A decision to place sod at the planned Camelback Park will delay construction further and will require more money.
The project needs to boost its budget from $3.5 million to $3.7 million because of the cost of sod, said Elaine Mercado, a city project manager.
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The city’s request for a transfer of $236,000 to be added to the project’s budget was unanimously approved at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The initial plan was to plant stolons — grass-like plants that grow horizontally — but the city missed its opportunity to plant them due to seasonal changes, Mercado said. Stolons are also cheaper than sod.
Installation of the sod means the project will take an additional month to complete. The project began in January and is expected to be completed at the end of October.
“We hope to be putting sod down this week,” Mercado said.
If the city had declined to increase the budget, then crews would have had to wait until June to finish the project.
“There’s no alternative,” Mercado said. “We would have to wait until the next window to plant stolons.”
The park is located on Hayden Road, between Camelback and Chaparral roads on the site of the former Villa Monterey Golf Course.
