Stonington — More than 50 residents turned out Wednesday night for a public hearing to discuss what to do about the controversial dog park at the Town Dock.  

Most of the speakers were in favor of allowing the dog park to continue operating and disputed claims by some neighbors that it is a nuisance.

“What bothers me is when people come to town and use their social standing and means to change the town into what they think it should be,” said Joe Rendeiro, who worked as a commercial fisherman at the Town Dock for 54 years.

Laura Ann Gabrysch and Frank Mastrapasqua, who own a Front Street home that borders the park, have sued the town, alleging it has been operating an “illegal dog park,” that it has not received any permits or zoning approvals for the park, that it poses a danger to the public and is a nuisance.

They had agreed to put on hold their lawsuit if the town formed a committee but were then displeased with the charge given to members and how they were chosen.

Their suit is now moving forward.

The town created the Sewer Treatment Expansion Parcel Ad Hoc Committee to examine options as way to resolve the issue.

These include allowing the park to continue to operate with no change, locking the gates so there is no public access, having an “on-leash” dog park, officially establishing an off-leash dog park with required approvals on the site and looking into alternative locations for an off-leash park.

The committee is slated to present its recommendations to the Board of Selectmen by April 1.

“This problem has been around a long time, and we need to fix it,” First Selectman Rob Simmons, the chairman of the committee, told the crowd.

The hearing began with comments from Angela Gora, who lives next to the dog park.

She described a “nightmarish place” with constant barking, shouting, fighting dogs and feces strewn about, all of which she said she has documented and reported to town officials and police.

She said there are hundreds of dogs at the park on weekends.

“We’ve been abused, bullied, ridiculed and laughed at (by dog park users). We’ve had dog feces thrown at us,” she said. “But town officials and dog park users choose not to look at our evidence.”

Gora said other residents feel the way she does but are scared to speak out and predicted there would be additional lawsuits if the park remains where it is.

She suggested a better use would be a public garden and said other dog parks are not in residential areas.

But park users said the most dogs in the park at any one time is 10 to 12, they are vigilant about picking up feces and keeping dogs away from nearby homes, and make sure troublesome dogs and owners leave.

“Most of (Gora’s) claims are completely unsubstantiated. The people who come to the park are highly responsible people,” park user Forrest Sklar told the committee.

Park supporters said it also provides a place for people to come together.

“When we take things like this away, it hurts the town’s sense of community,” said park user Laurie Hartnett.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas