By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | December 04, 2008
Nito Barajas, left, and Manuel Lacanaria, with R&R Maher Construction Co. in Vallejo, put the final touches on a sidewalk in Dover Park Wednesday. The park's renovation is nearly complete and is expected to reopen by early 2009. Photo by Brad Zweerink
FAIRFIELD - Dover Park is expected to reopen by early 2009 after being closed since the start of this year.
Parks officials said this week they are primarily waiting for a layer of sod to take root before letting people return to the park, which is located at the corner of Travis Boulevard and Flamingo Drive.
'Our hope is the end of the month or the first part of the next month,' city Parks Planner Fred Beiner said
The landscaping is the final stage of a major renovation of Dover Park. The project included draining the park's two ponds for bottom resurfacing and bank reinforcement.
The park also received soft rubber surfaces in the playgrounds instead of the processed wood material, a lighted concrete perimeter path and play equipment for young children.
All that's left is waiting time to allow for the sod to take root and for some specialty grasses along the ponds to germinate, Beiner said. How long that takes depends primarily on the weather. Some trees have not yet been planted, but Beiner said that will not delay the opening.
The city is also looking for a local service club that would be willing to again stock the two ponds with fish.
'Generally, what has happened in years past is the service clubs have stocked predominantly bass in the lake and sponsored a fishing derby,' Beiner said, 'but the derby people didn't catch all the fish, so some were left for the rest of the year.'
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