Friends of the Ames Dog Park have begun efforts to raise $50,000 in private donations, showing they are serious in their pursuit of a future dog park.

“We already have three commitments — two from Wells Fargo and Allstate — totaling about $1,700, which is a good start,” said Doug Yetman, vice president of the Friends of the Ames Dog Park. “We will probably go to some corporate donors, whether that be pet food companies or companies that work with the ISU vet school.”

An official proposal has not been presented to the Ames Park and Recreation Committee yet, but members are in the process of outlining policy, maintenance and amenity guidelines, said Nancy Carroll, Parks and Recreation Department director. About 33 supporters attended a public meeting Monday night at the Ames Public Library to raise awareness and encourage volunteer help in developing a proposal.

“Hopefully a proposal will go to the Parks and Recreation Committee in December and then to the City Council in January,” Carroll said.

Dog parks help reduce animal and human incidents, said Lorna Lavender, Ames animal control officer.

“It’s not ideal to have dogs on bike paths because you end up having conflict,” she said. “Dogs like to chase after bikes.”

Loras Jaeger, Ames Police chief, said a lot of the complaints they receive stem from cleaning up after the dogs, but there are infrequent dog bites reported.

“We believe in talking with other communities that have dog parks and have found that a dog park does significantly help those areas,” he said.

Engineering and planning firm Snyder & Associates put together a rough outline of cost estimates for construction, using the proposed location at the 10-acre site off Billy Sunday Road.

Don Marner, landscape architect for Snyder & Associates, said they visited the new dog park, Raccoon River Park, in West Des Moines to get ideas and information.

“We have the West Des Moines park plans and are looking at that and talking to the general public to see their general desires for the facility,” Marner said.

He said construction should take about six months.

“Once it is determined to do the project, the time frame is two to three months to get the design and go out to bid,” Marner said. “And from there, a three month period for construction in general.”