A public meeting last week to discuss the possibility of putting in a dog park at Waterloo’s Lakeview Park drew about 10 citizens who gave input and asked questions about the potential project.

Waterloo Park District commissioner Shelby Mathes ran the meeting at Waterloo City Hall, along with park district president Joann Harlin, and commissioners Ken Niemann and Kevin Hahn. Waterloo aldermen Vicki Koerber and Stan Darter also attended the meeting.

Overall comments were favorable, with attendees sharing their experiences with dog parks in other areas.

Linda Laurent, who takes her dog to work with her uses dog parks in Creve Coeur and St. Charles, Mo., said her experiences have been positive. She has used parks that were free and open to the public as well as one that required registration and charged a fee.

Larry Scace, who lives adjacent to Lakeview Park in the Vandebrook subdivision, expressed concerns about how noise like excessive barking would be handled. Mathes said there would be a plan in place to deal with such issues, while those in attendance at the meeting said they had not experienced this problem at other dog parks they have visited.

The possibility of selling pavers to help fund the park through donations was also discussed.

The results of this meeting will be discussed with park district commissioners before formal plans are made to move forward. If they decide to build the dog park, the cost is estimated to be about $35,000, with plans to complete it by this fall.

The project would include a yard waste disposal area. The site will have three running pens, designated for large, medium and shy dogs, and each enclosed with a five-foot chain link fence.

Each yard will have 15-foot-by-15-foot concrete pads with a 12-foot-by-12-foot shelter including a seating area and water access for owners and dogs.

The area will be also handicap accessible with an asphalt parking area.