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REGULAR MEETING September 24, 2018
<br /> John Anella, 124 South Jacob Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I would love to talk about the bond
<br /> structure but I will make the case for why this is a good investment for the City of South Bend. I
<br /> am speaking tonight about your continued investment in the Potawatomi Zoo. I am speaking as a
<br /> neighbor and as a long-time Potawatomi Zoo Board. I live a mile from the Zoo and this morning,
<br /> like many mornings,I woke up to the roars of the lions. I can't imagine there are many place where
<br /> you can wake up or go to sleep with an experience like that. They are roaring from an enclosure
<br /> that is badly in need of repairs and upgrades.Not only are those to ensure the health of our big cats
<br /> but to also ensure the renewal of our AZA accreditation in 2019.There are many reasons to support
<br /> the Zoo. Time does not allow me to mention them all so I will mention one (1) that is very
<br /> important to me. A few years back we entered into the public-private partnership with the City. I
<br /> can attest to its success. The partnership has resulted in great improvements to the quality of the
<br /> zoo for the visitors, employees, animals and it has done so while saving the City money. A few
<br /> years ago we conducted a water usage audit and discovered the Zoo was one (1) of the largest
<br /> users of water in the City. In 2015, the Zoo used 54 million gallons of water and by 2016 we had
<br /> cut that to 18 million gallons. That is a reduction of two thirds (2/3). That is 36 million gallons of
<br /> water, annually, that was needlessly being dumped into the sewer system and being treated by the
<br /> taxpayers and it didn't need to be. That saved the City hundreds of thousands of dollars and it also
<br /> lessened the strain on our sewer system.As a resident of the Sunnymede Area,we know that sewer
<br /> system can be over taxed at times. With nearly 250,000 visitors a year, it rivals Coveleski Stadium
<br /> as one (1) of the top attractions for families in the area while also educating thousands of school
<br /> children each year. This example of water conservation demonstrates the Zoo not only promotes
<br /> conservation and protection of animals and their habitats globally, but also demonstrates its
<br /> commitment to protecting and conserving the environment right here in our backyard. This is just
<br /> one (1) example of why it deserves your support. I'll leave you with this. I'm not lion when I say
<br /> you should support and visit the Potawatomi Zoo. You will be otterly amazed by how turtlely
<br /> awesome it is.
<br /> Mark Neal, 108 North Main Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I am the President of the Park
<br /> Commissioners Board. For the record, the private-public partnership entered into five (5) years
<br /> ago had the goal of creating a better asset at a lower cost without any impact on the then-City
<br /> employees that worked at the Zoo. That was the commitment set forth by the mayor. The
<br /> Zoological Society, very willingly, embraced that and I think they have more than honored that
<br /> commitment. They have record attendance and record fundraising. They first(1St) addressed us to
<br /> renew the agreement for five (5) more years. We then had the conversation about what all the
<br /> needs were and the deferred maintenance needs are significant. You go to the zoo and you can see
<br /> them. Consequently, the discussion then became if we could figure out a way to provide more
<br /> money sooner with less money over the long-term, what that would look like. That is when the
<br /> fifteen (15) year agreement came into play. We realized we could do a lot more now to make this
<br /> asset a higher quality asset that should allow us to continue to attract more people, raise more
<br /> private funds, have a better Zoo, a better quality of life asset all at a lower cost to the community.
<br /> I think that has been demonstrated. I will personally take a mea culpa, and I apologize to Council.
<br /> As the Park's Board, we did not come to you to say here is what we are looking to do to figure this
<br /> out. It was something we looked at as a normal course of business but fifteen(15) and twenty(20)
<br /> years is a long time. It was a commitment made that stemmed from a great partnership, we have
<br /> all benefitted from that partnership and,therefore,we should continue it.Regarding the bond,there
<br /> was a lot of discussion about the term. I would ask we do that as soon as we possibly can because
<br /> we need to get the deferred maintenance going before June 2019. I would appreciate your support
<br /> and thank you all,very much.
<br /> Sue Kesim,4022 Kennedy Drive, South Bend,IN, stated,I am here as a citizen advocate so I have
<br /> multiple comments from people. Sharon Banicki could not be here, and you all know her. She just
<br /> had three words for you,the Council. Those three words were oh hell no. So,that was from Sharon.
<br /> The animal advocates, I'm on a lot of animal groups, they want the Zoo closed. They don't want
<br /> it supported at all. Some members of the public thought that the ground breaking before the
<br /> approval of the funding showed that the Council is just a rubber stamp to the Administration and
<br /> that the citizens have no voice. Others thought the parks have millions of debt and if they want this
<br /> funded, they should use some of those funds. The citizens are tired of funding the parks and they
<br /> want you to fund things like roads, water, sewers, address crime and lead issues. They feel your
<br /> priorities are not straight. The total cost for twenty(20)years at six percent(6%)is too much. That
<br /> is directly from me. I think if you give them that leeway, they will take it. I think it is up to the
<br /> Council to say no, it is ten (10) years at five percent (5%) or less. We have this whole debt
<br /> discussion, I think Council needs to reign some things in and exert some control on that. Anyway,
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