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Mt. Prospect seeks OK from sanitary district for dog park

The dog park scheduled to open this summer in Melas Park should do so on time, despite a new procedural wrinkle, officials from the Mount Prospect Park District said.

Park district officials say they were surprised to learn recently from village officials that approval from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is required before the dog park can open. The MWRD owns the Melas Park property.

Park District Executive Director Greg Kuhs said the district, along with the village of Mount Prospect, has reached out to MWRD to secure approval. He said he's confident there won't be a problem.

"If we'd known, we would have done it earlier," he said. "But at this point I don't have reason to believe that it will delay the grand opening."

The dog park, a joint effort between the Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights park districts, is scheduled to have its grand opening on June 21, Kuhs said. It will be called Canine Commons - the result of an online naming contest.

Allison Fore, a spokeswoman for MWRD, said via email Thursday that the dog park request has been received and is "under technical review."

As planned, Canine Commons will be nearly two acres in size. It will include three distinct areas - one for larger dogs, one for smaller dogs and a third to be used on a rotating basis.

The cost of the project, roughly $171,000, will be split between the two park districts.

Melas Park is located at 1500 Central Road in Mount Prospect. The village leases the property from MWRD. In turn, the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect park districts lease their halves of the park from the village.

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