Stonington — The mystery of the dog park surveillance sign has been solved.

On Friday, First Selectman Rob Simmons said the sign had been affixed to the western gate that leads to the former dog park property at the Town Dock by a public works employee.

He said the employee responsible for the sign placement was out of the country, so the town did not learn he had placed the sign until Friday morning, when The Day published a story about it. Earlier last week, town, borough, police and sewer authority officials all had said they did not know who had put up the sign.

Simmons said the sign was moved to the fence of the so-called Sewer Treatment Expansion Parcel after a new security fence was installed to protect the nearby sewer pump-out station for boats. Simmons said the cameras have been in place for more than a year to cover the $400,000 police boat on the nearby northwest dock. The sign had been on a pole next to the dock.

Simmons said there is no relationship between the sign, the camera and the dog park property.

The only visible surveillance camera that looks into the so-called Sewer Treatment Expansion Parcel is on the 13 Front St. property owned by Frank Mastrapasqua and Laura Ann Gabrysch.

The couple sued the town over the dog park in 2015, saying the town had been operating an “illegal dog park,” that it had not received any permits or zoning approvals for the park, that it posed a danger to the public and was a nuisance. Other neighbors complained about incessant barking and shouting, feces strewn about and harassment by dog park users.

The couple then agreed to a stipulated judgment in which the town mandated that all dogs have to be on a leash and the main gate will remain open, changes that have reduced the popularity of the property.

The couple’s attorney, Michael Bonnano of New London, said last week that his clients did not post the sign and that they would never do so without first obtaining permission from the town.

j.wojtas@theday.com