The Saddle Hill Community Board members grilled Dunedin City Council parks manager Lisa Wheeler at its meeting on Thursday.
Funding for the Fairfield beautification project on Main Rd was discussed.
Ms Wheeler said $20,000 the council got from the Walton Park forest harvesting project would return to the Fairfield community - $10,000 for the upgrade of Walton Park Reserve and $10,000 for the beautification project.
Saddle Hill Community Board chairman Scott Weatherall said the board would contribute about $3500 from its discretionary fund for the project, which was instigated about six years ago, to be completed by October.
''We are pretty stoked to see some completion.''
Low-lying shrubs would be planted so the visibility of motorists and pedestrians was not blocked.
Walton Park Reserve was discussed. Ms Wheeler said the Fairfield community would be invited to a planting day in August or September.
Board member Keith McFadyen said since trees were removed near the sportsgrounds, the ground had become wetter and he suspected underground infrastructure had been damaged.
Ms Wheeler said the council would investigate.
Mr McFadyen said sportsgrounds such as Walton Park and Sunnyvale were being damaged because when grounds became boggy, the council cancelled sports practices but not weekend games, and the council needed to manage the parks better.
Ms Wheeler said the council tried to provide the best sportsgrounds possible.
''That's why we cancel the training during the week, in the hope the fields are playable.''
The council would implement tighter controls, including the inspection of grounds on Fridays to decide if games should be played at the weekend, she said.
Mr McFadyen said Sunnyvale was boggy despite new drainage work being recently completed.
Ms Wheeler said the new drainage was not over the sports fields and its benefits would be revealed when the park dried out.
Mr Weatherall also said he wanted the council to better managefreedom camping.
Ms Wheeler said there would be more controls in place from October, the second year of the trial freedom camping site at Ocean View.
