A growing group of Ames citizens representing the interests of their families and businesses has committed to achieving a high voter turnout for the July 24 special election regarding the building of an aquatic center on 13th Street.

The committee, which calls itself Step Up and Dive In, held a press conference Wednesday in order to rally the support of other community members.

Eve Doi, vice president of chamber operations and communications for the Ames Chamber of Commerce and member of the Step Up and Dive In committee, said other Ames citizens’ support and involvement was needed in order to accomplish the building of the new center, expected to be completed – if built – in 2009.

“If this is as important to you as it is to us, we ask you to step up and dive in,” Doi said.

Doi asked that people get involved by writing letters to the editor, putting up yard signs and contributing financially to the committee’s efforts to attain a high voter turnout.

The group expects to raise, at most, an estimated $10,000 in order to educate the public about the center, Doi said.

“There do not appear to be many opposed to an aquatics center,” said Neala Benson, co-chairwoman of the Step Up and Dive In committee.

Any public debate, Benson said, has revolved around the location of the aquatic center, as some community members have expressed concern about the building’s proposed location on 13th Street.

One concern that has been raised is that the 13th Street location lies on a flood plane.

Nancy Carroll, director of Ames Parks and Recreation, said the site is a good one, even in light of the flood issue.

One reason, Carroll said, is that the nearby bridge acts as a physical barrier during a flood, and the water cannot get through to the aquatic center as a result.

In addition, those involved in planning for the center have incorporated a 14-foot fill of dirt in order to raise the ground three feet above the flood plane.

“This [flood concern] has caught no one that really understands engineering off guard,” Carroll said.

Wetlands and prairie are also planned to be put in place in the area surrounding the aquatic center, in order to help filter any storm water runoff, Carroll said.

Scott Bauer, chairman of the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce, said a recent survey of chamber members showed 75 percent of those surveyed were in favor of the aquatic center project at the 13th Street location.

“The [Step Up and Dive In] committee is a very broad-based committee, with both young and old, of people that just want to see this project go forward, and more members are certainly welcome,” Bauer said.