BELLVILLE — Dog owners will soon have a new place to take their furry friends for walks, runs and playtime in The Valley.
The Bellville Dog Park – Finnigan’s Run will be located just north of town, behind the B&O Bike Trail opposite the bike trail parking lot on State Route 97. The parking lot will be expanded to accommodate visitors as part of the park project.
“I’m excited. There’s a lot of energy behind it now,” said Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus. “As always, it’s really everybody kicking in on a great project that will benefit our community.”
The park will be named in memory of the late Bellville resident Lyle Beveridge and his golden retriever Finnigan. The five-acre plot will be completely fenced in and be comprised of two sections — a 3.5-acre section for big dogs and a 1.5-acre portion for small dogs.
The land for the park was donated to the village by Jim Gorman, retired president and board member of Gorman-Rupp Pumps.
“Our family has a long history in the Bellville corridor and donating the land for the proposed dog park is our way of supporting them,” Gorman said.
Brenkus began initial fundraising attempts in 2019 after seeing results from an old survey that suggested community interest in a dog park.
After Beveridge passed away in August 2020, a group of his friends approached Brenkus about helping fundraise for the park and naming it in his honor.
Beveridge was well-known in the local running community and a member of the “fitness family” at Dynamic Performance Fitness in Bellville.
In addition to working out at the gym and on the trail, Beveridge loved to take Finnegan running in the woods.
“He was one of those guys that just put his arms around everybody and made everybody feel like they were the most important person in the world to him,” said Jerry Simon, a friend of Beveridge and member of the dog park committee.
Brenkus is also on the committee, along with Judy and MacKenzie Golden.
“We just wanted to do something nice for the community,” Judy said. “We are so grateful to Jim Gorman. Without his donation of the land, I’m not sure our little village could have come up with the money to do it.”
The land is currently being used to grow soybeans, but it will soon be reseeded with grass. Terra Valley Excavating will be adding mounds, tunnels and other obstacles for the dogs. The park will also have benches, a picnic pavilion and hopefully a walking path.
“We’re doing the best we can with the funds we get,” Brenkus said. “We’d like to add a really nice asphalt path winding through each side of the dog park.”
The Village of Bellville is supporting the project, but it will be funded by the community. A line item has been created in the village budget for donations.
Brenkus said the village funding is limited, noting that Bellville does not have a parks levy.
Residents can donate on Venmo by searching ‘Bellville Dog Park’ in the business section (@dogpark). Checks can be mailed to the village office at 142 Park Place, Bellville, Ohio, 44813. Please write ATTN Dog Park on the envelope or “Dog Park” in the memo.
The committee is still waiting on final estimates, but Simon said he expects the total project cost to be around $35,000.
The park is slated to open next spring.
“All of our kids, when they visit they bring their dogs and they’re excited to have a place to exercise them,” Brenkus said.
The committee will also be hosting a fundraiser at the American Legion Park this fall. The Pups in the Park 5K/Dog Walk is set for Sept. 11 at 8 a.m. Attendees will receive a t-shirt and doggie bandana with their $30 pre-registration.
