Eight years ago, a 16-year-old Freemin Bauer was going to make a dog park in Mattapoisett his Eagle Scout project.
“The head council, they were like, ‘it’s too much work, too much effort and it’ll take too long,’ which I can see now why,” the 24-year-old said, recalling his teenage idealism. “For my actual project, I went to the Fairhaven dog shelter and fixed that place up and gave a bunch of leftover materials and (orchestrated) funding for buying a washer to clean all the stuff, the beds, all their cleaning materials.”
Bauer’s uphill climb to get Mattapoisett a dog park rages on, and the key is the land. His mother, Select Board member Jodi Bauer, is at his side pitching in however she can and hoping it happens.
Saturday was the annual fundraiser dog walk in Mattapoisett, and participants walked their dogs around a prescribed village course beginning and ending at Center School, participated in a survey, and walked away with T-shirts promoting the cause.
“I just need to secure a piece of land, make a committee for a dog park and then apply for a nonprofit 501(c)(3), then I can apply for the Stanton Foundation (grant), which is built for dog parks,” said Freemin Bauer.
In 2017, Wareham voters approved a $20,000 commitment in Community Preservation Act funds that qualified the town for its 10% match and $225,000 in Stanton Foundation Grant funding for its 6-acre dog park. Freemin Bauer says Wareham’s dog park is several times larger than the one acre he would like to see dedicated for the purpose on Mattapoisett’s Holy Ghost Grounds.
“I just want a little piece of land, one acre, not that much,” said Freemin Bauer. “It’s not like I’m asking for 100 or a whole giant piece of the town, I’m just asking for a little piece of property so that dogs can run around off leash. They need that. You let them free, they run around, they have their freedom.”
Following Wareham’s lead, Freemin Bauer describes the proposed layout for a dog park on the Holy Ghost Grounds to be oval shaped much like a horse ring. The entrance, he said, would have a “sally gate” so that if a dog escapes as another enters, the exiting dog would go no farther than the outer gate. The plan would include separation of large and small dogs and elderly dogs.
More than 35 other Massachusetts municipalities are listed on the Stanton Foundation’s website as participants in the foundation’s Dog Park Program. Freemin Bauer is trying to make Mattapoisett the first of the Tri-Towns to participate.
Survey results are anticipated by the middle of September, at which point the Select Board would presumably discuss the matter at its next public meeting. Residents can find the Holy Ghost Grounds survey online at Mattapoisett.net and mattrec.net, and hard copies are available at the Town Hall, Mattapoisett Library and the Council on Aging.
By Mick Colageo
I would like to see the Holy Ghost Grounds be a place where events for the town could be held. Such as clam bakes. Maybe available to rent out to organizations that the town would enjoy. Also be a friendly addition for stopping on the bike path.