By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | January 23, 2009
FAIRFIELD - Dover Park is once again open and could soon even have fish swimming in its ponds.
The park on Travis Boulevard reopened to the public on Jan. 16, about a year after closing for major renovation work. The last phase of the $1.8 million project was planting trees and waiting for a new layer of sod to take root.
A grand opening ceremony may be held in the spring, when weather is more pleasant, parks planner Fred Beiner said.
The project included draining the park's two ponds so the bottoms could be resurfaced and the banks reinforced. The park also received soft rubber surfaces in the playgrounds instead of the normal processed wood material, a lighted concrete perimeter path and play equipment for young children.
The next development might be the stocking of fish in the ponds, Beiner said. That would resurrect an old practice that has fallen by the wayside.
The charity group Kids Day of Fishing, Inc. has expressed interest in stocking the ponds for a fishing event, Beiner said. The group has partnered with the local Kiwanis service club and the Police Activities League. The event is tentatively scheduled for April 25.
An annual fishing derby was why ponds were stocked in the past, with the fish not hooked living in the ponds year-round.
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