After numerous meetings at the commission and committee level and a lengthy discussion by the Town Council at its March 19 meeting the council delayed action on a Community Services Advisory Commission recommendation to mitigate barking noise from the Desert Vista Dog Park.

The council was reluctant to spend even less than $10,000 on park improvements that may or may not prove effective in reducing noise reaching nearby homes.

Residents of the Morningside neighborhood less than 100 yards across the wash from the dog park first brought their complaints about noise to the CSAC last November. After a couple of presentations to the commission a committee was formed led by Commission Member Don Doty and included other commissioners, dog park users and residents of the neighborhood.

Doty outlined the commission’s recommendation to the council, which included four actions to be taken. The primary action is to enhance the barriers between the area set aside for small dogs and one for larger dogs.

This is to address what Doty described as “fence aggression” when the dogs see one another on either side of the fence. A visual barrier would be placed along a dividing fence inside the park as well as enclosing the entry portals to each section of the park.

Additionally, the proposal includes a new chain link fence on top of a planter wall that divides the sections to prevent dogs from jumping onto the wall and annoy dogs on the other side.

While the commission recommendation includes an opaque PVC material to line the fence as a visual barrier, there was not unanimous agreement with that choice of material. Two residents who served on the committee proposed the use of a corrugated fiberglass like material or a sound deadening material that would also act as a visual barrier.

Doty noted that any sound mitigating material attached to the fence would be ineffective and not practical. He also said there were aesthetic concerns regarding the corrugated material.

Resident Bill Jacobs, who is also the Morningside HOA president, suggested landscape material could enhance the aesthetics.

A woman was opposed to the addition of the chain link fence atop the planter wall. She suggested it would be like jailing the vegetation in the planters.

Vice Mayor Dennis Brown said he has concerns about the durability of the materials proposed and would like to see more information.

Councilman Alan Magazine focused on the cost and suggested they defer any action until the council could establish its budget priorities. The preliminary information suggested costs of $7,000 to $8,000 depending on material used.

Magazine said he does not oppose the plan, but does not want to make an arbitrary decision to spend unallocated funds.

Councilman Henry Leger said he was comfortable moving forward with other elements of the commission recommendation which focused on updating park rules, improving communication and signs and adding $1 to dog license fees.

Mayor Linda Kavanagh said she does not support the additional $1 for the license. She said there are dog owners in town who don’t use the dog park but pay for a license and there are out of town people who use the dog park, but don’t pay for a license in Fountain Hills.

“I’m not ready to agree to any of these (recommendations) until I get more information,” Kavanagh said.

ADOG, a dog owners organization founded at the time the park was built to involve dog owners in maintaining and improving the park, has apparently become inactive recently.

It was suggested that an effort be made to reactivate the group and bring it on as a financial partner in the project. Dennis Contino attended an earlier commission meeting as a representative of ADOG and committed $1,000 to the project.

Brown made the motion to table the item for 60 days to see if ADOG can be brought on board and allow staff or the commission more time to get information related to the products proposed.

The vote was 6-1 in favor of the delay with Leger casting the dissenting vote.