By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- Organizers of a park where dog owners could bring the animals to play and exercise are hoping for $20,000 more in contributions so the project can be finished this summer.

“We still need about $20,000 for gates, the water system, a tent for summer events, and a backup fund” for contingencies, said Deborah Massell who, along with her husband Jackson Francisco, are the main movers of the project.

They believe the three-acre Madrid Road site next to the Potsdam Animal Shelter can be ready in a few months.

“The Potsdam Community Dog Park will offer an enclosed space for off-leash exercise and supervised play without fear of dogs getting lost, hit by cars, or chasing bicycles,” Massell wrote in her announcement of the project in May 2014. She envisions dog-related events such as obedience classes there. And the park’s location, right next to the shelter, could foster more adoptions of shelter pets, Massell said.

Much of the land has been cleared since the announcement, and the animal shelter is now using that section of the site for walking the dogs there.

“Lots of fence posts are in the ground” for fencing to divide the land into three play areas, for small, large, and shelter dogs. Some walking trails have been set, but they need more wood chips to finish that job.

Among the things that still have to be done are removal of downed trees and some standing ones, installation of a water system, getting waste receptacles in place, getting more posts, fencing, and gates installed, donations of a kiosk and a gazebo, and more trails created with wood chips.

Massell estimates there have been in-kind contributions worth $65,000 so far. That includes the donation of the land, with an estimated value of $10,000, the services of surveyor Louis Maine and design architect Jeff Hodgeson, donations of materials, use of equipment and the help of operators.

They have had use of a wood chipper on loan from local builder Jim Sheehan, and donations of fencing materials from Daryl Kolanko of Potsdam Agway, of privacy fencing and partial installation from Lowe’s, some parking lot gravel from Barrett’s Paving Materials, donation of a business plan from Hilary Oak, a fundraising campaign from Susan Sweeney Smith, and a $2,500 grant for fence posts from the Potsdam Central School Youth Philanthropy Council of the Northern New York Community Foundation, and more.

The organization has also received about $10,000 in cash donations, and about $6,000 of that remains.

“We already have an official designation as a limited liability company – an LLC – but the liability and legal issues were more complex than I knew. We now have people to work out those details,” she said.

The plan originally called for the park to be opened in 2015, but like many plans, that turned out to be overly optimistic.

As they began clearing the land, more and more downed trees emerged, many of which are still to be removed.

“We have about a dozen dedicated volunteers, but those skilled with chainsaws and other machinery are hard to come by. We have some, but their time is precious,” Massel said.

“Everything is by volunteers so it has to go at its own time. You can’t force people who are doing things for free” to work to a firm schedule, she said.

“One thing people should know about our park,” Massell said, “is that all of it has come from donations and volunteers. There are no government dollars in this.”

Donations, Massell notes, are tax deductible.

Some fundraising plans are in the works, for a concert, an arts fair, a “bowling extravaganza, and perhaps something like a Kickstarter campaign.

“We’re still very happy and very excited about the project. Many contributions are still coming in, so people are positive about it,” Massell said.

For more information or to join the effort, email Contact@PotsdamDogPark.com.

Contributions can be made at potsdamhumanesociety.org; click on the Donate Now link, and scroll down to Potsdam Community Dog Park.