More than 1,000 animals may need new homes, and some may have to be euthanized, after the governor cut funding to a Boston Zoo, The Boston Globe reported.
The Franklin Park Zoo and the smaller Stone Zoo, in nearby Stoneham, saw more than 550,000 visitors last year.
An expected $6.5 million approved by the state legislature -- accounting for more than half of the zoos' budget -- was chopped to $2.5 million by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Slashing the budget could end up costing the state even more, Zoo Officials told the Globe. They said if the zoos run out of money, they become the responsibility of the state and it would cost at least $9 million to shutter the Zoo's.
The stand-off has both sides citing the economic downturn as a reason to cut the Zoo, or save it.
The Governor's Office said the money is needed to help families.
But Boston's Mayor said the cuts remove a community resource that offers a cheap day out for those who are struggling during the downturn.
The Zoo opened in 1913, and is home to Zebras, Gorillas, Kangaroos, Butterflies and others, according to the Zoo's Web site.
Read the full story in The Boston Globe.
Not something the City of Salisbury would consider, but should. Closing the Salisbury Zoo could save Taxpayers more than $3,000,000.00 a year. With the infrastructure falling apart and heavy demands from the AZA, Salisbury may have to consider this same option in the near future, like it or not. With the WWTP expecting to cost taxpayers several more million dollars to get it up and running properly, luxuries of a FREE Zoo have pretty much exhausted itself.
What do you think. Do you think the Salisbury Zoo should remain open in this economy. Keep in mind, you have yet to see what it's going to cost taxpayers for new paving, curbing, upgrades to city owned structures and more importantly the water and sewer lines that are so old they continue to fall apart weekly. If you thought the WWTP was expensive, wait till you see the future bills just to catch up to what Barrie Tilghman let fall apart and let go for way too many years.
I personally feel the Zoo, (should they remain open) needs to start charging visitors. If you're a Salisbury Resident, you get in FREE. If you cannot produce a Salisbury Drivers License, there should be a charge to get in the doors, period.
15 comments:
A three tier charge should happen-
Salisbury residents-free
Md residents-Adults $7 child/seniors $3
Non Md residents-Adults $15
child/seniors $7
Monitor the annual headcount statistics and then re-evaluate and consider annual direct expenses and adjust accordingly to maintain nonprofit status.
Let's just close the Congress and Senate. The savings there alone would fund a lot more than Zoos!
I like the idea of a tiered charge like the first person suggested, however, I think that those may be a bit steep. The Baltimore Zoo (which is significantly better than ours) charges only $11 for adults. (I did see that MD residents would be charged $7 and only non MD residents $15.) I think that perhaps something like:
Salisbury Driver's license and 1 guest - Free
Adults - $5.00
Children - $2.00
Seniors - $3.00
Nobody will pay to go to that zoo. Sorry to burst your bubble.
7:06 PM.....Let the taxpayers decide. If the zoo does not get enough support with entry fees to cover direct expenses, close er down. The cost/benefit needs to be measured to make a rational decision.
I agree that nobody will pay those prices .... maybe $1 per person.
I don't think the price should be steep, but yes, they should charge for non-Salisbury people.
Someone said our zoo isn't good enough for people to pay. If that's true, even a buck, then it's not good enough to continue.
People, if you love your zoo, support it!
boston should cage barney frank and all his lil sweet buddies and charge admission.put him in the gorilla cage with lots of bananas for him and his buddies even i would travel to see that! problem solved!
I don't go there for free, why would I go pay for something I think should be gone anyway. It's old, it stinks and I feel sorry for the animals there. They have no room to move around. I can remember going as a child and it was vibrant, the animals looked healthy and there were a lot more animals there. Now all you see is the nasty water and too many ducks and geese.
Close it down - it stinks, it's not kept up and it's not even worth 25 cents admission.
LOL Nathan(been to Stone Mtn lately?)-if they can find money for complete BS stuff,they can find a way to save the zoo.
Simple-minded government. Whether it's Boston, Salisbury or Timbuctu, that's the problem. Making one operation or department like the Zoo suffer because of the stupidity or mismanagement of another like the WWTP is really stupid.
Sure, you should pay to go to the Zoo but there success or lack of it has nothing to do with the screw ups of the WWTP.
Isn't there a Zoo Board? Members who serve? What do they say? What have they done to help the matter? Have they made poor decision recently - or is it entirely the fault of the Mayor?
I wonder about these questions. Who are the Board Members?
The zoo ask for donations at the gate. They have volunteers as well. They have fundraisers such as Night of the Living Zoo. Perhaps the city needs to be more creative but seeing how downtown revitalization has progressed in the last 20 years, I doubt there are any ideas in the city. Perhaps the city can transfer the zoo to the county.
I love the Zoo- my nephews come down every few months from Kent Island for a day at the zoo and then the Ben's Red Swings- We always make a donation- I bet a lot of people would make a donation if it felt more official than the guy sitting behind the "donation cart" there should be a staffed gate at both ends that can welcome visitors and take donations.
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