Boy, we are living the life on the taxpayer’s dime in Sioux Falls
Oh, where to begin?
Snow monkeys from Japan soon will show their inquisitive faces in Sioux Falls.
They’ll make their new home in the Great Plains Zoo as part of a $5 million expansion to educate and entertain year-round visitors to their exhibit.
They’re famous for seeking out a warm bath.
“They like to sit in the hot springs in northern Japan,” Smith said.
Maybe they would like to come over to Detroit’s house for some margarita’s and a hot tub soak on a cold winter day?
Money for the new exhibit will come from three sources. Planners hope $1.5 million will come from the businesses in a fund drive the Chamber of Commerce has endorsed. Officials first set that target at $2.3 million but lowered the goal because of the soft economy. Another $1.5 million will come from the city capital improvements budget and $2 million from additional donations, Whealy said.
Oh, sorry, we don’t have $8,000 for a house that helps ex-cons transition into society or tax breaks for homeless shelters but we have $1.5 million for monkey hot tubs. Pathetic.
While I welcome the new exhibit, it is time we cut the purse strings at the zoo. If they can raise $3.5 million privately for the project, it is obvious they can raise the entire $5 million privately. Let’s get the CITIZEN’S house in order before we get the MONKEY’S house in order.
I welcome my tax dollars going to MONKEY’S!
Only if they bring PATRON to my hot tub party.
The ONLY place I have ever read anything that makes any sense about this monkey crapper debacle is right here on your blog. What a mess. Butt….I digress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvno3v7k7fo
Well at least if they are hot tubbin’ the chorline will kill off the butt finger.
…pity no one will be able to get to the zoo to see the monkeys because the streets are so bad.
To some degree I understand your point about cutting the purse strings, but then again how much revenue is brought to our city as a direct result of the zoo itself?
This is one of those cultural things that likely will always need a taxpayer subsidy, but considering it does attract a lot of visitors from outside of the city all of which are spending their money right here… there might be a little room for flexibility.
At least they are attempting to get the bulk of the funds from other sources… you can’t say the same for most of the groups in town including those who want a new indoor pool or those who want a new ice complex.
Even if the zoo does cost the taxpayers some money each year I’m not sure that is a bad thing. I’d rather have such options available to us and be known for offering some level of education/culture/entertainment as opposed to being known for some lame tourist attraction like the Mitchell Corn Palace or Wall Drug or the smell that permeates the air in Sioux City.
I guess I just don’t believe in subsidizing animal jails.
I would also like to point out that Wheely has done a fantastic job in turning the zoo around and has reduced the subsidy every year since taking over, that’s why I’m saying it is time to cut off the purse strings especially in this economic downturn. She has proven that they really don’t need our help. This would of course include the Parks Department (invisible) subsidy they receive to.
Maybe them monkeys will get an indoor olympic sized pool and a hockey arena.
Well we already have Roller Derby so why not the new fad sweeping the nation MONKEY HOCKEY! Now that’s ‘Quality of Life’!
Costner’s correct.
The Zoo is worthy of City funds, especially if your facility get to be known throughout the region as something worth visiting. When they added the Brockhouse exhibit it actually made it a year round attraction that many a parent/school administrator has taken advantage of. Too bad we didn’t apply that same logic to our last City Pool.
Sy, Are you a closet Democrat?