Liberty dog park expected this summer

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A project that started about 17 months ago to build a dog a park in Hillsboro should come to fruition sometime this summer, according to Ken Rentz, president/treasurer of the Hillsboro Dog Park Association.

The dog park will be completely fenced in with double-gated entrances on both sides – one side for large dogs and one side for small dogs. It will be located between a road and playground area at Liberty Park in Hillsboro and will have two water stations with freeze-proof hydrants and picnic tables and benches throughout, Rentz said.

The dog park area will be about 500 feet long. It will be about 220 feet wide on one end, but not quite as wide on the other.

An additional parking space of about 60 feet by 60 feet will be added to the parking space currently at the playground, Rentz said. He said swingsets that overlap part of the area where the dog park is suppposed to be built will be moved back closer to the playground area.

Rentz said the city of Hillsboro recently received an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Grant of up to $49,300, part of which will be used to construct the dog park. He said the dog park association has to provide matching funds of 25 percent for however much of the grant money is used to the construct park.

He said the city plans to use some of the grant funds to build a shelter house near the pond at Liberty Park and possibly some other amenities for the park.

Rentz first approached the city about a dog park in October of 2014. He said that in the process of holding fundraisers he came across the grant possibility, but it had to be applied for by a municipality. So the association talked to city leaders, the city applied for it, and recently received the grant.

According to Rentz, there’s some minor grading that will need to be completed to eliminate some low spots that hold water where the dog park will tentatively be located, and a ditch on one side of the road does not drain well. He said the majority of the work, except the fencing and grading, at the dog park will be done by city workers.

Rentz said all the funding is in place and he believes the park will be completed sometime this summer.

“The Hillsboro Dog Park Association is very grateful to the mayor, the administration and to the members of council for their support in making this possible,” Rentz said.

The association is still trying to raise funds for supplies and events it hopes to hold. For more information contact Rentz at 937-840-9810 or [email protected] or visit Hillsboro Dog Park on Facebook.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.

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Rentz says ODNR grant will fund most of the park

By Jeff Gilliland

[email protected]

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