Update: Beaufort dog park moving forward
A long-planned dog park in Beaufort's Southside Park should take more shape in the next couple of weeks, though a firm completion date is still on the horizon.
The dog park, in the city's 37-acre passive park off Southside Boulevard, should receive fencing and waste stations by the start of the year, parks superintendent Robbie Anderson said this week. After that, grass will have to be planted on the site, a move that requires cooperating weather.
More equipment will have to wait until more funding is available, Anderson said this week. She said an old fire hydrant might be donated by the fire department.
The facility could be open by as early as the spring, said city landscape architect Liza Hill, though the city committee dealing with parks would have to decide specifics about how it should operate.
Past plans for Southside Park have included an arboretum, dog park, and pedestrian and bike trails. Other plans called for houses on the property, an idea opposed by area residents who pointed to a covenant that the property be used only for recreation.
Of the planned programs for the park, the dog park and trails were identified as priorities and are being developed.
The first phase of walking trails should be staked out next year near Southside Boulevard, though a timeline from there will depend on funding. Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority will partner with the city on some of the trail's work.
The park operates under a $25,000 annual budget. This year, that money has been used for the dog park, to remove hazard trees and purchase trees for a tree farm planted on the site and to drill a well to water those trees, Hill said.
Park supporters are also working to add a playground to the site. Two pieces of equipment could come from the city's Mossy Oaks playground on property soon to be auctioned.
The equipment includes a swing set and a variation on monkey bars. Hill said removing the equipment, which is grounded with concrete pilings, could be difficult.
Estimates for a complete composite playground could reach six figures. A piece of equipment known as a skyrail at the Mossy Oaks playground cost $2,500 in 2007.
Bob Semmler, a member of the Metropolitan Planning Commission, has been working to obtain grants for the playground, with support from the city's parks committee.
"There was a lot of discussion about what do we start to do, how do we research this, how do we start to move this forward?" Hill said of the Park and Tree Advisory Committee meeting Thursday. "There's a playground planned for Southside Park and the entire neighborhood of Mossy Oaks is without playground, that I'm aware of."
Securing money for a playground would require a successful grant or committee members asking city council for the money.
The city recently received a Palmetto Pride grant for the dog park. The $5,000 grant covered two pet waste stations and bags and two trash cans.
Southside Park should become more accessible to area residents with the completion of a mile-long sidewalk on Southside Boulevard. That path, on the north side of the street, will go from Ribaut Road to Battery Creek Road.
The work will include minor drainage improvements, relocating waterlines, grading, handicap improvements at all intersections and landscaping.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Update: Beaufort's Waterfront Park playground vandalized; city has $4,200 repair bill, Dec. 14, 2015
- Farm planned for Beaufort park may have long row to hoe, May 15, 2015
- Southside Park renovations underway after years of planning, Sept. 12, 2015
This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Update: Beaufort dog park moving forward."