Lebanon’s dog park set for June 6 opening

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello told City Council Tuesday night that the grand opening of the long-awaited city dog park at Coleman Memorial Park is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m.

The canine recreation area is on the site of the former Gingrich Memorial Pool, which was demolished in 2021. The pool’s footprint has been empty since.

Plans were first announced in January 2025 and ground was broken later that year. However, bad weather and construction delays set back the planned summer 2025 opening.

“The city is currently working through several final items prior to opening, which includes final maintenance and site cleanup, installation of signage, completion of the access control system and camera setup, and final operational testing and staff preparation,” Capello told council. “We anticipate having all of these items completed before the end of next week.”

For its first 30 days, the park will be open exclusively to city residents.

“Given the anticipated high level of interest,” the mayor said, “this initial resident-only period will allow city residents the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the park and its operations, provide city staff time to process registrations, assist staff with setting up user access credentials, troubleshooting for any startup issues, and help ensure a smoother transition into the full public operations.”

After 30 days, the park will be open to registered non-city residents as well.

On-site applications will be available on June 6 from 10 a.m to noon. After that they will be available on the city’s website, at the Department of Administration in City Hall (735 Cumberland St.), or at the dog park entrance. Access cards will be issued to registered users.

 City residents will be able to purchase an annual pass for up to two dogs for $30. Non-city dog owners will pay $45 annually. Additional dogs will cost $10 per year.

The opening of another major city recreational project, the city’s first splash pad at Southwest Park, will have to wait a little longer, council learned Tuesday.

Director of administration Janelle Groh told council that winter weather “as well as several supply chain and equipment delivery delays” have caused the wait. The expected “substantial completion date” has been shifted from late May to the end of June.

Asked to announce an official opening day for the splash pad, Capello declined, saying instead that “we don’t want to give one, only because of past experience with the dog park. People just got very anxious and unhappy that we missed the date. … There was an equipment delivery delay, which really held us up.”

“It’s a big investment,” she added. “We want the public to be able to enjoy it, just like the dog park. So I just don’t want to make a promise that I end up not being able to keep. Once we get closer and we know for sure they’re going to make the date, then we can release the date.”

Groh also reported that, as in years before, the city will sponsor a variety of summer camps for kids 6 through 12, all free to city residents, but open to non-city kids for a small fee:

• Nature Camp, June 25 through July 1, 9 a.m. to noon at Stoever’s Dam Nature Barn. $20 for non-city kids.
• Detective for a Day mini-camp at City Hall, two half-day sessions on July 8, 1 to 3 p.m., and July 28, 10 a.m. to noon. $5 for non-city kids.
• Firefighter for a Day mini-camp at Northeast Park, two half-day sessions on July 22, 1 to 3 p.m., and July 28, 10 a.m. to noon. $5 for non-city kids.
• Recycling Ranger mini-camp, Aug. 5, 10 a.m. to noon at Stoever’s Dam Nature Barn. $5 for non-city kids.

More information can be found at the city’s website.

Other city council business

• Through April 30, with the year 33% complete, Capello reported that city revenue and expenses were at 34% and 25%, respectively, of annual budget projections
• Kathy Kulbitsky of the Lebanon Community Library told council that the library had over 92,000 visitors in 2025 who borrowed, for free, 112,437 books, e-books, and kids’ books. The city donated $37,000 to the library in 2025, which works out to $4.56 per year per city household. 2026 marks the library’s 100th anniversary.
• Council and the mayor honored Jerry Kalinoski for 28 years of service on the city’s planning commission. Capello said he retired on May 5, and his term will be completed by Jose Torres.
• Capello announced that she has appointed Frederick Heilman and Glenn Meck to the city’s Shade Tree Commission for five-year terms starting on May 18.

Next Lebanon City Council meetings

City Council’s next pre-council planning meeting will be on Thursday, June 18, at 4:45 p.m. The next monthly business meeting will be on Monday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m.

Both meetings are open to the public and will be held in the City Hall multi-purpose room, 735 Cumberland St., first floor, Lebanon. Meetings are also streamed live on YouTube here.