St. Louis Zoo leader sees big things for proposed annex

ST. LOUIS -- The leader of the St. Louis Zoo says passage of a sales tax proposal in St. Louis County could lead to creation of a new zoo facility with safari drives, kayaking, ropes courses and other amenities.

County voters Nov. 6 will consider a ballot measure that would increase sales tax by one-eighth of a cent, adding about an extra 12 cents to a $100 purchase.

Zoo president and CEO Jeffrey Bonner told St. Louis Public Radio the money would help create a new zoo annex in north St. Louis County. It would be the site of a breeding facility and a publicly accessible attraction with unique and hands-on features.

If the tax passes, zoo leaders will spend at least a year planning the specific features for the annex.

Bonner, discussing the site, evokes an idyllic scene based on an experience he had at a Florida zoo.

"If you can imagine sitting in a kayak and looking up maybe two or three feet up to the (river) bank, and then looking up beyond that and seeing a 14-foot tall giraffe," Bonner said. "It was amazing."

The St. Louis Zoo Association, a private group that raises money for the zoo in Forest Park, paid $7.2 million this year for the 425-acre plot of county land.

The breeding facility could open in three years, Bonner said. The outdoor attractions would be added after that. Overall, the facility is expected to cost more than $80 million.

The main zoo is funded by property taxes in the city and St. Louis County. The proposed sales tax increase is expected to raise $20 million annually, nearly matching the more than $20 million in property taxes annually earmarked for the zoo. Admission to the zoo remains free, but a fee would be likely at the Spanish Lake annex.

Some of the new funds would go toward renovations to the main zoo, which was built in 1904.

Both the Missouri Legislature and the St. Louis County Council had to approve placing the question on the ballot. Earlier versions would have spread the sales tax among St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson counties.

Democratic state Sen. Gina Walsh of Bellefontaine Neighbors, sponsor of the Senate version, said she removed the other counties in order to get support from more legislators.

Opponents of the measure say the burden for funding the annex should be spread more widely.

Ben Uchitelle, former mayor of Clayton and former chairman of the Zoo Museum District's board of directors, said it makes more sense to raise money through an admission fee and to solicit private donations. He also objected to the fact the revenue stream has no termination date, and zoo leadership would have no oversight on how the funds are spent.

"It needs more funds," Uchitelle said of the zoo, "but there's several better ways to raise those funds."