Gillespie Park lobbies for paw park

Near the basketball courts in Gillespie Park — on the north side of 10th Street, nestled between Osprey and Gillespie avenues — there’s a grassy area that Dale Orlando has had her eye on for at least five years.

“My concept was to wrap a small-dog park and a large-dog park around the basketball court,” Orlando said. “We don’t take the court away, but we fence in the rest of that area for the doggies.”

She encountered many pet owners in the north-of-downtown Gillespie Park neighborhood, but city regulations prohibit dogs from roaming off leash in the public park that shares the neighborhood’s name. To Orlando, a dedicated dog park seemed like a natural fit.

The idea immediately caught on with residents. There are two neighborhood associations in Gillespie Park, and leaders from both advocated for the dog park. Orlando developed a cost estimate for building a bare-bones “paw park,” and in 2012, she drafted an application seeking a $10,000 county grant to help fund the project.

She got preliminary endorsements from city and county officials. All she had to do was wait for the pieces to come together.

It’s almost 2017. There’s still no dog park in Gillespie Park, but Orlando hasn’t given up hope that something may happen soon.

“I’m still waiting, basically, to see exactly what’s going to happen and manifest,” she said.

Despite the lengthy wait, her optimism has a solid foundation. Jerry Fogle, the city’s parks and recreation director, met with Gillespie Park residents soon after he was hired in March to discuss reviving the dog park project.

That conversation quickly bore fruit. Fogle confirmed he has set aside funding for the construction of dog parks in Gillespie Park and Whitaker Gateway Park, where residents have made a similar push.

“They’ve been on the radar for quite some time,” Fogle said. “When I met with the residents, they really showed me the passion — they were really adamant they wanted this to happen.”

Fogle wants to meet with residents before finalizing plans for the dog areas, but Orlando originally pitched a relatively low-key project. She estimated the cost of erecting fences, installing water spigots and posting signs would come in around $23,000.

Although she wanted to keep costs low, she also wants the park to host a diverse mix of programs for dog owners. She suggested the Sarasota Police Department could hold canine training there, and that obedience classes and health clinics could be set up in the park.

Based on the demand she’s seen from her neighbors during the past five years, she thinks residents will be willing to pitch in to ensure the park is thriving.

“We’ll be able to get a lot of volunteers to help out with whatever we need help with along the way,” she said.

For Fogle, the paw parks represent a new chapter in city policy. Next summer, he will ask the City Commission to undertake a master planning effort for the city’s parks system. If all goes according to plan, one of the areas of emphasis will be examining how the city can best deploy its resources to better serve dog owners.

Throughout the county, pet owners are pushing for more dog-friendly public spaces. On Monday, Fogle met with a couple who wanted to see a dog park built in Pioneer Park. He was sympathetic to their request, but he also knew that was just a few blocks away from Whitaker Gateway Park.

“I want dog parks to be strategically planned,” Fogle said. “There should be a road plan we’re following — not just arbitrarily saying, ‘Let’s do a dog park here or there.’”

Orlando said Gillespie Park is a smart choice for an initial foray into expanding the city’s canine offerings.

“I think it would be a nice little model for many areas of the city, since it’s a downtown park, with the downtown expansions that are occurring,” she said. “It’ll put a lot more paws and eyes on the streets.”