exercise area with one side for large dogs and the other side for small dogs (weights will be posted).

The park would be maintained through basic town maintenance and private donations and fundraising efforts, according to the plans.