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BELLVILLE — Tiny, tender strands of grass poked through the mud of the former soybean field, stretching towards the sun.
The just-seeded lot doesn’t look like much now, but it’s expected to be a five-acre dog park in a couple of months.
Recently, a reader used our Open Source platform to ask about the status of The Bellvile Dog Park Finnigan’s Run.
“What happened with the dog park on RT 97 Bellville?” she asked. “Development has ceased and weeds have grown over what was started.”
While the recently-seeded lawn isn’t lush and green yet, members of the dog park committee confirmed that the park will open soon.
“It’s definitely a reality,” committee member Judy Golden said.
“All the excavating has been done, the base is laid and rolled in for the walking path, so now the next step is a Catch-22. We want it to rain so the grass will grow, but we don’t want it to rain because we’ve got to get equipment back there.”
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.
Golden said the park will be “pretty darn close” to handicap accessible once the path is paved.
Bellville Mayor Teri Brenkus announced last month that the village received a $30,000 grant to finish paving the path that loops around the perimeter of the park. The grant came from the Gorman Fund at the Richland County Foundation.
Brenkus said paving the path was cut from the original plans due to inflationary costs. She called the grant “a godsend.”
“It’s going to be well worth the wait with the paved walkways,” she said.
The path will likely be paved around mid-September. After that, the fence will go up and the park will be open.
A tentative ribbon cutting is scheduled for mid-October. But Brenkus said the park may be up and running before then.
Finnigan’s Run was named for the late Lyle Beveridge’s golden retriever.
Beveridge was well-known in the local running community and as 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.
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.
The park’s five-acre plot was donated to the village of Bellville by Jim Gorman, retired president and board member of Gorman-Rupp Pumps.
The park will be divided in two, with a 3.5-acre section for big dogs and a 1.5-acre portion for small dogs.
“We appreciate all the positive support we have gotten for this,” Golden said. “It’s going to draw people to our community.”
Brenkus said the entire project has been funded by community donations and grants. The only direct contribution by the village is the seeding and expansion of the B&O bike trail parking lot, which was done by the village maintenance staff.
“We’re excited to honor Lyle Beveridge for his dedication to this community and his family,” Brenkus said. “The foundation, the Beveridge family, everyone involved has just been incredible to work with.”
On Monday, pet product retailer PetSafe announced Bellville was one of 20 “finalist communities” from around the nation in its Bark for Your Park grant contest. Finalists were chosen by a panel of PetSafe judges who scored each submission based on community enthusiasm and support for a dog park as well as its potential community impact.
Four winners will be chosen based on a community voting round that ends Aug. 31. The four communities with the most votes at the end of the month will receive a $25,000 grant.
Anyone U.S. resident over the age of 18 can vote once daily for their favorite community at barkforyourpark.com.
Community members interested in donating to Finnigan’s Run or sponsoring a bench can contact Brenkus at mayor@bellvilleohio.net or stop by Bellville Village Hall.
