Sedgwick County commissioners to vote next week on elephant barn for zoo

Two Sedgwick County commissioners peppered Manager William Buchanan with questions Wednesday about a request for the county to foot $5.3 million to build an elephant barn at the Sedgwick County Zoo, saying they thought there were less expensive alternatives.

Commissioner Richard Ranzau questioned the zoo’s desire to have a breeding elephant herd, saying that breeding elephants is not a requirement of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. That group is requiring that zoos it accredits, such as Wichita’s zoo, that have two female elephants have space for at least one more, either female or male, by September 2016. Ranzau also said the Sedgwick County Zoological Society’s difficult raising money for the barn itself shows that there is not support in the community for the project. He said the county should not force residents to support the project by using taxpayer dollars for it.

Breeding is one of the zoo’s missions, Commissioner Tim Norton countered, saying that breeding programs help ensure future generations can see animals such as elephants.

Zoo director Mark Reed said that African elephants are dying at the rate of 96 a day because of poaching and loss of habitat.

Commissioner Karl Peterjohn suggested a less expensive elephant barn would allow the zoo to keep its two elephants, Stephanie and Cinda, and add enough to meet the AZA’s requirements.

The zoo hopes to bring in four more elephants with the hopes of eventually having a breeding herd. The total cost of the project is estimated at $10.5 million, scaled down by $1 million since last year. The barn as currently designed would hold up to nine elephants.

The Eagle and Kansas.com first reported last week the Sedgwick County Zoological Society’s request for help building the barn.

The county would dip into its reserve to pay for the elephant barn and would get naming rights to the barn. Buchanan said the county has more than enough money in its reserves to help the zoo with the barn and still meet its financial guideline to keep at least 20 percent of its fund balance in reserve.

The zoo is a public-private partnership. The county typically pays for salaries and maintenance of zoo buildings. The zoological society typically pays for exhibits.

The new elephant exhibit would be the zoo’s most costly undertaking. Its biggest project until now was the $6.4 million Downing Gorilla Forest in 2004. The society most recently raised $3 million for the Slawson Family Tiger Trek, which opened in 2009.

If the county pays for the barn, the society has pledged to raise the rest of the money it needs for the exhibit – about $1 million – in a public campaign that would start next month. The society also would give the county naming rights to the elephant barn.

Commissioners are expected to vote week on the barn.

It appears a majority of commissioner support paying for the barn.

“Are we going to have one of the best zoos in the country?” Commission Chairman Dave Unruh asked.

Unruh serves on the society’s board of directors.

Commissioner Jim Skelton was absent Wednesday, but he said last week that he supported the society’s financial request.

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Sedgwick County commissioners to vote next week on elephant barn for zoo."