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POWELL — The city of Powell owns and operates nine parks totaling 114 acres of parkland, and has started developing former sheep farmland to eventually become Powell’s 10th park.
Within those properties, the city manages a public pool, skatepark, splash pad, amphitheater and other park amenities.
But there is no dog park to be found anywhere in Powell. The closest dog park is Godown Park, located at 6099 Godown Road, which is about a 12-minute drive from Powell.
That could change with the development of Bennett Farm Park.
Parks Master Plan, Bennett Farm plan recognizes resident desire for dog park
In July, Powell City Council approved the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which provides a long-term vision for the future of Powell parks and outlines a framework for tackling specific improvement projects based on city needs and residents wants.
Prior to the approval of the plan, the city hosted focus groups, public meetings and sent out a survey to more than 1,000 households. The public engagement opportunities resulted in more than 1,000 responses from residents.
The online survey received 478 responses between May-July of 2024.
When asked about what active/passive recreation components survey respondents want to see in Powell parks, 30% said they wanted to see a dog park and/or a nature center, picnic area and splash pad.
Adding an off-leash dog park was among the top priorities for investment, based on the survey and feedback.
The master plan notes: “A current and future need also exists for a dog park, which is another high priority based on community feedback. While this is difficult to include in current parks, it may be possible at Bennett Farm.”
“There’s a lot of excitement for the city to deliver on this one,” City Manager Andy White said.
But a dog park will not open at Bennett Farm any time soon.
A dog park is years in the future
“It’s not a quick turnaround,” White said.
Before any work can begin on a dog park, city council and city staff will oversee several phases of park development, including:
- Schematic design phase, which involves taking the conceptual park plans and analyzing them against existing conditions to get a high-level cost estimate;
- Design development phase, which involves finalizing the site layout and transforming the schematic design drawings into a basic technical drawing set, according to the plan;
- Construction documentation phase, which involves creating a detailed set of construction documents that would be provided to contractors during project bidding;
- Project bidding phase to select a contractor to complete the project;
- And eventually, construction.
City council also recently approved the 2027-2031 Capital Improvement Program, which identifies community improvement projects, establishes a funding framework for those projects and suggests years of funding allocation for each project.
The 2027 CIP allocates $342,800 for the schematic design for Bennett Farm.
With the process starting in 2027, White estimates construction won’t begin until 2028 — and construction includes more aspects of the park beyond the dog park.
“It’s a competitive distribution of resources,” White said, as the plan has to allocate dollars to all infrastructure, facility, equipment, technology and other necessary projects.
For now, city staff are installing new fencing, constructing the park’s first shared-use path and an outside company recently finished disassembling this historic Bennett Farm barn, which will be preserved for future use.
