Ken Magarian, the chair of the city’s and Recreation Commission, lauds the president of the Westfield Dog Bark Friends, Ed Philips, before a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday to formally open the city’s new dog friendly area at Arm Brook Park on Lockhouse Road. Also participating in the ceremony are, from left, Friends treasurer Mariah Strattner, Parks and Recreation commissioner Dawn Sienkiewicz, Jim Blascak, interim director the Parks and Recreation Department, commissioner Martin Nunez, Friends secretary Lindsay Carr and Friends vice president Marilyn Sandidge. . (Photo courtesy Westfield Dog Bark Friends)
WESTFIELD – After about five years of effort, the Westfield Dog Bark is a reality with the official opening Saturday of the playground for dogs at Arm Brook Park.
The members of the Westfield Dog Bark Friends have been working since the spring of 2010 with the staff and members of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission to both find a place to build a dog park and to build it. On Saturday members of both groups welcomed the public to the new dog friendly area at the park at 125 Lockhouse Road for a ceremony to officially open the playground the Friends had built with the help and support of the commission.
Ed Philips and Marilyn Sandidge, president and vice president of the Westfield Dog Bark Friends, cut a ribbon Saturday to ceremonially open the city’s new dog friendly area at Arm Brook Park on Lockhouse Road. Also participating in the ceremony are, from left, Parks and Recreation commissioners Dawn Sienkiewicz and Martin Nunez, Jim Blascak, interim director the Parks and Recreation Department, Friends treasurer Mariah Strattner and Friends secretary Lindsay Carr. (Photo courtesy Westfield Dog Bark Friends)
At the ceremony, commission chairman Kenneth Magarian lauded the president of the Friends, Ed Phillips, who had started the effort to build a dog park in the city and presented appreciation awards to him and the other offices of the group – vice president Marilyn Sandidge, secretary Lindsay Carr and treasurer Mariah Strattner.
In addition, Strattner presented, on behalf of the Friends, a plaque to Carr who has served tirelessly to organize most of the fund raising events which allowed the Friends to finance the creation of the Dog Bark.
The opening of the canine playground at Arm Brook Park opens a new chapter in the life of the park which has been dormant for decades after serving as a thriving city park in the 1970 and 1980s.
It also closes one chapter for the Friends and opens another as the organization transitions from a group working to create a dog park to a volunteer group working to maintain and improve the city’s dog friendly area.
Sandidge said that increased usage of the canine playground is expected to follow the formal opening of the Dog Bark and noted that some of the officers who shepherded the process during the five years it took to open the dog friendly area have been forced to step back from the group due to personal issues.
“We need new people with energy and vision” to keep the momentum and ensure that the Dog Bark continues to grow and thrive, she said, and said that she hopes new members will join the veterans at upcoming meetings and bring fresh ideas and fresh enthusiasm to the group as it works to improve and expand the dog friendly area at Arm Brook Park.
Sandidge pointed out that interested parties can learn about those meetings and more about the Friends at the group’s website – westfielddogbark.com – or their Facebook page.
