The Zoo is quite capable of financing itself with the gate, food and trinket concessions, and the rides/rentals/parking within.
Councils, Mayors, nepotism, and assorted waste and other diversions that are 'business as usual for Detroit' is what happened to the Zoo. My God, man, Detroit has been on the dole of the State, Wayne County, the Feds, and the suburbs for 3 decades now......and you think they have been pouring money (as they pretend they have) into the Zoo? Please!
Vn, you think they can raise an extra $5 million a year in trinket concessions? Not forgetting that $5 million is just what the City spends on the Zoo's operating budget. They have also funded capital improvements over the years through special millages. Finding $5 million is only part of what they'll have to come up with to keep the Zoo in as good a shape as it is under City management.
The DIA is run by a non-profit. But big ticket items are largely supported by Taubman, Manoogian and the Ford family. The Zoo doesn't have benefactors like that yet.
Councils, Mayors, nepotism, and assorted waste and other diversions that are 'business as usual for Detroit' is what happened to the Zoo.
If there is a scandal involving Zoo mismanagement, I am unaware of it. I mean come on, this isn't a Macomb County school board we're talking about : )
My God, man, Detroit has been on the dole of the State, Wayne County, the Feds, and the suburbs for 3 decades now......and you think they have been pouring money (as they pretend they have) into the Zoo? Please!
Yes, I think the City has been pouring money into the Zoo. Because, unlike you, I have been there. It's a magnificent facility, entirely funded by private donations and the City of Detroit.
Are you watching/reading the news coverage of this issue? The public isn't upset because the Zoo is in bad shape. They're upset because it's a great facility and in danger of being closed.
Regarding your tired line that Detroit is propped by by the State, County and suburbs, that is absolutely untrue. The State doesn't do ANYTHING for Detroit that it doesn't do for any other community in Michigan. Roads and school funding and a little to help the museums and Zoo. These are the exact same services that the State provides any other city in Michigan.
There are no special programs being spent on Detroit. Even Jennifer's famous "cool cities" grants have eluded Detroit. It only got one of the the 20 awarded, to restore a shed at Eastern Market.
Wayne County is a different animal. It does provide services for Detroit, like a Health Department and tax collections. But that's its job, same as any other county.
As far as your assertion that Detroit is "on the dole" from the suburbs, it's time to take your meds.