FALCONER — A plan to establish a dog park in the village has been put on hold after several concerns were raised to local officials.

Village Board members in December voted to table a proposal that would have established the dog park in an area at Falconer Village Park also utilized by a summer youth program. Other facts — including its size, location within a residential area and need for repairs to a building for the rec program — also were taken into account to shelve the idea.

The Falconer Rotary Club, which had been backing the project, previously was approved through Rotary International for a matching grant to build the dog park. The club was facing an April 2023 deadline for the grant to be put toward the dog park.

Village residents Jim Ribaudo and Steve Garvey spoke at prior Village Board meetings against the project. Both again voiced concerns to officials in December.

Garvey’s property borders Falconer Village Park on two sides. At December’s meeting, he showed officials a visual of the park with its current green space along with a photo of the fencing that would be installed for the proposed dog park.

Ribaudo questioned a survey that had been promoted to village residents regarding the park. According to that survey, in which 302 people responded, 52% supported the village adding a dog park at Falconer Village Park; 29% supported a dog park, but in a different location; and 14% were unsure whether they supported a dog park.

Ribaudo said the survey, while it asked residents if they’d supported a dog park, did not specify where a dog park might be built.

In October, Ribaudo questioned what would happen if someone were to be injured by a dog.

“Who’s taking the liability if one of my grandkids get bit or something happens to one of them by one of them people or a dog?” he asked. “Is it the village’s responsibility? Is it the Rotary’s responsibility? Where’s the liability if the village would face a lawsuit?”

Falconer Rotary Club members have stated that their preferred location for the dog park is next to the rec building.

Chris Schrader, director of the summer youth program, told Village Board members in the fall that the proposed location for the dog park was “one of our main areas of play, especially for the younger kids.” He likened the summer program to a seven-week daycare with about 40 kids participating each day on average and about 90 kids taking part altogether.

No alternative location for a dog park within the village has been identified.

In other business, John Sellstrom was named the village’s new treasurer effective Jan. 3. Sellstrom comes with municipal experience and a financial accounting degree, the Village Board was told.

A public hearing was held Monday regarding Community Development Block Grant funding for Jamestown Container Corp. The meeting, according to the village’s website, was to discuss the implementation of the Jamestown Container Corp. project that received CDBG funding from the New York State Office of Community Renewal.

In October 2021, the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corp. announced that Jamestown Container had been selected to receive a $500,000 funding award for a planned $1.6 million project at its Falconer facility. Jamestown Container said it planned to upgrade its “manufacturing and distribution operations, make facility repairs and equipment upgrades, and conduct certain remediation activities.”

According to CREDC officials, the state will fund a portion of the machinery and equipment, as well as provide for working capital costs associated with the project. Jamestown Container will retain 76 full-time employees, and will hire 21 new full-time employees as a result of the investment.