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Politics and higher taxes are playing into plans for improvements at Hogle Zoo and Tracy Aviary.
The Salt Lake County Council decided voters can make their own decision on a tax increase. But if they want it, any tax money for the projects would have strings attached.
People want a better zoo for their children and for the animals that live there. They're even willing to pay higher property taxes for it. But this week, the Salt Lake County Council made sure that it won't be that simple.
The Hogle Zoo is vastly different than it was even a few years ago. Improvements came with millions of dollars from a city bond. The countywide ZAP tax, along with operating money from the state, keeps the zoo alive.
In spite of this investment, more needs to be done, and Hogle Zoo Executive Director Craig Dinsmore thinks Salt Lake County taxpayers will pay for it. "We're very aware that the taxpayers are facing challenges. We think it's all the more reason that you put your money into things that you can use close to home."
The zoo is asking for a voter-approved, $65 million bond for more improvements at the park and for animal habitat. But in a political twist, the Salt Lake County Council decided to let the issue go before voters. But the zoo has to separately raise $20 million within two years before it gets any of the bond money.
On the council, Republicans voted yes, and Democrats voted no.
Democrat Joe Hatch said, "What the Republicans voted for yesterday is not a bond that's worth anything. It has a poison pill in it, it's phony. And the reason they voted for it, the way they did is, they don't want the bond on the ballot."
The ‘private money before the public bonds' idea is not new in this area. Salt Lake City's yet-to-be-built soccer fields, as well as the Leonardo Center, are now struggling with higher costs, a byproduct even without a time deadline. Dinsmore says, "That's a really short time to raise that kind of money. It's a formidable challenge."
Separately, voters will consider a $19 million bond for Tracy Aviary this fall. The aging facility is in more dire need of updating, yet still has to raise money in order to get the full bond amount.
Times are tight for people, and the zoo and aviary bonds might be a tough sell this year, even though the impact together would be about a $3-a-year property tax increase.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com