MECHANIC FALLS — The Town Council learned Monday that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has given preliminary approval for using the town’s old dump site as a dog park.

Town Manager Koriene Low told the council that the DEP determined that two separate enclosed areas, one for large dogs and one for small dogs, could be set up on the property off Walker Road.

According to Low, DEP officials said they will be back to conduct tests to make sure there are no gases rising from the waste buried on the site that might be harmful to dogs and their owners.

Low noted that plans for a dog park are in very preliminary stages, the result of a few residents coming together to see whether the old dump site is a possibility.

Low said that much depends on the group’s ability to raise funds, at least $3,000 just for the fencing, to develop a park and show that it had the capacity to conduct ongoing fundraising for its continued maintenance.

The town’s only involvement, Low said, would be to provide the land with the private group of dog owners bearing complete responsibility for its development and upkeep.

Councilor Lou Annance suggested that residents living near the old dump site be notified before the town takes any final action on allowing a dog park there.

He insisted that the project could go forward only under the condition that the group proposing the dog park demonstrates that it has the capacity to develop and, more importantly, maintain it. The other councilors agreed with him.

The Town Council also approved Sue Marston’s proposal that the town once again offer a nine-week summer camp program, open to youngsters in Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland.

This year’s program will run on weekdays from June 20 to Aug. 19 for $90 a week. It will be open to children ages 6 to 12, entering grades one to six this fall.

In other matters, Low told councilors that Regional School Unit 16 officials had informed her that they are seeking only one representative – and not two as previously announced — to serve on the committee that will help develop the 2016-17 school year budget. The council named Stephen Bolduc.

The council also accepted for review a policy that would establish a code of conduct and require background checks for anyone hired by the town or appointed to town committees.

The council will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, in the council chamber to hear a proposal to establish a solar farm at the town’s Transfer Station. The presentation will be given by Garbo-Kane, Integrated Solar Builders of Norway and Otisfield, and is open to members of the public.