Macomb leaders furious about zoo canceling big nature center near lake
The Detroit Zoo’s decision to cancel plans to build a nature center near Lake St. Clair for at least $20 million has Macomb County officials as angry as a northern pike fighting an angler’s hook.
County leaders said they had no warning that the prize cultural asset, announced with fanfare in early 2018, was off the table. Some said the zoo’s change of heart would drive them to oppose the next renewal of Macomb’s countywide zoo millage.
The cancellation of the long-awaited Great Lakes Nature Center came unexpectedly this week at Macomb’s annual state-of-the-county speech, delivered by County Executive Mark Hackel at the county’s Center for Performing Arts in Clinton Township. Hackel gave it a positive spin, telling the crowd that the zoo would combine efforts with the Metroparks system for education that would be “more than just a facility or destination.”
And zoo officials later said they’d changed their minds during the pandemic, deciding against building a new facility, and that together their new approach would bring education and excitement about the natural world to schools, parks and other community sites. None of that talk placated members of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, who discussed on Thursday whether to oppose the next renewal of the countywide zoo millage, which expires in 2026.
At the last election for the 10-year millage, 59% of Macomb County voters said yes, recalled Don Brown, R-Washington Township, and chair of the county board.
“And now the zoo’s reneged — I’m disappointed, obviously,” Brown said on Friday.
“They said at their big press conference in 2018 that this would be done in two years. They built the expectation for something truly significant, and they’re getting plenty of taxpayer dollars from our region. But they didn’t have the decency to tell us in advance” of Hackel’s speech, he said.
The new plan, which is to create education programs for Macomb residents together with the Metroparks, “sounds real soft,” he said, adding a quip: “What, you put a picture of a muskrat on the wall?” Brown said board members heard no good explanation for the change, so he will seek to find out more.
“I’m going to be making a push for transparency. Have they had a financial setback or are they just putting their resources into something else?” he said. Commissioner Don VanSyckel said he was equally stunned and disappointed.
“While I understand we don’t have any official control of the zoo, there was an implied promise with zoo management. In the future, I’ll be voting no about putting the zoo millage back on the ballot,” said VanSyckel, R-Sterling Heights. Commissioner Barbara Zinner, R-Harrison Township, lives in a lakeside community that was being considered as the site for a planned Great Lakes Nature Center.
"For them to do this to us really says a lot. I do love the zoo. Maybe someday" the plan can be revived, Zinner said.
Commissioner Veronica Klinefelt, D-Eastpointe, elected last month to the state Senate, said she also clung to a hope that the center might still happen.
“I know there are people still working on that. We were pretty excited about having this in Macomb County. I don’t know what the reasoning was behind this,” Klinefelt said.
A news release from the Detroit Zoo did not give a reason for the shift in plans although it extolled the possibilities of collaborating with the Metroparks. In a statement, Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director Hayley Murphy said, “While we’re still planning the future of what this partnership will look like, we know it will bring amazing new investments to Macomb County communities, and we can’t wait to get started.”
More:Detroit Zoo to build $10M Great Lakes Nature Center in Macomb County
Murphy’s statements did not give additional information about investments the zoo might make. But a joint news release from the two entities -- posted on the website of the Huron-Clinton Metroparks, which also is supported by property taxes imposed across metro Detroit -- specified that “there are no current plans to construct new buildings or structures; we are looking to enhance programming in existing facilities.”
The Detroit Zoo recently upgraded its nature center on Belle Isle Park in Detroit, following a $2.5 million renovation that had the facility closed for 2½ years. It reopened in September to lavish praise. The center, located at the far east end of the island park, is especially enticing to families with small children because it’s open seven days a week, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with free admission and free parking.
“Wait ‘til you see our new mudpuppy exhibit,” said Amy Greene, director of nature centers for the Detroit Zoo.
“We show kids there’s nature all over metro Detroit,” Greene said, adding: “We’re feeling really good about this partnership with the Metroparks.” Greene had been deeply involved in planning for the zoo’s canceled Great Lakes Nature Center, and now she is leading development of the new initiative in Macomb County.
“We decided to invest our resources across the communities rather than in a single place,” Greene said, although she said she could not give details about the financial basis of the change in plans. And the initial phase of the shift in direction will be to survey Macomb County residents to learn how people “want to connect with the natural world.”
Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Zoo drops plan for big Macomb nature center
