One of the biggest complaints dog owners have regarding the dog park at Desert Vista Park is the condition of the turf. The pets frequently end up with burrs stuck in their fur from weeds growing in the grass.

The town has awarded Artistic Land Management a contract to replace the turf at the dog park. The Town Council approved $90,654 for the work without discussion with its consent agenda at the June 16 regular meeting.

The council technically approved the transfer of the money budgeted for the project during the 2015/16 fiscal year to the 2016/17 budget. There is not enough time to complete the work before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.

According to the staff report the work will include re-sodding the turf areas and putting additional granite in areas where it is thin.

The dog park is being closed for about eight weeks for the work and to allow the sod to take root. The closure was effective Friday, June 17, and is expected to last into mid-August.

The contractor will be applying a post emergent herbicide to the existing turf, remove the top layer of the existing turf areas, which is about 118,000 square feet and grade the site to allow the soil to accept Mid-Iron sod to be installed.

Irrigation repairs will be billed separately.

Granite that matches the existing will be installed to improve the granite areas around the dog park.

Artistic Land Management also has the contract with the town for landscape maintenance and repairs on town property.

During the closure of the dog park, people can exercise their dog in other parks in town, but they must be kept on a leash and owners must clean up after them.

Any questions regarding the project can be directed to the Community Services Department at 480-816-5100.