PCF - Top 10 Reasons to Love the Zoo Expansion

In today's PJ Star Forum (10 June 2006), citizens aka taxpayers can read that the Peoria Civic Federation (PCF) loves the zoo.

It would be ever so sweet if the PCF members actually talked with the taxpayers who live in the older neighborhoods to find out what the taxpayer on the street thinks of these 'new fangled' ideas to make Peoria's older neighborhoods great.

Please don't count me among the turnips who just fell of the truck . . . exactly what OBJECTIVE data would support the following PCF's Top 10 'Pie in the Sky' claims regarding the proposed zoo expansion:

1. enhancing our community's quality of life;
2. will provide better educational programming;
3. serve as a source of collaboration with local, state, federal and international conservation efforts;
4. will offer amazing recreational opportunities for all families;
5. will help strengthen our economy;
6. will attract and retain employees;
7. will serve as a tourist attraction;
8. will provide an exciting venue for corporate events and convention activities;
9. can even offer stabilization to the surrounding neighborhoods, serving as an important anchor for the community;
10. ... the second stage of expansion, including an iconic grand entrance and welcoming area, can be built and opened along with Africa! Reaching this goal of $6 million will require the support of our entire regional community.

Taxpayer on the Street Response:

1. (a) Ask the East Bluff Residents if they want the zoo expansion (guess what the answer is ---- NO!) and (b) Ask any neighborhood leader what will enhance our community's quality of life ... think reduction in crime, noise, litter, increase in responsible social behavior, well maintained properties .... ---- zoo expansion won't even make the top fifty list;
2. Remains to be seen;
3. Think Wildlife Prairie Park. Think Bill Rutherford. Bill tried for years to coordinate and collaborate on a joint venture to relocate the zoo to Wildlife (and then to build a hotel as an tourist, economy boosting, end destination attraction) 'but for' the Peoria Park District ...) and yes, Wildlife to "serve as a source of collaboration with local, state, federal and international conservation efforts" would be perfect;
4. Walking in the park, flying a kite, walking your dog, playing baseball, family picnics et al --- those are amazing recreational opportunities for all families and please remember that the St. Louis Zoo is free!;
5. How??? New construction jobs??? part time zoo jobs with no benefits???
6. The Glen Oak Zoo ala Africa! is going to attract and retain employees???? Perhaps a St. Louis, or Brookfield or a full scale zoo .... perhaps ..... but the Glen Oak Zoo??? which already loses $400,000 plus per year and now the expansion is already costing the taxpayers more --- the taxpayers are paying the interest on the Peoria Zoological Society's $10 million loan for which the interest rate is not to exceed 3.5% for a period of ten (10) years (during which time certain pledges are exempt from counting toward the loan principal) aka $350,000 per year in interest. (Please remember that the taxpayers have not been told the truth again by the Peoria Park Board, as no zoo construction was to have started until 90% of the money was raised ($20 million is 62.5% of $32 million);
7. Remains to be seen, the size of the current Glen Oak Zoo is 8% and 24% if expanded compared to the FREE St. Louis Zoo;
8. Perhaps ---- but not if you have to walk through the older section of the zoo which on a hot and humid day is a world class olfactory event;
9. Exactly how does an expanded zoo offer stabilization to the surrounding neighborhoods, serving as an important anchor for the community??? --- would that be letting the animals run in the streets to scare the criminals, or locking the criminals up with the animals, or having more trafffic on an already heavily used street, or having more traffic accidents which have in the past prevented emergency services to be provided within the park to injured park goers, or would that be that the current zoo expansion design does not provide for fire services deep within the park or just how would the zoo stabilize the East Bluff??? And actually how does a zoo act as an anchor for our community????;
10. Second stage of expansion (according to ZC-06-35B this is actually all part of the first expansion) but now that you mention it .... it does bring to mind that with the Special Use Application to rezone the entire park as a zoo (being site plan specific for each new expansion) then our East Bluff Neighbors have years, even decades and several generations in the future to be oohed and aahed by the future expansion plans to further destabilize their neighborhood.

Expand the zoo if you want --- just don't expand at Glen Oak Park. This idea is like putting a gorilla in a poodle's cage. Again, Think Wildlife.

Donors and PZS members, please ask yourselves these questions???

1. As a surrounding property owner, would you want to live next to a facility that has to meet the Industrial performance standards of the zoning ordinance for lighting, sounds, and smells?
2. As a surrounding property owner, would you be concerned about the proposed increased traffic from not 100,000 but a projected 160,000 zoo patrons combined with other specialized events and the untallied additional traffic from the Children's museum, along Prospect Avenue and Gift Avenue (secondary entrance to the zoo)?
3. Would you be concerned that Fire Department apparatus access would be maintained where possible?
4. Would you be concerned that where Fire Department apparatus access is not possible, 'sprinkle buildings where water is not adequate' is the standard that will be applied?
5. Would you be concerned that the outer and inner loops of the park will be reconfigured so that the public access will be lost and significantly decreased?
6. Would you be concerned that there are documents which show that emergency vehicles were blocked from providing emergency service because of major traffic congestion problems and a serious traffic accident on Sunday, March 28, 1998? (and perhaps there are other incidents)?

The public's safety, quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood due to traffic and congestion. lighting, sounds, smells and so on ... will be dramatically and negatively impacted. As in all real estate --- location, location, location, is the key and this proposed location is the wrong location.

For these reasons the Peoria City Council should deny the requested special use.

How about all stakeholders working together to build a new zoo at Wildlife?