City holds off on decision for Zoo New York's $375,000 funding request

Mar. 13—WATERTOWN — Zoo officials came away on Wednesday night without a commitment from the city for a proposed five-year $375,000 funding request to help make Zoo New York more financially stable.

The zoo temporarily closed in October after its operating board, the Thompson Park Conservancy, determined it could no longer stay open without making major changes.

In a March 5 memo to the City Council, the conservancy asked the city for a $375,000 commitment for the next five years that would "be enough for the zoo to thrive."

The zoo also plans to seek that same amount from Jefferson County for a total of $750,000 for five years.

But council members on Wednesday night held off making that decision, saying that they needed to know what the county plans to do first.

"This will require some further analysis from this group," Councilman Robert O. Kimball said, adding that he "personally supports" going forward with the $375,000 for one year.

Without the city's guarantee on Wednesday night, interim zoo director Mark D. Irwin said after the meeting that the zoo doesn't plan, at this time, to proceed to open on May 4 for the summer season.

Zoo officials need to move quickly to prepare for the opening.

The zoo will be open for the April 8 eclipse, but what happens after that will depend whether the city and the county agree on the funding request, Irwin said.

While saying she supports the zoo, Councilwoman Lisa A. Ruggiero wanted to know the status of the county's financial involvement.

The zoo board, however, will not pursue funding from the county until the city makes a decision, stressing that the city owns the zoo and it's on city land, so the city should make the first move, Irwin said.

"Hopefully, the county will come back with this," Ruggiero said.

Mayor Sarah V. Compo Pierce said the zoo request is coming at a time when the city is going through its own financial issues.

Over the weekend, City Manager Eric F. Wagenaar distributed a memo stating that the city faces a double-digit tax increase, partly because of a $2.5 million cost increase in health insurance premiums and retirement contributions.

Compo Pierce also asked whether the zoo could cut expenses by eliminating costly exhibits.

According to the conservancy, the $375,000 would enable to zoo to hire an executive director, a business manager to oversee the facility's finances, a curator and other staff and make changes to make it financially viable.

Over the next five years, the zoo would work on increasing attendance by 20%, donations and sponsorships by 10%, construct three small exhibits each year and a major exhibit every three years.

Since October, the zoo has been operating on an austerity budget after cutting staff by two-thirds and closing with no opening date.

But the zoo raised $30,000 on public donations since then and held a successful holiday decoration exhibit that brought in 2,000 people to the zoo, Irwin said. The zoo opened just on weekends this winter.

When it closed in October, the conservancy stressed that the zoo's current business plan needed to change and that it needed more governmental support.

For years, the city did not contribute any funding to the zoo.

In recent years, however, the city came through with emergency funding during more financially turbulent times, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic started.

On Wednesday night, Irwin said it was a miracle that the zoo got through the pandemic.