- April 24, 2024
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The dog park at Holland Park will soon have concrete cleaning stations, as well as separate gate entrances for Yippy and Rex.
City of Palm Coast Recreation and Parks Director Luanne Santangelo recently met with dog owners who frequent Holland Park and heard their complaints: It’s too dirty; it’s too difficult to walk to; large dogs bully small dogs.
The city plans on major renovations at Holland Park in the future, but lack of funds has delayed those plans. In the meantime, the city staff will close the park for about a week — possibly as soon as the end of February — and make several small changes to the .75-acre dog park to satisfy the residents. Santangelo estimated that about 15 to 20 dog owners use the park each day on the weekends.
First, there will be a separate entrance for small dogs so they don’t have to walk through the large-dog partition of the part.
Second, there will be a new walkway from the entrance of the dog park to the existing gazebo. The walkway will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Timber boxes will be constructed and mulch added to cover up the protruding oak roots.
Third, the city will attempt to address the dirtiness factor.
The biggest problem is that there is no grass. At the root of that problem is the poor water quality. According to Public Works Director Richard Adams, the well water is so salty at the park that it is unsuitable for watering sod.
“We sodded a year and a half ago, and you can’t tell there was ever grass there,” Adams said Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the City Council workshop.
Moreover, it’s a shady area because of the trees. Therefore, the city is considering a new irrigation system that would connect the park to a reused water source on Old Kings Road for a cost of about $86,000. Until then, the sod will have to wait.
In the meantime, the city will address the dirtiness as best it can.
On the upper level of the park, a berm has eroded away, causing the area to become muddy when it rains. That berm is already being replaced with reclaimed asphalt, salvaged from the Palm Coast Parkway resurfacing. Carl Cote, the city’s construction manager, said the material will be similar to a gravel parking lot, only the surface won’t be loose.
Also, the city will construct concrete pads at the water stations to eliminate the mud pits that used to form when owners rinsed off their dogs.
Signs will be posted to inform residents of the closure and of the improvements. A sign will not be added, as Mayor Jon Netts jokingly suggested, to assure residents that “No dogs were injured in the making of this park.”
