Lebanon City awards bid for county’s first dog park; playgrounds, pickleball courts and Veterans Walkway improvements slated

Mayor Sherry Alcopello told the council that the construction contract for the dog park at Coleman Memorial Park was awarded to Columbia Excavating as the lowest responsible bidder at $267,000. The mayor said that figure does not include an access‑control device and that the city has not yet signed the contract.

“This will be the first dog park in our county,” Mayor Sherry Alcopello said, and she described the planned layout: “It's going to have 2 separate areas, 1 for large dogs, 1 for small dogs.” Alcopello said construction will begin soon and later noted in public comment that the park is expected to be open by June.

Alcopello outlined additional recreation projects: replacement of tot‑lot equipment at Third and Crowell and at the 6th and Crowell tot lot; playground equipment removal and replacement at East End Park; a connector trail at Coleman Memorial Park that is “well underway”; and a splash pad she said should be completed “a little bit later probably. The end of summer.”

The mayor said the city has put the pickleball court project out for bid; bids are to be accepted until March 21. She also said work on the Veterans Memorial Walkway will begin March 11, including new fencing, bollards and replacement of benches, trash receptacles and picnic tables. Alcopello tied that work to a grant that will create a spur from the Lebanon Valley H Street Trailhead and to efforts to improve pedestrian and bike connections from the trailhead into the downtown.

During public comment, resident Cornell Wilson thanked the council for playground and trail work and raised a maintenance request: “There's about 7 humongous potholes, not little potholes, large potholes” on Quint Street between Fifth and Sixth and between Cumberland and Chestnut. The mayor and staff acknowledged the request and said photos had been shared with Public Works for follow‑up.

Craig Gates, representing the Community of Lebanon Association, announced the group’s State of the City event on Wednesday, March 26, at Hebron and said reservations are required. Resident Dave Funk asked how the trail connections will be marked; staff confirmed the current phase will be street markings on Eighth Street and alley/street connections from the Veterans Memorial Walkway to Johnny Wengert Memorial Park.

Ending

City leaders said the projects will provide new recreation options and better trail connections to downtown. Several items, including the dog park contract and pickleball bids, remain at the procurement stage and actions such as a signed construction contract or bid awards were not recorded as completed in the transcript.