Dog park could be ready by fall

By Geoffrey Woehlk | April 25, 2025 |

SUBMITTED RENDERING
A concept rendering of a dog park set to be built in an existing portion of Sunrise Park across from the New Nodaway Humane Society. MPR staff have tentatively dubbed the new dog-friendly hangout Sunrise Bark Park.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Sunrise Bark Park could be off the leash by fall.

The planned dog park, far and away the most requested new feature in a wide-ranging community survey put out by Maryville Parks and Recreation in 2021, will go in on the east side of the current Sunrise Park along Depot Street, across from the New Nodaway Humane Society.

MPR and the city have been working with contractors to reduce the price tag of the new park after the initial bid came in about $300,000 higher than the budgeted $450,000. During a parks board meeting on Monday, MPR Director Jeff Stubblefield said that staff have whittled down the cost to around $430,000 by slightly reducing the size of the park and by eliminating disturbing dirt work.

The latest preliminary plans for the park show two fenced-in areas: one about 30 yards by 30 yards for small dogs and another about the size of a football field for large dogs. The park would have an asphalt, 10-spot parking lot with an entrance from Depot Street. The city also plans to redo that stretch of Depot Street.

Monday’s regular meeting did not have enough parks board members to constitute a quorum, and so the plan has not yet been approved. After parks board approval, the City Council would also need to assent. Stubblefield said that as long as that happens within the next month or two, the proposed timeline for construction should see the park completed and ready for humans and their best friends by fall.

Other Parks and Rec notes

Stubblefield said that some lights at the northeast Beal Park ballfield aren’t working because of a short somewhere, but staff are still working to track it down. In the meantime, men’s softball games are being moved to the big ballpark at Beal.
MPR staff are continuing to work with Silver Sneakers, a health and fitness program for seniors run by Tivity Health that provides fitness center memberships to those who have qualifying Medicare Advantage plans, on offering the program at the community center.
Stubblefield said MPR is in the early stages of working with local artist Ashton Markt, who has painted multiple murals in downtown Maryville, on painting a mural on the back side of the pump house at the aquatic center.