Lee County: Estero dog park to ditch lawn chairs, get new seating

Lee County officials quelled the dog-owner revolt of 2017 in Estero. 

The Estero dog park, which is part of the village’s community park off Corkscrew Road and is owned and operated by the county, closed for standard maintenance and re-sodding last week.

A sign appeared at the dog park a few days before the closure that scared many dog-owners, said Bill Dasbach.

“They put up a sign saying people need to pick up the community chairs in the park,” he said. “We got angry.”

Estero emailed a couple news bulletins that announced Lee County's new requirements. The first notice sent on July 20 warned residents that lawn chairs had to be removed due to public safety concerns.

"Lee County Risk Management does not feel these chairs are up to the standards of Lee County Parks & Recreation picnic and bench structures and may be unsafe in certain circumstances," Estero's email states.

A second notice sent five days later explained that the county would replace the lawn chairs with a "bench-seating style" option that takes after what is available in the large dog enclosure at the park.

Dog park patrons were ticked off. A couple sent letters to the editor.

For years, dog park visitors have brought and left plastic lawn chairs for all to use, including Dasbach and his little terrier, Rascal.

Going to the dog park is a social event — some folks get a morning coffee with friends, Dasbach said.

“For over 10 years, I’ve gone there almost every day,” Dasbach said. “We have a group of up to 20 people during season."

“Rascal loves to go there and be with friends,” he continued. “It lets the dogs socialize, it lets us old geezers socialize and spend a couple hours out there.”

The small dog portion of the park lacked seating, which left the plastic chairs as the only option for humans to sit unless park-goers hauled their own seats.

Dasbach said bringing a lawn chair and a dog into the park could be difficult for some.

“We have a 92-year-old World War II veteran who cannot walk in the park with a chair and his dog,” Dasbach said. “We’ve got other senior citizens like that. Carrying chairs just doesn’t work.”

When Dasbach and others heard their seating might go away, they began reaching out to county officials searching for a reason and a possible solution.

A county employee identified the chairs as a possible liability.

While no one has been injured by breaking chairs or being hit by objects blown in high wind, there is still the possibility, according to the county.

Lee County Parks and Recreation Director Jesse Lavender was compelled to listen to the warning and get rid of the community-loved chairs, the county said.

A concrete walkway and slab will be installed to hold three benches, but dog owners knew it wouldn’t be enough.

“There’s too many of us during season,” Dasbach said. “And during winter, we like to move the chairs into the sun. These benches don’t move.”

Dog owners met with Lavender and Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais on Thursday afternoon to find a solution, and the officials came prepared.

“I came here with boxing gloves on,” said Tony DiBruno, a regular park visitor with his dog, Marco. “This is better than what we had before.”

Dog park-goers can soon expect bright green aluminum chairs in the small dog enclosure. Lavender said Estero Community Park staff would bring the chairs to the park every morning and put them away every night, leaving dog owners free to move them around as needed.

“This is something small we can do that has a big effect (on Estero dog owners),” Desjarlais said.

The county will order the chairs and dog owners can expect them to be available not long after the park re-opens to the public on Aug. 1.

“This will be much better than before,” Dasbach said.