It has been nearly a year since consultants presented BREC with a long-awaited study that recommended relocating the Baton Rouge Zoo from its current home in north Baton Rouge to a new location in the southern part of the parish—either at BREC’s Airline Highway Park or along the Nicholson Corridor.
But 11 months after the controversial idea was floated, BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight says the agency isn’t “anywhere close” to making a decision.
“We’re far away from analyzing how all this should work,” she says. “We’re just in the process of beginning to review all of what we might be able to do. We don’t even have a concept plan yet, and then we’ve got to talk to people and see if this is something the community would like to see.”
The possible relocation of the zoo sparked controversy when it was presented last year, particularly among some north Baton Rouge political leaders, who say it would adversely affect the area’s economy.
The plan is also costly, with an estimated price tag of some $110 million. McKnight says whether the zoo stays in its current location or moves south the cost will be roughly the same. If it stays in north Baton Rouge, the facility needs to be completely redeveloped, she says.
But it’s not at all clear Baton Rouge taxpayers will be willing to pony up additional millages for a new zoo, especially given other capital improvements McKnight says parish residents are clamoring for.
“We’re still where we were a year ago,” she says. “We’re not any closer to a decision. I need $110 million and until I can figure out how that is going to work I don’t know what we’re going to do with the zoo.”
In last November’s election, voters renewed a 3.96-mi property tax that generates about $15.4 million and funds 50% of BREC’s operations and maintenance. That millage is separate from two other dedicated millages, one that funds the other half of the agency’s operating budget and another that funds capital projects.
While it’s a lot of dedicated money at a time when taxpayers are increasingly wary of tax increases, McKnight says BREC will need more money if it is to address the zoo issue and take care of other capital needs.
“Besides the zoo, we also know that we need additional dollars to build trails that people are asking us for,” she says. “We also know we need additional dollars to dredge our portion of the City Park lakes. We also know in order to build a new sports academy we need a new millage. People are asking us to do different things and they are great but we do know we need some type of funding source.”
—Stephanie Riegel
