Fixing the KC Zoo (ongoing)

[mean]

I wouldn't try it, at least not until years later, if you want it to pass.

[KCMax]

Legal snag could sink tax proposal for KC Zoo

A state law allows the creation of a zoo taxing district if voters approve in Jackson, Clay, Platte or Cass counties. It would have to pass in Jackson, at least, before the district could exist in the other counties....

But language being proposed says a zoo district could only take effect in Jackson County if it were approved in at least one other county. That would not mirror the statute.

?Our position is that would probably throw the whole thing into legal question,? said Chuck Caisley, head of a Friends of the Zoo committee working for the election. Caisley said Wednesday that the organization has lawyers seeking to clarify the matter"

[KCMax]

Zoo tax goes on November ballot in Jackson County

Jackson County officials agreed to drop an earlier condition in their ordinance that would have required the zoo tax to pass in at least one other county before it could take effect in Jackson.

[kansas]

We went to the zoo in June and for two JoCo residents and two kids it felt very expensive and the fees for everything frankly added up to a lot.  Deanna Rose is more our speed.

[GRID]

We went to the zoo in June and for two JoCo residents and two kids it felt very expensive and the fees for everything frankly added up to a lot.  Deanna Rose is more our speed.

Along with the Tbones and the Ag Hall of Fame? .  Sorry, had to do it.

[kansas]

Along with the Tbones and the Ag Hall of Fame? .  Sorry, had to do it.

Yeah, pretty much

[GRID]

Will Jackson County residents get preferential treatment or are they bending over again for the suburban counties?

Either way, the KC zoo is already a great zoo IMO.  It's not a top ten, but it's a good zoo.  A dedicated funding source like this could send it straight to a top zoo in the midwest.  Hope it passes and I hope JaCo residents get discounted or free tickets for funding it.

[pstokely]

We went to the zoo in June and for two JoCo residents and two kids it felt very expensive and the fees for everything frankly added up to a lot.  Deanna Rose is more our speed.

but can't JoCo residents afford it?

[KCMax]

The zoo is $11.50. $8.50 for kids. Seems reasonable to me. What do movie tickets cost these days? Sporting events? Even that crummy Wonderscope in Lenexa that's just a hollowed out elementary school charges you $7.

Deanna Rose is a treat and is free, but its silly to think everything can be free. Maybe if we had a regional tax the KC Zoo could be.

[aknowledgeableperson]

So someone prefers Deanna Rose.  So what?  And they might prefer the T-Bones.  Again, so what?

Given the finances in my daughter's family at the time their visits to DR farm were one of the things they could do as a family.  What was more important was that the kids enjoyed the visits.

[chingon]

Will Jackson County residents get preferential treatment or are they bending over again for the suburban counties?

I think residents of any county it passes in get 1/2 price admission and more programs in schools.

[KC-wildcat]

Will Jackson County residents get preferential treatment or are they bending over again for the suburban counties?

"zoo has put in writing specific benefits for residents of counties that pass the tax, such as half-price admission and better animal education programs in schools."

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/16/30 ... z1VIk9g7b6

[lock+load]

"zoo has put in writing specific benefits for residents of counties that pass the tax, such as half-price admission and better animal education programs in schools."

Is that going to be like the discounted tickets Jackson County residents get to Royals games that no one else wants to go to?  If it isn't half price all day every day, then no thanks.

[IraGlacialis]

A dedicated funding source like this could send it straight to a top zoo in the midwest.  Hope it passes and I hope JaCo residents get discounted or free tickets for funding it.

A discount for supporting counties sounds fair, but before it becomes actually free, I would say to tack that $11 onto the parking. That would also make lowering the price even easier in general. If the St. Louis Zoo can not only be an awesome zoo, a legitimate research institution with significant conservation programs (seriously, compare the two zoos in that regard), yet still be free (for anybody, not just STL residents) if you are willing to walk, the KC Zoo should be able to as well. at the very least, Mizzou, MDC, and possibly even K-State should chip in to jump-start the research program.
Also, actually have sidewalks Connecting the zoo to the rest of Swope Park, not just as a network in and around the parking lot. People who want to walk there shouldn't have to choose between slogging through the grass or walking in the middle of the street.

[KCMax]

Zoo tax vote will only be on Jackson, Clay county ballots.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/29/31 ... ur-on.html

[KCMax]

Yael: Ignore political whining about KC Zoo tax election

Rightfully so, zoo officials are asking courts to put the tax on the ballots in Cass and Platte counties as well.

Both county commissions used disingenuous reasons for dismissing the zoo issue. Consider the Platte County political whining about the cost of a special election.

Hmmm, let’s look back to 2009, when Plunkett and Dusenberry put a sales tax renewal for county parks on the ballot.

Guess what? It was a special election that cost taxpayers $60,000.

[KCMax]

Zoo kicks off sales tax campaign

“That gave us the confidence” to forge ahead with a Nov. 8 ballot issue in Jackson and Clay counties to create a regional zoo district supported by a 1/8-cent sales tax, Caisley said at a kickoff event in front of the zoo.

In return, the zoo promises penguins as well as perks for participating counties. Officials say passage would mean a $70 million to $100 million infusion for the zoo over the next decade, creating as many as 1,200 construction jobs and more than 100 new permanent jobs.

The tax would cost a shopper in Jackson or Clay county one cent per $8 of purchases. It would generate about $14.2 million a year, more than doubling the zoo’s current operating budget of $11.6 million. That would still not be as much as the St. Louis Zoo but would surpass the Oklahoma City Zoo and approach the budget of the Denver Zoo.

Saw some campaign signs on Ward Parkway last night. "Save OUR Zoos" or something like that with a cute cartoon penguin on the sign. If you vote against this, you want to kill cute penguins.

[Major KC Fan]

Obviously the Neanderthals that approve elections in Platte and Cass counties want to kill the penguins!! Perhaps they'd like to open their own zoos featuring the most common birds in their counties--pigeons!

Petitions were signed and validated that mandate elections in both counties--let the people decide.

[DaveKCMO]

i suspect they were hoping to have a regional transit vote instead of a zoo vote, especially in jackson county's case. they may also actually hate penguins.

[Highlander]

i suspect they were hoping to have a regional transit vote instead of a zoo vote, especially in jackson county's case. they may also actually hate penguins.

Did it have to be either - or?

And, nobody hates penguins (excepting, perhaps, Batman).