The Ames City Council will discuss on Tuesday a proposed dog park night which would address the need for a leash-free canine exercise area.

The dog park is just one of several capital improvement projects the council is considering.

According to the capital improvement plan, the park would be built on land the city owns at the abandoned Water and Pollution Control Plant on Billy Sunday Road in southeast Ames.

The park master plan calls for this land to be a community park, only 10 acres of which would be used for the dog park. The remaining 33 acres on the site would be left undeveloped until further plans are made.

Cost estimates for the park of approximately $150,000 include fencing, drinking fountains, site development and a 25-stall parking lot. The city will finance $100,000 of the project, with the rest of the funding for construction costs coming from private contributions, according to the plan.

Nancy Carroll, director of the Ames Parks and Recreation department, said if the council approves the project, the money will probably come out of the general fund, which is funded through property taxes.

Carroll said taxing all property owners for a park they all might not use is not unfair to property owners.

“The park wouldn’t be all tax supported,” she said. “A lot of property taxes are used to maintain sports fields, the library and tennis courts.”

Carole Brown of Ames is hitting the streets and gathering signatures in support of the proposed plan. Brown said she feels it is time Ames had a dog park.

“It’s a quality-of-life issue. A lot of people do not use tennis [courts] or go to the library, but those things are still needed. We need to get people to understand that this is some people’s form of recreation and exercise,” Carroll said.

If the proposal passes, it is likely Ames Parks and Recreation would construct and maintain the park, and Ames Animal Shelter and Control would manage the facility after it opened.

Volunteers who already support the animal shelter said they anticipate volunteering at the park.

Volunteers are working to gain support for the dog park.

Dru Frykberg, library associate for the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, is an active volunteer in the drive to start the dog park.

“We’re just getting started right now,” she said. “It’s been pretty easy to get signatures and get people to join our efforts.”

Frykberg said she has high hopes the City Council will be interested in voting for the park.