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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 2542 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2542 6"PT(", ""qS0 ,gyp To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 8, 1975 �TfXAyi Subject: CONTRIBUTION OF THE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION v» TO THE OPERATION OF THE FORT WORTH ZOO In a budget study session, the Council requested information on the contribution of the Fort Worth Zoological Association to the operation of the City's Zoo. Attached is a report prepared by the Association in response to that request. If additional information is desired by the Council, it will be supplied upon request. Respectfully submitted, /et)� , R. N. Line City Manager RNL:cr Attachment ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS REPORT ON THE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FORT WORTH ZOC s I 1•iiF. 0)!' I dre : i !i AOOLOC:TCAi. Al)') 1CIATION !950-1975 The primary purpose and interest of the Fort Worth Zoological Association is seting that the Fort Worth Zoo is supported, maintained and developed in relationship to the gi owth "I the City of Fort '.forth, the Lnterest of its citizen; •incl I !"- tier ropol i t ,in area. The Zoological Association has agreed in tho pAni , And . Arlin rcni i i rms its intention, to support the %no under the iatti :rit •, inti with tire• advice of the Park and Recreation Department of the Cit , of fort Worth. In the past , the Association has operates] under a contractuil agreement with the City that was considerably lore frivorahie than the present cn-. Nevertheless, the Association fully intends t„ do all Oil 's within its power to accomplish its goals under the existing const ri int 3. rho Association is fully •cwAre of the financial problems connected with operatiri4 the Zoo. But, it is the opinion of the Association that these problems can be solved throuS mutual efforts on, the l.,irt of both hoaru:, , !'ark .viii Pvc•rrat i"n and :'. clo ;i - .il Association. In the p sr , the Assrcr i rt ion hnn nt t mpted to engender interest in upgrading_ of the Zoo And with s,mv ..'i 't'• :,., . 1•crrthermore, it is prepared to continue its Worts to obtain the interon and support of the private citizens who have a like interest in the ni s and work of the Association. The Association is extrpm ly inters steel in making the Zoo available to as many citizens as possihis . 1lo.:cver, the Association also believes all exhihirq should he of sufficient quality to attract and maintain the interest of the citizenry. Therefore , it hocomes imperprive that a concerted effort he put forth to irpleyent thu : oo' s Master PLan in the areas that are presently feasible. •ihe .,forth Yoohynicrk Assorlition, helm; a private Con-profit, non- po1-iciril orgaaizot Kn, chnnnw ; n 100 of its financial assistance into the iWgrading nl the ;11 i " O col lout ion and Oci litivs . In the past years the Asso inti"" KA!, ; eni vc• r KV V million dollars in the Fort Worth Zoo. T' routh its eitort.s, the f• l lowQ4 items have been paid for without tax funds from the City. Aquririum $ 7i .no0 Flamingo Exhibit ?* ilorpetnrium 5 Q3,009 Seal /Sea Lion fool $ 125,000 iropic .il bird i;. n :. 10,6.'.i and Salt Water Wing Creat Ape House S 12, 00 Monkey House Remodeling $ 5,000 Sidewalk Caft, Service Center, Diet $ 110,000 S-•& i animal Moan 2.000 Kitchen Children's Zoo 10, .'rfr Furnish Tor, Office- $ 3,000 I'n. odn AviAr,i Zoo l.ibrar� $ 5,500 I'c rpnisp Wing, 0")!N Master flan $ 6,780 "t ter rKhihii Waterfall and Dior ima $ 4,500 Repairs iI I I 2 - i Education Roo;n $ 1 ,000 Zoo Publications $ 41000 ;signs (animal 7 .D. ) $ 38,500 (Zoo News) Incubators for Hospital c 1 ,000 Education Program $ 8 891 (Zebra Tales) Total 524,292 *Exact figures are not available, but all were by the Association. AD'D1TI-oNAi, fTEMS PAID FOR* - Long distance telephone service - Tools & equipment for Maint. Dept. - Contract personnel - Electric service for offices - Professional puhlicitfonn; - Animal liability protection and - Staff collecting trip ; property insurance - Electric can suppl inn A nervice - Admission fee collection service (batteries) - Landscaping purchases - Art supnlies - Trash collecting receptach s - nark roam equipment & supplies - Shop equipment (grinders, table - Cameras and equipment saw, etc. ) - Office machines (c,)p ier) - M!izak (background music interlude) (typewriters & adding r-;.;ch i nee) *Approximately $30,000 annually In addition to the above assist nice to the Zoo, the Association paid over S250,000 in commissions to the City from 1968-1972. The above list is by no moons a comprehensive r•xomn l o of the expenditures over the recent history of the Zoolonical A -:'," iation, hilt it is an attempt to show the variety of expendIturas that the Association has been asked to fund. The above are excellent cxAmpl,n .