An unsanctioned dog park in The Villages has been granted a reprieve by the Amenity Authority Committee.
Earlier this year, the AAC had agreed to spend $17,000 to put up a fence at the adhoc dog park near a retention pond behind The Villages Regional Hospital. The fence was to be aimed at keeping golf carts, not necessarily dogs, out.
AAC members were concerned about damage that golf carts of dog owners were doing to the grass at the location near the intersection of El Camino Real and Morse Boulevard. The grass was in peril due to the drought.
But Mother Nature brought a summer deluge of rain, the grass rebounded and the fence was put on the backburner.
The AAC revisited the issue on Wednesday and opted to continue to hold off on the fence.
Sam Wartinbee of District Property Management told AAC members that Animal Control has issued warnings to some owners who have allowed their dogs to run off leash.
AAC member Ann Forrester said she travels by that location frequently in her golf cart and has seen large groups of people with dogs congregate near the pond.
“It’s going to happen again,” she warned.