The Sedona Parks and Recreation Department is beginning to narrow down its wish list for improvements to the existing dog park.

Last month, Parks and Recreation hosted a pair of community outreach meetings to garner feedback on what residents would like to see added to or improved upon at the dog park.

“I thought more would have shown up but I was not disappointed,” Parks and Recreation Manager Rachel Murdoch said, noting that a total of 11 people turned out. “The input we received from the meeting will be added to information we’ve been gathering for years. Had this been a vote on the final design of the park, I would have been a little disappointed with the turnout.”

Other than a suggestion of making the walkway into the park more handicapped accessible, Murdoch said the suggestions from the meeting were ones that have been batted around for quite some time. One of popular suggestions is for the park to offer a different type of surface.

Among those at the meetings, seven said they would like to see grass. And while the city has not ruled it out, Murdoch said she’s not even sure if it’s feasible. There’s the cost of irrigation not to mention whether or not the maintenance department has the manpower to add it. She said some type of artificial turf has been looked into but again, there’s a matter of both initial and ongoing costs associated with maintaining it.

“One thing that came from the meeting is that people want to help,” she said. “They suggested forming a volunteer group. They’re the ones who are there every day so if they want to help, we need to look into that.”

Over the years, Murdoch said she’s heard complaints regarding drainage erosion, the height of the fence, the watering station and the overall dryness and dustiness of the park. She said there hasn’t been a major outcry for grass at the park. However, based on the popularity of Yappy Hour on the grassy, multi-use field, she said people have asked if it could be open to dogs full time.

Open since 2005, the Sedona Dog Park — located at Posse Grounds Park — is the only park of its kind within the city limits. It is roughly 1.6 acres and includes large dog and small dog areas, a granite open area and naturally-vegetated areas, as well as picnic tables, shade and a watering station. This park is open year round to the community and visitors alike to enjoy exercising their dogs’ off-leash and socializing with other dogs.

This year, the Sedona City Council budgeted $18,120 for design work for upgrades to the park. Even though the amount could change, Murdoch said she expected to request $152,000 in next year’s budget for the upgrades and improvements.

“Initially I thought that money would be spent on just one item like resurfacing,” she said. “But now I’m thinking it may end up being a lot of little things.”

Even though the next fiscal year doesn’t begin until July 1, Murdoch said the goal is to have plans ready prior to then so that work can begin any time after that date.

Murdoch added that there won’t be much more community outreach but instead its time to work with the other city departments before moving forward.

“We definitely need to know our limitations before we start talking about our wishes,” she said.