EASTHAMPTON — The dream of bringing a dog park to Easthampton is now a reality, after the City Council approved the final funding needed to bring the project to life in Nonotuck Park next year.

“Here we are, we’re going to have a dog park in Easthampton,” said Joan Kurtz, president of Friends of the Easthampton Dog Park, the nonprofit that has been spearheading efforts for more than five years to bring a dog park to Easthampton.

The City Council approved $135,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds towards the project at its June 17 meeting, supplying the final push needed to reach the total cost of $335,000 to cover construction. The group received a $200,000 donation last fall from Richard Boyle of Southampton, which leveraged the recent $135,000, along with additional funding from the CPA and fundraising, Kurtz said.

“This has been going on just about as long as I’ve been a city councilor so it’s exciting,” City Councilor Thomas Peake said at the meeting.

The group formed in 2019 and Kurtz joined in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, soon establishing itself as a nonprofit. After more than five years of efforts, Kurtz is relieved that the work has paid off.

“This started in 2019, even before I became involved but then COVID hit,” Kurtz said. “We made it through though.”

The dog park will be built at a wooded area next to Pavilion 3 in Nonotuck Park, planned to be completed by the end of next spring. A call for construction contractors will be sent over the summer, Kurtz said.

The park will encompass about 1.5 acres of fenced land with two sections. Three quarters would be designated to any-sized dogs and the other quarter for smaller ones, 35 pounds and under. There will be benches, water fountains, waste stations and climbing structures, and many of the trees will remain to provide shade — certain smaller trees that are mostly dead will be removed.

The outer fencing will have shrubs and bushes around the outside to maintain privacy from other people using the park. The group was able to secure sponsorships for the park features, but are still looking for four more bench sponsorships. The park itself is free to enter and will be maintained by Friends of the Easthampton Dog Park, who will host occasional fundraisers to pay maintenance costs.

Kurtz said during the pandemic, she would often take her dog Ziba, a Czechoslovakian shepherd and rescue, to the South Hadley dog park so Ziba could play outside. She saw the need, as well as several other residents, to bring a dog park right to Easthampton.

“The primary reason people go to a dog park is because they (dog owners) can’t let their dog off the leash (at other public locations), like my dog,” Kurtz said. “This will be the place for dog owners to do that.”

She said dog parks are a great addition to bring communities together, offering a space for both people and dogs to socialize, and bringing one to Easthampton is an exciting opportunity.

“The bottom line was everybody kept saying, ‘Why can’t we have it in Nonotuck Park?’ It’s our city park, we should have our dog park there, ” Kurtz previously told the Gazette. “It will be a win-win for everybody.”

For more information visit easthamptondogpark.org.