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$25K gift gives Lisbon enough to construct new dog park

Dana Blackburn is Lisbon’s park director.

LISBON — The new dog park will become a reality much sooner than originally anticipated, thanks to a generous donation from a Mahoning County estate devoted to animal philanthropy.

Village park director Dana Blackburn reported at this week’s council receiving a $25,061 grant from the Marjorie Hartman Family Foundation, which she said will enable them to proceed with developing a dog park immediately and pay for extras they might not have been able to initially afford.

“So we just hit the jackpot here,” Blackburn told council.

“Good job, Dana,” said council member Jeff Snyder.

Council voted in March to establish a dog park on village-owned property at the south corner of Mill Street and Pritchard Avenue along Mill Site Creek. The project was expected to cost $11,000 to $15,000 for a fence, a water source and a pit to dispose of dog waste, and Blackburn was in the process of soliciting donations.

The foundation is allowing the village to spend the additional money on whatever else it wants, and she said that will include benches, a shade canopy, portable toilet and dog agility training equipment.

Hartman, who lived in Austintown, created the foundation and funded it with a gift from her estate at the time of her death. Trust advisors have restricted the gifts to animal welfare projects in the Mahoning Valley, with prior grants used to help establish an equestrian center at Camp Fitch, purchase an X-ray machine for Animal Charities, to establish dog parks in Austintown and Boardman townships, and for animal shelters in Ashtabula and Trumbull counties and an animal care facility in Mercer County, Pa.

Blackburn said the only real requirement is they acknowledge the donation in a permanent way, which she intends to do by erecting a sign at the park in Hartman’s memory. The sign is to be made of recycled flagstone.

In other business, council president Roger Gallo reported about the Western Reserve Land Conservancy’s offer to protect Willow Grove Park from development in perpetuity by placing it under a conservation easement. Under a conservation easement, the property owner is allowed to determine how the land can and cannot be used but those terms cannot be altered once the easement is in place.

About 10 years ago the village talked about doing some selective timbering at the park but it never did, and Gallo wondered if that is something council may want to do now before entering into a conservation easement.

“I think it would help the park in general,” Snyder said.

Council called a meeting of its park committee to discuss the issue further and report back with a recommendation. Officials will also contact the person they spoke with 10 years ago about doing some logging at the park.

In personnel matters, council agreed to contract again with Tammy Ketchum to run the concession stand at the swimming pool. They also accepted the resignation of part-time police officer Mike Bator, who quit to take a full-time job.

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

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