“Is it time for my manicure yet?” (Photos: Paul Thomas / Associated Press)
Okay, I know you are tired of hearing about the monkey crappers at the zoo. But doesn’t anyone find it ironic that our city council (four of which approved the zoo’s subsidies) are now pissing and moaning about spending money on an Events Center plan? Or that Huether bought snowgates without their approval (even though a majority of the public thinks we should experiment with them) and a couple of disgruntled (lazy ass) city employees think we should not.
Just look at what your taxdollars have bought;
Whealy said the $3.1 million* “Rare Rhinos of Africa” exhibit that opened this summer was designed with new features to support breeding and care of rhinos. A sponge floor covering protects the rhinos’ hooves, and spacious birthing stalls and heated floors provide extra comfort.
Why stop there? Maybe we should hire the Rhinos someone to wipe their asses after they take a shit to. What’s a couple of million to a city that has a crumbling infrastructure? We really have to ask ourselves. Should we be removing snow properly from our streets with tax dollars or buying heated floors and events centers?
*(not all of this money came from SF taxpayers – some of it was raised privately or through grants)
The zoo brings in a lot of revenue to our city, and it is a great and affordable entertainment plus, learning option for local families. Just because it’s not your cup of tea doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy.
“The zoo brings in a lot of revenue to our city”
Then why isn’t it self-sufficient? My argument all along is simple, if something is ‘Needed’ in our community it should make money or at least break even.
I’m mostly with Hoss on this one, though it would be nice to see the GPZ be more self sufficient.
Have you been to the zoo lately, DL? Maybe you should get off your lazy bitch ass and go see the improvements to the facilities and see where your tax dollars are being ‘wasted’. My treat.
Lets clarify. This isn’t about zoo subsidies. This is about priorities. What is the city’s roll towards taxpayers? Services. The zoo is a service, an important one. But should it be #1?
l3wis: My argument all along is simple, if something is ‘Needed’ in our community it should make money or at least break even.
Government should not be in the business of making money, so if something “makes money” it should invest those funds in itself for improvements etc and/or lower costs to use that facility (lower ticket prices etc). That said, there has never been a single city park that makes money or even remotely breaks even, but I doubt you would suggest they aren’t needed would you?
The Zoo if a difficult animal (pardon the pun) because although it may not take in enough in ticket receipts and food or gift shop sales to fully fund its operation for the year, there is an added benefit that comes into play as people from outside the area come to Sioux Falls for the Zoo and spend additional funds at the mall, for gas, for hotel rooms, for meals, and for whatever else they want or need during their trip here.
It can also be argued the Zoo itself improves the community and adds culture to the city, which attracts more people and businesses to this city. I’m not sure you can really put a number on the secondary impact to having such a beast (again pardon the pun) operating, but if the city has to shove a little money towards the Zoo every year I could easily argue it is a good investment and earns us dividends each and ever year.
Now if we had a Zoo already and the city was talking about spending $100M to build a new bigger Zoo even though the existing Zoo is never at capacity, then I think we would have an easy argument against it.
By the way, role != roll and to != too.
Priorities?
I told you about a 70% REBATE you could get if you had MidAmerican Energy do an audit on your home. If they recommended you add more insulation you can get a check for 70% of the cost. Not only is this a great deal, you would make your home more energy efficient and save money and energy in the long run. It cost me $902. to add 9 inches of insulation to my attic and within 2 weeks MidAmerican sent me a check for $631.40.
Have you called MidAmerican? Or are your priorities drinking (NEEDED) vodka and complaining about stuff you feel is unnecessary?
Hos is correct. The Zoo is a benefit and nicer than most comparable Cities. One of the things Omaha is known for is Doorly and people do plan trips around it.
We aren’t there yet, but we should continue to go that way as long as our City keeps growing. Rent someone’s kids for a weekend and take AG up on his offer, it would do you a world of good. Afterwards, you can meet me for a Vodka martini or 10 and we’ll see how the experiment worked.
Costner:
“Now if we had a Zoo already and the city was talking about spending $100M to build a new bigger Zoo even though the existing Zoo is never at capacity, then I think we would have an easy argument against it”
The Zoo isn’t a single building that hosts events, it’s a complex more like a campus. It isn’t the same size as it was in 1961, as it’s easier to add as you grow with the Zoo, at least until you run out of land.
The Arena on the other hand, is ready to be replaced. We tried to add on and that has proven to be a failure. Doubling down on what isn’t working is beyond moronic.
Something you might not know is if a family purchases an annual memebership to the sf zoo ($72) it also works at most zoos in the US, including the Omaha Zoo and the Como Park St Paul zoo
The Arena on the other hand, is ready to be replaced. We tried to add on and that has proven to be a failure. Doubling down on what isn’t working is beyond moronic.
When we start selling out seats to events held at the Arena maybe I’ll give this argument some consideration, but when we still have a few thousand seats wide open at even the most popular events such as Summit League games… I’m not buying the “we need bigger” argument.
Hos, the family passes get you in free to SOME zoos, but at the big ones it usually only gets you a discount. Which is still pretty good.
What does insulation rebates and vodka martini’s have to do with this? Nothing. You say I am nutty sometimes but really say some outrageous things. And how does the Zoo benefit the community as a whole? Proper snow removal benefits everyone in our community. The Zoo benefits people with kids. The EC benefits people who can afford to take in a show there. Why should I have to pay for that?
Them rhinos could of got the same at the Alpha Center.
And how does the Zoo benefit the community as a whole?
As mentioned previously, it attracts people from outside of Sioux Falls who then spend a great deal of money in the community. It can also improve the city culture which can (and does) attract people and businesses to our city.
Trust me, if we didn’t have a Zoo and didn’t have parks, and didn’t have museums, and didn’t have concert halls, and didn’t have an Arena, and didn’t have any other city funded “quality of life” facilities… the number of people who would want to live and work in Sioux Falls would drop significantly.
There are benefits even to those who don’t wish to use all of these facilities. They are harder to detect and aren’t as blatantly obvious, but they do exist.
The Zoo benefits people with kids.
Are you suggesting nobody goes to the Zoo unless it is due to them being parents and/or entertaining their kids? If so, you really need to get out more. Perhaps you should actually visit the Zoo on an average weekday and see how many people are there without children.
Prior to me becoming a parent, I was probably at our Zoo at least a dozen times over the past decade. I’ve also been to the Omaha Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, Watertown Zoo, and a few others I can’t seem to recall at the moment…. none of which involved me taking kids with me.
You may not appreciate a Zoo and you might prefer to attend an installation at the Washington Pavilion… but some people do actually like wildlife and Zoos more than paintings and artwork. That is just life – we all have different interests.
http://alexandluke.com/youtube/monday-evening-with-alex-and-luke-episode-24
Look what they say about the other “waste of money” complaint you have.
… and Thanks Costner
When did I say SW was a waste of money? I have just suggested that they be open about how much the city gives to it. If they cannot be they should make it private.
And BTW, notice they didn’t mention the zoo in SF or Minervas for that matter.
Hosenpheffer: Any membership at any zoo in the world works at the Como Park Zoo – it’s a free zoo.