NORWICH – A public hearing affording city residents the opportunity to weigh-in on the prospect of a dog park within the City of Norwich's Greenway Park will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at One City Court Plaza.

The common council set the public hearing date at its January 22 meeting, and City of Norwich Alderman Ward 1 Matthew Caldwell said, "The Common Council is not required to hold a public hearing before deciding whether or not to approve the dog park, but we really want to give the public an opportunity to come forward to share their thoughts."

Since summer 2018, Norwich High School senior Hannah Baker has been raising funds, planning, and lobbying city officials to approve the creation of a dog park in the City of Norwich, and for the city to be the recipient of donations from foundations for the project.

As of the January joint committees meeting, Baker had raised $4,000 to date to go towards the creation of the dog park; NBT Bank has agreed to provide matching funds upon the city's approval of the park, and Chobani provided a CAD drawing of the prospective park and has agreed to help with engineering and the ordering of materials.

Baker's initial estimates indicated the cost of the dog park would be around $20,000, however that price was cut in half after Chobani offered to participate. Including the funds Baker has raised and funds pledged by NBT Bank, she has raised nearly enough funds to complete the project.

"I am very grateful for all of the support I have received so far for the Norwich dog park project," said Baker. "There are dog parks in so many communities and having one in Chenango County will be great for all the residents, visitors and dogs. It will provide a place for the dogs to socialize and run off leash and it will be a place for dog owners to talk and share information about dogs and our community."