CLAY CENTER, Kan. (AP) – The Clay Center Zoo is trying to raise $500,000 in order to keep the zoo open.

Bill Callaway, director of Clay Center Public Utilities Commission, told The Salina Journal that as of Friday afternoon, the zoo was $320,000 short of the initial goal.

He says the 70-year-old zoo needs to be modernized, and first-phase plans include a new main entry building, indoor and outdoor exhibit space, utility improvements and landscaping.

The fundraising effort comes after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the zoo over the past three years for infractions, including such things as a loose wire in a fence, a watering pond with moss growing in it and paperwork.

Callaway says the zoo was eventually fined $7,500.