Vote Gage Park shares information about tax incentive with Shawnee County voters

Gage Park officials gathered Tuesday to launch their "Vote Gage Park" plan.

In mid-August, Shawnee County Commissioners Aaron Mays, Bill Riphahn and Kevin Cook voted 3-0 to schedule a ballot question for Shawnee County residents to vote whether to raise a countywide 0.2% sales tax to benefit Gage Park, the Topeka Zoo and the Kansas Children's Discovery Center.

Shawnee County residents will vote the ballot question Nov. 8.

"Every public park receives some sort of public funding, the funding that comes to this park has really been the same structure for the last 115 years," said Brendan Wiley, Topeka Zoo director.

More:Shawnee County residents to vote on whether to raise sales taxes for Gage Park, zoo, Discovery Center

What will a vote yes or vote no do for Gage Park?

A "Yes" vote will increase the sales tax 0.2% and functions would no longer need to be funded through property taxes, reducing the parks by more than $2 million each year. A "No" vote will keep improvements for the operation of the zoo to remain funded through property taxes.

"For Gage Park in general, what the vote yes Gage Park plan will do — it will allow us to preserve some of those amenities that we all grew up loving here at Gage Park," said Tim Laurent, Shawnee County Parks & Recreation director, citing the mini train, carousel, Reinisch Rose garden, Blaisdell Aquatic Center and Hills Bark Park. "It will allow us to improve and expand our playground, our trail system. Really, the infrastructure of the park."

Revenue generated by the levying 0.2% sales tax would be directed to usage of the Topeka Zoo operations, enhanced exhibits for new animals and education programs. Kansas Children's Discovery Center would use the revenue for new traveling exhibits and educational programs. Gage Park will use the revenue for overall infrastructure.

If the ballot question passes Nov. 8, the sales tax funding will begin Jan. 1, 2023. If the ballot question is denied, it can't be submitted for two more years.

Master plan for the Topeka Zoo to bring more exhibits

The master plan for the the Topeka Zoo first developed in 2012 and has been updated three times since.

Recent exhibits have included Camp Cowabunga and the Kay McFarland Japanese Garden. In progress is Giraffe and Friends. Wiley said that as the giraffe project nears completion, the question is, "What's next?"

Currently, the area where zoo's two elephants are located is tentatively planned to be developed into a rhinoceros exhibit. Wiley said zoo officials aren't sure about a timeline.

Sumatran tigers will be worked with on a "much larger scale." The Topeka Zoo breeds Sumatran tigers and hopes to work with tigers, by doing more in at least five new spaces.

"Our dream is that this includes polar bears in the American shores," Wiley said. "Polar bears were a well-known species in this zoo's past and this would bring polar bears back." American shores is a area of the zoo's master plan for North and South America shoreline animals.

Wiley said that plan is "probably 12 to 14 years down the road." There are protocols the zoo would need to implement by working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work with rehabilitated and orphaned polar bears currently protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

More:Shawnee County moves toward issuing $20M in bonds for corrections, parks work

Where can you learn more about the "Vote Gage Park plan?

Three town halls will share information with Shawnee County voters about the Vote Gage Park proposal.

The first Town Hall will be at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Topeka Zoo on Oct. 13. The second will be from 10-11 a.m. at the Kansas Children's Discovery Center on Oct. 18, and the third will be from noon to 1 p.m. at the Topeka Zoo on Oct. 20.

"Some of the improvements that people will see will be almost right off the bat," Wiley said. "Within six months, we'll be able to expand current programming and hopefully have a stronger community outreach for a lot of programming in the park."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Residents of Shawnee County will be able to vote for sales tax to benefit Gage Park