“Dramatic field improvements” have been made since the town’s new sports field manager came on board, but one area remains a constant struggle.
“One of the biggest issues we are dealing with is damage to the fields from dogs, and holes being dug from dogs in the turf,” said Sports Field Manager Eriq Joyce, who has been working for the town since early July. “Individually, these areas may seem small, but when you have this happening repeatedly across multiple fields every day, the damage adds up and creates additional costly maintenance work.”
In addition to holes in fields, which create safety hazards for players and other field users, urine burns the grass and can take months for grass to grow back in those spots.
“Another major concern is safety,” Joyce said at the Sept. 9 Select Board meeting. “When our [Department of Public Works] staff are out performing maintenance on the fields, we have situations where dogs are off-leash, running around the work areas, and this creates a safety concern for both dogs and our employees who are operating equipment or performing maintenance.”
Speaking to Select Board members, Joyce emphasized he doesn’t want to prevent people from enjoying the fields, but wants to make sure the town’s investment in the fields is protected.
“It has already been difficult since I’ve started, to maintain the quality and growth of these fields while they’re continually being damaged by dog activity,” he said.
Select Board member Carol Berberian noted it’s not just dog owners, but people using the fields when they are posted closed due to inclement weather. How these rules would be enforced is another question, though Town Administrator Patrice Garvin cautioned against letting perfect be the enemy of good.
“We’re never going to have every dog owner comply, but if we can set an expectation in the community about what the rules around dogs are, then those are the rules,” she said. “Enforcement is always a problem.”
In addition to a discussion on updates to rules and policies, Berberian—who was tapped as the point person for this issue—wanted to ensure that alternatives, such as a dog park, are also part of the conversation.
“What we’re doing right now could be improved upon,” Select Board Chair Taylor Yates said on Monday. “We’re not totally clear how, but one of the solutions many towns around us have adopted is dog parks. Let’s see what happens when we investigate if and when we were to get one and take it from there.”
Staff would first need to consider the feasibility of such a park, he said. Last week board members set the upcoming fall as the best time for addressing the issue, given the renewal of dog licenses on Jan. 1.
“There are no regulations for dog parks,” Community Services Director Brandon Fitts said. “I think as far as the process goes, we need to start by doing some real research.”
Berberian plans to return to the board with an update on the research and “the direction we’re headed in” by the Sept. 28 meeting.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve taken a hard look at how we’re using the fields, and we’ve never had professional fields management before,” Yates said in an interview with The Voice. “It’s time to revisit some of these questions and see where they take us.”
