Zoo gets temporary aid

Zoo gets temporary aid

By Deborah Nelson
August 28, 2008

Santa Rosa Commissioners approved a financial shot-in-the-arm for the The Zoo, Thursday, but stopped short of officially establishing a municipally-administered Zoo Authority.

The Board approved a $125,000 supplement towards the Zoo’s immediate operating needs. The funds will come from a portion of Franchise Fees earmarked for economic development, officials indicated.

Franchise Fees are collected from electric utility bills.

Commissioners voted on the sum after strenuous objections to a motion to allocate $25,000 from each individual District’s Parks and Recreation Franchise Fees by District 4 Commissioner Gordon Goodin. Goodin voted against the Zoo allocation, which passed 4-1.

That funding will take Zoo operations through November, says Executive Director Danyelle Lantz.

The Zoo currently owes $4.7 million in debts. That encompasses this year’s $250,000 operating shortfall, $2.45 million in long term debt; and $2 million in an option to purchase the facility’s land.

The $250,000 operating shortfall is due to a 20 percent drop in attendance from last year, says Lantz.

In the meantime, Zoo officials are working on a long-term financial recovery plan, formulated last year by the Lowery Park Zoo Management Team and from research on other zoos.

“I think there’s not a single zoo that you could look at that’s not gone through this same effort at some point in their history,” Lantz noted.

The funding Plan incorporates local government support; corporate sponsorships; event fundraising; foundation and corporate grants; and state & Federal grants & appropriations.

It is likely to include transferring oversight to a public Zoo Authority composed of local county and city government representatives. Most medium to large U.S. zoos receive some level of public subsidy and oversight.

The Authority would likely buy the facility’s property and lease it back to the Zoo, officials said.

Local government aid is key to convincing corporate donors to contribute, says Lantz.

“We’ve heard repeatedly from business leaders in the community that they don’t want to see the Zoo leave, and they’re willing to make an investment, but they’re scared to write that check right now not knowing that we’re going to be here,” she noted.

Officials say vultures are already circling.

The Zoo has already received two American and one international query about whether the animal collection is available for sale. Securing animals has become more difficult since the Zoo gained some of their residents, says Lantz.

“It’s hard to find female gorillas,” she notes. “Our female gorilla alone is estimated to be worth over $200,000 if we sold her to a private zoo, because you just can’t bring female gorillas in anymore, due to the conservation challenges they’re facing in the wild.”

The Zoo is a key local tourist and recreation asset, supporters point out, and impacts local education. Programs include degree program partnerships with PJC and UWF, tri-county schools partnerships, ZOOCamp, Safari and other youth programs and animal-assisted therapy.

The Gulf Breeze facility is larger or more diverse than some urban menageries like the Atlanta, Ga.; Montgomery, Ala.; and Jackson, Miss. parks, Lantz notes, all of which receive government subsidies.

She points to one of the few narrated train rides and open preserve exhibits in the Southeast; a diverse cat, primate and reptile collection; and comparatively low admission prices, as key assets.

“I think in so many ways we often underestimate what’s in our own backyard,” said Lantz.

The Zoo was founded in May 1984 on 20 acres. In 1988, the facility bought another 30 acres. In 2001, the 501c3 nonprofit Gulf Coast Zoological Society formed to bolster Zoo administration. On September 1, 2004 the Society purchased the Zoo from its private owners.

Current economic conditions have led to a drop in attendance that is expected to be temporary, says Lantz.

The Zoo has reevaluated its animal collection and moved over 200 animals to other zoos to increase efficiency and quality of life for other animals, she notes.

It currently houses 1,200 animals of 188 species; and fields 46 employees and over 100 active volunteers. Its support includes 2,000 active family memberships.

It takes about $2.1 million a year to operate the Zoo.

Of those costs, 38 percent goes towards animal care and 24 percent towards operations and maintenance on exhibits and other areas. Administrative overhead and insurance takes up 16 percent, according to a report to the BOCC.

“All of our exhibit and construction is primarily done internally,” Lantz remarked.

The Zoo has averaged 123,000 visitors over five years. If attendance levels pick up to 2006 levels (146,000), the facility will be able to cover debt service payments, she said. Those levels are expected to rebound as the tourist industry fully recovers from Hurricane impacts.

“So part of this is what I would say is short term driven, because we are at a low point in our five year period,” Lantz told Commissioners.

She cited a UWF Haas Center study that reports a $6.5 million impact on Northwest Florida’s economy in 2004, and estimates it would cost over $40 million to rebuild the facility and animal collection.