A long-planned dog park for Green River’s furry residents is anticipated to be completed this fall near the Green River Animal Shelter and city horse corrals, capping nearly four years of planning and fundraising.
Representatives of Green River High School’s National Honors Society chapter, which has spearheaded the project, told the Green River City Council last week that after finding an area contractor to start building the park, they hope it will be completed in time for a ribbon cutting during homecoming week.
According to Luci Adams, a representative of the honors society, finding a contractor was the bottle neck that halted a lot of the progress made with the dog park as numerous contractors refused as they were busy with other projects. It wasn’t until Searle Brothers Construction agreed to take on the project that the dog park’s completion started to solidify.
Some work has already taken place, with drainages built and small trees having already been planted. Work set to take place in June includes construction of fencing, as well as placement or irrigation and grass seeding. The city, through an in-kind donation, will build a parking area for the dog park.
Victoria Hemphill, the faculty advisor for the high school’s NHS program, admits feeling discouraged when the group had difficulties recruiting a contractor, saying she was feeling defeated during January and February before Searle Brothers stepped in.
The group raised more than $38,000 in donations during the past four years and was able to secure in-kind donations from multiple entities, including continued engineering support from Inberg-Miller in Green River. The group has also partnered with the Greenbelt Taskforce.
“We’ve accomplished good things,” Hemphill said. “ I’m very impressed with (the students’) efforts and their exceptional work.”
John Freeman, chairman of the Greenbelt Taskforce, is also impressed with the students’ work and persistence over the past four years.
“We’re very happy to be a part of this,” he said.
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