ORDINANCE NO. 210849
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Authorizing the City Manager to execute an Agreement with the Friends of the Zoo (FOTZ) for the management and operation of the Kansas City Zoological Park for a five- year term; and subject to the appropriation of funds annually by the City Council authorizing the expenditure of an annual subsidy of $2 million throughout the five-year term of the Agreement.
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WHEREAS, the City owns, and operates the Kansas City Zoological Park “Zoo” located in Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri; and
WHEREAS, regional support of the Zoo has been further established by some residents of the Missouri portion of the Kansas City metropolitan area through the establishment of the Kansas City Zoological District and sales tax authorization pursuant to Sections 184.500 through 184.512 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri; and
WHEREAS, the City and the Parks Board have determined that it is in the public interest to continue private management and operation of the Zoo through a private not-for-profit organization with relevant experience and capabilities; and
WHEREAS, FOTZ has been dedicated since its founding in 1959 to the support and improvement of the Zoo and currently operates significant facilities at the Zoo; and
WHEREAS, on December 28, 2001 the City, the Parks Board, and FOTZ entered into an Agreement, as amended and restated on April 26, 2007, on January 1, 2012, and on January 1, 2017 (collectively, as amended and restated, the “Original Agreement”) which in part provided that FOTZ would manage and operate the Zoo on behalf of the Parks Board and City; and
WHEREAS, the Zoo’s annual operating budget is approximately $29 million with the City providing an annual subsidy of approximately $2 million; and
WHEREAS, the Zoo is constructing/building an aquarium that is scheduled to open in the summer of 2023 which will feature eight major habitats supported by over 20 smaller exhibits and will begin at the warm-water shore habitat and go “deeper” through habitats that feature mangrove forests, sandy shores, tropical lagoons, coral reefs and the deep ocean; and
WHEREAS, the aquarium’s construction and design components total $75 million; and funding for this project will be $45 million from the Zoological District, $30 million in private funding ($24 million has been already been committed), FOTZ will raise an additional $10 million for an endowment through private funders and the City will provide no funding for this project; and
WHEREAS the City and FOTZ agree that it is in the best interests of the public and the Zoo that the City continue to contract with FOTZ for the management and operation of the Zoo and its associated programs and activities and wish to continue that relationship through this Agreement; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That the Council supports the continued management and operation of the Kansas City Zoological Park by the Friends of the Zoo for a period of five additional years.
Section 2. That the City Manager will annually submit a budget to Council for FY22-23 through FY26-27 that appropriates $2 million dollars for FOTZ for an operating and facility maintenance subsidy.
Section 3. That the Council will annually make the final decision on the City Manager’s proposed budget for FOTZ but hereby expresses its intent, subject to the availability and appropriation of funds, to provide an annual operating and routine maintenance subsidy to FOTZ in the following amounts:
FY 2022-23 $2,000,000
FY 2023-24 $2,000,000
FY 2024-25 $2,000,000
FY 2025-26 $2,000,000
FY 2026-27 $2,000,000
Section 4. That the City Manager is authorized to execute this Agreement on behalf of the City with the Friends of the Zoo (FOTZ) for the management and operation of the Kansas City Zoological Park for a five- year term. A copy of the Agreement once signed by FOTZ and the City Manager will be on file with the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
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Approved as to form and legality:
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Lana K. Torczon
Assistant City Attorney