Dog park launch postponed

Published 6:53 pm Wednesday, September 4, 2013

CHOCOWINITY — The grand opening of the Chocowinity Dog Park has been postponed.

At the Chocowinity town meeting Tuesday night, dog park organizer and board member Stan Cohen announced the ribbon cutting will be held at 10 a.m. on Sept. 28, rather than Sept. 7, as originally scheduled. In the meantime, board members are rounding up volunteers for a cleanup day on Sept. 12, in preparation for the grand opening, Cohen said.

“The work party will do the final touches: some painting, cleaning up metal and some debris,” Cohen said.

The dog park is located at the town’s recreational facility on N.C. Highway 33 East, and includes two dog runs: one for smaller dogs and one for the larger species. So far, $20,500 has been raised for the park’s construction, while the Town of Chocowinity provided the land. According to Cohen, by the end of the week, all fencing will be completed.

Commissioners and town staff went into closed session to discuss an issue with the Chocowinity Industrial Park. According to Mayor Jimmy Mobley, the firm contracted to install sewer in the industrial park drilled a well in the wrong place.

“We voted last night to have him to put it back according to the original drawings,” Mobley explained.

The rebuild comes at no cost to the town, Mobley noted.

“It was the contractor’s mistake. He’s got to correct it,” he said.

In other town business, Chocowinity Police Chief Todd Alligood informed the board that officers made 41 calls for service, investigated two car accidents, made one arrest and issued 20 citations since the last meeting in August.