By Matt Wiley
Dog lovers rejoice, as it looks as though there soon will be a place to let your pooch off the leash in Tampa Palms.
According to spokesperson Kim Payne of the New Tampa Rotary Club (which meets for breakfast every Friday at 7 a.m. at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club), the club has successfully raised the $25,000 necessary to help pay for the dog park, which will be located next to the New Tampa Rec Center and should not be confused with a planned dog park on Hillsborough County-owned property on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. across from Hunter’s Green (as we reported in our last issue).
“Thanks to generous donations from dog lovers and community supporters, the Rotary Club of New Tampa will present the City of Tampa with a $25,000 check for the New Tampa Rotary Dog Park during a ground-breaking event with (Tampa) Mayor Bob Buckhorn and (Tampa City) Councilwoman Lisa Montelione,” Payne explains.
However, the date for that ground-breaking had not yet been determined as we went to press with this issue. As part of the agreement for the 0.64-acre dog park, which is estimated to cost about $50,000, the Rotary club was tasked by the city with raising half of the funding, with Tampa matching the rest. To reach that goal, the club decided to sell engraved bricks that will be forever part of the walkways leading up to the park.
“We kept brick sales open until November 7 because so many people continued to tell us they wanted to buy a brick to support the project,” said Joyce Gunter, the Dog Park project chair for the New Tampa Rotary.
 According to conceptual drawings of the park, it will contain separate spaces for large and small dogs. The proposed large dog area is 25,420 square feet, while the small dog area will total 2,620 square feet. The park also will include dog-watering stations and bags to help you clean up after your dog, as well as picnic tables and benches.
Payne says that the New Tampa Rotary Club hopes the park — which will be maintained by the City of Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Dept., is expected to be completed by early 2015. For more info, visit RotaryDogPark.com.
No comment yet, add your voice below!