The City of Waterford received $183,514 for the Beard Park Dog Park from the California State Parks Office of Grants and Local Services. To improve the quality of life for our furry friends and their companions, the City of Waterford sought funding to add a dog park. The Beard Park Dog Park project repurposes an underused sliver of land in Beard Park next to one of the ballfields for a great purpose. It has a full list of desirable Dog Park amenities in a small space with separately fenced small and large dog play areas, a shade structure for the dog’s people, a water fountain for dogs and people, and a few trees.
It is adjacent to a parking lot and has a staging area which allows companions and their dogs to transition from the parking lot into the dog park. It is innovative and can encourage other cities as you don’t need acres of prime park land for a dog park to be effective. Several resident surveys including one in January 2021 were overwhelmingly positive. With this repurposed area the City of Waterford hopes to build a community friendly to both dogs and their companions.
California Consulting’s team of grant writers, Cecily Harris and Julie St. Jean, wrote the award-winning application with the help of the City of Waterford.