Aurora dog park could cost less at larger size

AURORA -- It was not "Dog Day Afternoon" in Aurora on Tuesday, as the Finance Committee put off a decision on what to do about a planned $63,000 dog park on the East Side.

The park, part of a massive in-progress renovation of Phillips Park, was returned to committee earlier this month after aldermen balked at the price. The city would be responsible for half of the cost, with the other half paid for through a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

But some aldermen questioned spending the money at all, given the projected $19 million deficit the city is facing next year. And others asked if the project could be scaled back, some specifically pointing to dog-bone-shaped benches that, in the low bid from M&M Peters Construction, would cost $2,000 each.

While Chief Development Services Officer Bill Wiet and Chief Operations Officer Rosario DeLeon said they would need another two weeks to put a plan together, both believe they can reduce the cost of the dog park -- oddly enough, by making it larger.

Wiet and DeLeon want to nix a plan to build a road and a parking area between Ashland and Parker avenues and expand the dog park east. This, they say, will give them access to drier patches of land, which would avoid the need for much of the concrete in the original design. By getting rid of the road, they would also get rid of the need for more stormwater detention.

Additionally, Wiet suggested replacing the expensive planned fence with a plain chain-link one, which also would save money. No estimate for those savings was available Tuesday.

The committee will take up the issue again Nov. 12.