Public asked for input on future of Fejervary
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By Tory Brecht | Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
The wolves at the Fejervary Children’s Zoo sit close to the fence. (Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo
What to do with an aging — and money-challenged — zoo will be the topic of a public meeting Thursday in Davenport.
The future of Fejervary Children’s Zoo was a political football during spring budget sessions. Mayor Bill Gluba has called for the zoo to be closed, some aldermen want it scaled back without “exotic” animals and others would like to see a full-time zookeeper hired in an effort to bring it back to its past splendor.
Having failed to reach a consensus, the City Council is now turning to the public — and a Fejervary Park Task Force — to help give direction.
“It’s been all over the board,” Alderman Ian Frink, At-Large, said of aldermanic opinions. “Some want the zoo to stay in its current state, others want it scaled back to a petting zoo or environmental center and others want a completely different direction. The council, city staff and the zoological society have a genuine interest in receiving some public input on this.”
The zoo input meeting is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the parks and recreation office in the Wiese Building, 1757 12th St., near the Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre.
The zoo has been the focus of council concern since 2005, when animals began escaping, then later, dying.
In late 2006, two deer died after drinking tainted water that pooled in the zoo’s moat. The same year, a fawn was killed by an angry bison. Also late that year, a young bobcat was killed by a mountain lion.
In early 2007, an all-white deer succumbed to salmonella after drinking tainted moat water. A short time later, the second all-white fawn also died from salmonella.
Park department officials said the lack of full-time staff and limited funding contributed to the problems.
Gluba said he expects to hear passionate pleas for the zoo to remain open, but hopes aldermen will approach the decision rationally.
“I just don’t think we can afford the luxury of two zoos in the Quad-Cities — one that is first-rate and well-funded and one that is sort of an afterthought that has never been adequately funded,” he said. “I’m not sure city taxpayers are going to be interested in putting the money in that it would take to properly run it. For every $70,000 you put into it, you could hire an additional police
officer.”
At least one group of Davenport elementary school children hope aldermen will vote to keep the zoo intact. The third-graders in teacher Sandy Liagre’s class at Monroe Elementary School — a few blocks south of the zoo — wrote letters to media outlets pleading for Fejervary to remain open.
“Help us save Fejervary Zoo because there are people with no cars and people don’t want to walk across the Mississippi River to get to the Niabi Zoo because it will be too far to walk,” wrote Elaina Xana, one of the third-graders. “Help save the animals so they can have food and water.”
Gluba said he understands there are emotional connections to the zoo. But he worries that aldermen will be swayed by sentiment to temporarily fund the zoo, yet will turn their backs on it when the budget tightens again.
“Ultimately, the council will decide,” he said. “All I have is the power of logic and reason. We’re adults, and we’re the ones that have to make the tough decisions. We’ve seen the dire consequences of under-funding.”
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.
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