Pooches getting park improvements

Being a dog in the Village of Belgium is getting better all the time.

The Village Board this month approved installing trees and shrubbery at its dog park, Pepi’s Playground on Silver Beach Road, which has been completed, and gave the go-ahead for an Eagle Scout project that would add benches and a shelter.

The park already had a yard hydrant to provide water for thirsty dogs. Owners are asked to bring their own bowls.

Arborvitae trees were planted inside the fence line on the north end of the park and bushes were planted on the south end, Public Works Director Dan Birenbaum said.

The parking lot was recently graded with more gravel to flatten it out, he said.

The Eagle Scout project, led by Cedar Grove-Belgium High School senior Aaron Duenk, entails installing two benches and a 6-foot-tall sun shelter at the park, according to his project proposal.

“The playground is very bland as it only has one large tree with a bench next to it as its only means of a place for rest,” the proposal says.

Now that he has Village Board approval, Duenk can start fundraising for the project.

“I like your design. People who take dogs out there who have seen the plans, they like it too,” board member and Parks and Recreation Committee Chairman Don Gotcher said.

A 5-foot tall fence was installed around the 3-acre park in 2016. The park opened in 2013.