Zoo clings to hope
Community pitches in with fundraisers
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com
Portions of the surrounding Gulf Breeze and Navarre communities are coming together to save The Zoo of Northwest Florida. The Zoo is looking to raise $1 million by the end of 2007 and $3 million within a year to keep its doors open.

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News The Zoo of Northwest Florida's family of spider monkeys (from right: Desi, Daisy and Tiger) require a specialized diet including fresh fruit, vegetables and prepackaged monkey chow. Zoo officials said their diet alone costs an average of $800 to $1,000 per year.

Gulf Breeze Elementary School (GBES) student Kaitlyn Prezioso, 9, is one member of the community who's not ready to see the zoological park shut down. Prezioso is putting up $300 of stockpiled allowance money that she was saving "for a rainy day," her mother, Heather Shearer, said. Prezioso designed a bumper sticker fundraiser to help save the park. The GBES fourth grader said she wants to use her money to print, distribute and sell the stickers, which feature her design, and donate the money to The Zoo. There are also plans to set up a website, her mother said.

"I really love the animals at the zoo and if it wasn't there I'd be really sad," Prezioso said, describing her monthly trips to the facility with Shearer.

Gulf Breeze resident Patti Hutto, a member of the Miraflores Garden Club, is putting together a charity event she calls "Feast with the Beast" at The Zoo Sept. 29. The event will begin around 7 p.m. and guests can partake of an open bar, gourmet food, unlimited Safari Express Line rides, live music, and a raffle, all while perusing the park's grounds until the event wraps up around midnight. Tickets are selling for $80 per person or $150 per couple.

"I thought it was a good time to have a party and a fundraiser," Hutto said. "When people call me and ask 'What can I do to help?' I tell them to write a check [for The Zoo]."

Gulf Coast Zoological Society board member Charles A. "Chuck" Emling, who serves as president of the non profit that absorbed operations of the park in 2004, said he was very impressed by the outpouring of support from the surrounding communities.

"To say the response has been positive would be an understatement," said Emling, who also operates The Club athletic complex near Crane Cove Boulevard in Gulf Breeze.

Zoo officials said they've fielded phone calls from concerned residents offering their own fundraising ideas and efforts. Natalie Akin, The Zoo's Director of Visitor Services, said she's received calls from residents wanting to run a lemonade stand and donate their proceeds, as well as artists and art galleries also looking to donate.

To put the situation in perspective Akin shared a unique look into The Zoo's financial records for 2006 with some members of local media.

All together, Zoo officials said they received over $2.318 million in total revenue last year and spent $2.361 million. Akin said those expense numbers included hurricane repairs and mitigation efforts.

The Zoo was required to spend over $418,000 for animal care in 2006, including food, exhibit supplies, veterinary supplies, medicine and waste disposal. Zoo records show the facility spent over $18,000 on exhibit repairs and maintenance and over $53,000 on insurance last year. The Zoo's utility bills, not including telephone service, totaled over $161,000 last year.

Zoo officials say they switched payroll and human resources companies in 2006 in an effort to become more efficient. Between the two companies The Zoo spent over $1.15 million, including all employee salaries, benefits and worker's compensation.

Akin said hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 caused The Zoo to close for nearly six months within one year, which caused a loss of $914,000 in projected revenues. In the recovery process officials said The Zoo received no federal assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or any other disaster recovery organization and is still fighting for insurance help. The lack of financial support caused The Zoo to rack up nearly $2 million in debt since the storms.

For more information visit http://www.thezoonorthwestflorida. org or call 850-932- 2229.