09-24-18 Personnel and Finance - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Ferlic made a motion to send Bill No. 43-18 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Voorde seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. Bill No. 44-18-Authorize Issuance of Economic Development Bonds Series 2018 for Potawatomi Zoo Proiect Mr. Jarnecke stated, Aaron Perri, our Executive Director, sends his regards. He has some unexpected travel delay and will be at the Council Meeting this evening. A number of years ago when the private-public partnership was originally imagined,there were three(3)goals established from the onset. The first (1st) was to ensure the employees of the zoo were taken care of going forward. The second (2nd) goal was to ensure the zoo would continue expanding its impact. Third (3rd) was lessening the financial burden on the residents and taxpayers. I'm pleased to share that all three (3) of those goals have been achieved as well as so much more. So much more that after the completion of the original agreement, we are now embarking upon a fifteen (15) year agreement. We believe that it is a result of the Board of Park Commissioners' support of that and because of the good work the Zoo has done. Pre-2014 when the City operated the Zoo, we were operating at a net deficit operation of nearly $1.3 million. In 2018, we'll have an expense in contribution to the Zoological Society of around $890,000. And then going forward, we will average a contribution of around$810,000 over the next fifteen(15)years with a decline in amount each year through that agreement. Mary Dean, Executive Director of the Potawatomi Zoo with offices located at 500 S. Greenlawn Avenue, stated, I'm here to go through what the bond will fund. So, $2.2 million of the anticipated bond would fund deferred maintenance. In August 2017, we brought outside inspectors into the Zoo to complete a deferred maintenance audit. The packet I emailed you all last week was the very detailed conclusion of that audit and there are three (3) Urgency categories. Urgency one (1) are immediate needs that need to be addressed either before or during our Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) inspection. We understand not everything will be addressed before June 2019 but as long as we can show the AZA accrediting commission and team that we have funding, a plan and an audit,we will hope they will understand the timeline to the projects. We will then have to report back to them at our hearing the following September or even after that. I would like to touch on what some of those deferred maintenance needs are. As you know from the ninety-eight (98) page document I sent you,there are several. I use the term needs because there is not one (1) want in that document. These are all needs whether they are Urgency One (1), Two (2) or Three (3), at some point they are all going to have to be addressed. Urgency Two (2) will be addressed in the next two (2) to three (3) years and Urgency Three (3) is the next three (3) to five (5) years. All of this needs to be done in the next five (5) years. She continued, So,repaving guest pathways, and these(referencing a slide in a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office) are all actually Urgency One (1). So, repaving guest pathways,for those who have come out you would have seen that we have several yellow markings and that is because we are trying to make sure that we don't continue the pattern of guests tripping. A lot of it is from tree roots that have busted up the guest pathways over the years. That is very important. Next is new carnivore containment for the Leopard and the Lion. That means current carnivore containment standards require assessable mesh, which is the AZA standard. The wire we contain our leopards and lions in rusts. There are some issues that come with that. That will EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 If 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.55671 www.southbendin.gov 10