•I how the Association accomplishes its role as a financial adjunct to the Vir •,'s straight line budget . Now we come to the most obvious and important function performed by the Fort Worth Zoolo ;ical Ass"cintion, the purchase and maintenance of the animal cn) lect i 7n display. d it the Zoo. The Association purchases animals for these displ rvs ,!ion r, q"wqt , and many times on little notice of avail- ahi 1 i is . N" t mm-• bcen available for this purpose. To date, the P:<:ocial i,,n !, :; I(It c r .', 0:0 major purchases of specimens. IT addition to these major purth ;es. the Association maintains a variety of over 300 species of reptiles in the Herpetarium and over 1.,000 specimens of marine and fresh water fish apd invertebrates in the Aquarium. While there isn' t nvailahle ..n n gregatesum total of all monVos ever spent on animal acq,cisit ions at the Fort Worth Zoo, it must he recognized that over the last 25 years, the am:onnt would be very substantial . What we do 3 — ! carry on the books of the Association is the purchase price of the present collection. This is a running total of both sales and purchases pertain- ing to all areas of the Xoo. A classification and breakdown follows: Saecies or Subspecies Individual Specimens :Mammals 64 276 Reptiles 269 691. Birds 167 485 Amph i b i=- 36 68 Fishes 264 1 ,512 Invertebrates _41 510 TOTAL 841 3,542 The above collection represents a hook value of $302,000 and is carried in the capital accounts of the Association as items held in trust for the ci.riz- enry of Fort Worth. The Association is presented a want-list of animals by the Zoo Director at the beginning of each fiscal year. The animals listed on the request are subject to availability and muF;t be purchased without hesitation as they are offered. The Jist is approved by an action of the Park Board at their meeting. The major area left: to include in this report is how can, and how does the Association raise money to cover these expenditures as well as monies to finance their primary objective of upgrading the Zoo facility? Zoos normally receivo financing; through A) bonds, B) loans, Q grants, D) bequests, F.) conc•essiorq, F) nitts, G) taxes, and H) user fees. Since all revenue derived ir )m the ndnissi"n fee is channeled through Park and :ecreati.on accounts and the Association doesn't share it in any way, the Associntion must depend on other areas for financial support. A) The 1970 bond proposal railed to receive voter approval. Had this program bevu approved , it would have gone a long way toward improving some vital arms of the Zoo. Another bond proposal is now in the .r171in,,; and the Association will actively support any portion that will benefit the Zoo. R) Loans have been obtained frequently by the Zoo Association in the past to finince aipita,l improvements. The most recent example wnq the Seal/Sea Lion Pool and Salt [Dater Winn; adjoining the Aqunrium. This method o! improving the Zoo has been very effective h-causv the loans hive been guaranteed by individual Association members. In the past the Association has solicited funding for a project, and if nompleto financing couldn't be obtained, a loan would ho secured thro>>nh the Association and later retired as money hcrNmo avA i 1 ah 1 r. (') The Assoeiat icon provides n non-profit tax exempt vehicle that can accept any bequest that might be available from a benevolent benefactor. 4 - ,D) Concessions at the Zoo contribute 100% of their profit to the benefit of the Zoo. These profits provide a cash flow for recurring Association projects for the Koo ns well as providing the public service areas that are required by Zoo visitors. The Association stands ready to build a I new public service facility at a cost of $120,000. This .facility will � be in keeping with the Association's purposes of improving the overall satisfaction of n Zoo visit for the citizenry of our area. This is a major project for the Association and the financial committment is sub- stantial . We are requesting, that our contract be revised to reflect this committment by beinn extended for a ten year period. All public services are provided for the Zoo visitor every day of the year by the Association, regardless of the profit factor. E) Gifts to the Zoo have been numerous over the years, but in nearly all cases, individuals and o.r:;anizations alike prefer to donate for the acquisition of now and spectacular specimens or for capital improve- ments that make tanvihic chauges in a Zoo visit such as buildings and exhibits. In 1975, a challenge grant was obtained from the Sid Richard- son Foundation pledging 5100,000 toward the construction of a $300,0100 Education Complex,. Since then, the Zoological Association has been actively seeking; the 000,000 needed and has had some success. The Fort Worth Z.00logica? Associntion operates under charter with the State Q Tuns a5 a non-profit ornanization. This charter was drawn the 9th Day of 0ctoher, 1950 for a tery of 0 --ears. The purpose to which it was chartered read "to promote the scientific, and educational growth and development of individuals -f 7o-t Worth, Texas and vicinity." The Association is still vory rtwh Vd icared to this purpose and will continue to perform toward this goal .