Council attaches strings to zoo bond

The Salt Lake County Council approved — and possibly killed — a bond proposal all in the same vote Tuesday.

The council voted to put a $65 million bond proposal on the ballot in November to fund new exhibits at Hogle Zoo. But that vote came with one giant catch that could doom the project.

If voters approve the bond, the zoo will never see a penny of that $65 million until zoo officials can raise $20 million in private funds.

Even worse, the zoo only has two years to come up with the cash.

"C'mon, that's a hurdle you can't cross," said Councilman Jim Bradley, who called the bond conditions "onerous."

The task is so burdensome that the zoo is considering asking the council to not put the bond question on the ballot at all.

"We've been asked to meet a standard that is, perhaps, unprecedented," Hogle Zoo director Craig Dinsmore said.

The zoo had planned on raising $20 million all along, but said it would take 10 years to reach its goal. The private-capital campaign has already raked in $7.3 million since November 2006.

But if it took that long to raise $7.3 million, the other $13 million likely will be unattainable in two years, considering the time restrictions and sinking economy, Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch said.

The conditional bond proposal was approved on a party-line vote, with the Republicans on the prevailing side.

Hatch said the Republicans accomplished what they had always planned — "to kill this project."

"That was a poison pill to kill this," Hatch barked at Republican Councilman Marv Hendrickson minutes after Hendrickson flipped his vote and placed the conditions on the bond question.

Hendrickson had previously told the Deseret News and other media outlets he would vote to put the bond on the ballot, but didn't indicate anything about forcing the zoo to come up with $20 million upfront.

Councilman Mark Crockett said he didn't believe Tuesday's vote will kill the zoo's hope of new exhibits. He said he was under the impression zoo officials believed they could easily raise $20 million.

"Today was the first time I've heard them backpedal away from that," Crockett said. He said the zoo's project is worthy of public funding, just not now.