Sedona’s dog park may see a few changes in the coming months following a Thursday, March 31, public meeting, at which members of the public voiced their opinions on the canine recreation area.

Approximately 30 residents attended the special morning meeting. While the park improvements are still only proposed, Sedona City Maintenance Superintendent Dan Neimy said city officials are moving forward on the changes.

Proposed improvements include the addition of a second Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant parking space, replacing the gravel entrance path with concrete paving stones, additions to the obstacle course, a grass area and a gate from the small dog area to the large dog area.

“There’s a large dog area that has a canopy with three picnic tables,” Neimy said, gesturing towards the weatherproof walkway canopies overhead, “and one of the suggestions was to add a gate in the fence. Another suggestion was to add a portable restroom. The regular group of people that meet in the morning and another group that meets in the afternoon, if they walk to the park, the nearest restroom is up in Posse Ground Park, so that was a good suggestion.”

The water tank in the small dog area may also be redesigned to a lower height. Additional picnic tables were also discussed.

Neimy said the public hearing was held in order for city officials to suggest an alternative to using wood chips at the park.

“One of the main things, and what really brought us to the meeting, was questions about replacing the wood chips, the mulch, with decomposed granite,” Neimy said. “With the mulch or the wood chips that are down there, there are a number of issues with that. It does cause splinters in the dogs’ paws and their stomachs. Wood chips do retain waste products. There’s some issues with drainage. It is combustible, and it is maintenance-intensive. It also provides a breeding ground for diseases.”

Costs for the improvements have yet to be determined, Neimy said.

Rick Wesselhoff, one of the founders of the dog park, said he was thrilled to learn of the proposed improvements.

“I’m just happy to see that the city is reaching out to the people that use the park for input on it. I think that’s a really great idea,” Wesselhoff said.

Wesselhoff said he originally came up with the idea for a dog park after seeing them in other communities.

“It seemed like a really great fit for here in Sedona, but we just didn’t have one,” Wesselhoff said. After receiving encouragement from city officials, Wesselhoff and others began to raise funds for the park.

“It took probably three or four years to raise the money and go through all the approvals before we started,” Wesselhoff said. The park opened on April Fool’s Day of 2007.

“We formed a nonprofit to raise money to build the park, operated it for a few years, and then we handed it back over to the city to keep it running as an amenity for the town and for visitors alike,” Wesselhoff said.