Eureka Police and Fire departments may be forced to trim their already tight budgets after the city council refused to draw a line in the sand at its last meeting.
Councilman Frank Jager said he wanted “everything on the table” when considering where to drop the ax, but Councilman Larry Glass said he plans to “fight for every penny” to remain in public safety coffers.
Mayor Virginia Bass agreed with Jager, but Councilwoman Linda Atkins didn’t buy Bass’ rambling explanation as to why.
Back in July, the council voted unanimously to safeguard public safety from budget cuts. “People really want public safety funded,” Jager said at the time. “I don’t care where the money comes from.”
Apparently times have changed.
Budget talks will continue at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
No we must fund the zoo! even if it means closing 1 of the 3 fire stations! …NOT!!!
Glass is posturing for the public.
We have too many fire stations. I have read where Public Safety takes anywhere from 29% to 50% of the budget. Of course it has to take its share of the cuts.
It is a tough choice, but Jager is one of the biggest wafflers on the council. The last time he was on the council (back in the 80′s?)he made sure to take care of his cop buddies at the expense of the Fire Dept.
The pd doesn’t need military battle gear, level 5 body armor, automatic .223 and .308 rifles.
they should be PEACE OFFICERS not a military outfit.
The FD are a bunch of paid pansies- let’s fire them all and go VOLUNTEER- why pay some lard ass over a hundred grand to wash firetrucks and drink beer?
It’s a false choice Larry has made — public safety vs. the zoo.
There are MANY other areas of the city that can absorb cuts. Rather than do a small, say a percentage, cut across the board, certain people want to take the simplistic and destructive approach of eliminating a program as some sort of personal crusade (vendetta?). It’s sick.
The zoo is an absurd vanity for a town the size of Eureka and has been for years. Don’t just ask people if they want the zoo. Ask them to approve a bond measure to support the zoo and good luck with that.
What’s the personal crusade, other than representing what the voters have repeatedly said they want. Measures D & E are the last examples.
Reading the comments in the TS it’s clear that the Arkley minions see this as an attack on their leader. huh?
If they have such wide spread support for the Zoo as Jager claims what are they so afraid of?
It’s an attempt to discredit council members in up coming elections and give Larry(gag me with a spoon) Glass some small issue to pontificate on. Won’t work Larry. The Zoo is good and you are a nut. Just took some of us a while to figure you out.
that’s democracy sorry
I hear that glass is looking at cutting the historic preservation program at the city. that would be really short sighted.
“The Zoo is good and you are a nut”
So why is the zoo “good,” and why is Larry a “nut”? Zoos are unnecessary, and whether one agrees with him or not, Councilmember Glass has arrived at a logical conclusion.
“Jager is one of the biggest wafflers on the council.”
Would you prefer an ideologue whose mind is made up on everything in advance?
Zoos are a family friendly outing. There is nowhere near enough things a family can do for fun around here.
Zoos contribute to the quality of life. Homeless campgrounds ruin the same. We can afford a temporary minimal reduction in fireman & police more than we can afford the permanent end of the zoo.
Shame on the old curmudgeons who want to suck the fun out of life.
If Arkles likes the Zoo so much, let him fund it 100 percent. The city can’t afford it. Public safety is the first priority.
Isn’t it odd that the same people who bitch about any of their taxes going to social programs want taxpayers to subsidize their “family outings.” The schizophrenic nature of people demanding what they refuse to pay for is a major cause of our budget problems today.
“Zoos contribute to the quality of life.”
Not for animals. And though I recognize that there are people who somehow take pleasure in visiting zoos, I’ve always found the squalor of animal captivity depressing.
Kids would be better off visiting a well-managed farm or ranch.
Interesting idea, Joel. My experience in taking children to the zoo is that the most popular attraction is the “farm” where kids can feed, brush, and rake up the droppings of animals rather than just look at them in a cage.
When you watch Virginia stumble and bumble (see the clip above) you begin to see Jeff’s strategy. In a 3 way debate, Virginia will be left in the dust. Watch for her handlers to try and keep Jeff out of the debates.
Larger than life size billboards in your old neighborhood are no substitute for ability. I think Jeff’s still got a shot.
BZZZT. Try again. I’ve never met the man. I simply have a family and can put 2-and-2 together. If you’ve spent one second in any economic development circle, you know the economic value of the zoo is important to Eureka, much more beyond ticket sales.
I agree with Joel. If you want to see animals, watch them in the wild, a far more satisfying experience. In other words High, take a hike.
Joel – yes….,
this is what kids do in 4-H, FFA, and other great organizations to enjoy yourself in as a child!!!!! Helps keep the local agriculture and farming heritages alive and recognized.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Don’t underestimate the zoo’s power as a symbol of civic pride, but don’t keep the zoo just because it feels good. As poverty grows and the crime rate with it, the zoo could become the safest place in town. Keep it as a safety zone. Law-abiding taxpayers, for a small fee, can lock themselves in with the animals. The zoo could be a net gainer financially and people would feel protected – at least behind bars.
If what the crackpot thinks is true, that families are now among the ranks of Arkley’s minions, then Larry’s reelection is sunk. Putting the zoo on the ballot is irrelevant. Families will blame Larry and they need only be reminded come election time.
Have you ever been robbed? Ever had your home or business burn? Know anyone who has? Ever been injured? Think about it. Thanks Larry.
So now the zoo is a job creator? Next thing is to tie in how it will actually lower taxes. Good luck on that one.
Like the cops even show up if you’ve been robbed! The more money they take from forced tax collection the less of them we see.
The number one duty of ALL “Law Enforcement” is to defend the federal reserve banks, nothing beyond that-
your house or car broken into- nobody comes
large bank that operates off the federal reserve system and forced tax collection- every single one and their wives show up at the bank.
It’s pretty easy to see who their boss is…
why pay?
“Don’t underestimate the zoo’s power as a symbol of civic pride,”
This is a valid point for those who do find a source of pride in the zoo.
“Keep it as a safety zone.”
Cowering for safety in a zoo seems like a poor substitute for public order and safety.
Just how, exactly, is the zoo of economic value to Eureka, in terms of economic development? In case you haven’t been keeping up, ticket sales aren’t paying for the zoo? Not by a long shot.
9:52 you are such an astute political prognosticator. You’re kinda like the Richard Salzman of the right. Have you ever offered your political strategizing to a campaign or do you just sit in your basement eating cheatos and posting on Heraldo?
Does Black Flag EVER make any sense? Trying to figure out WTF he is talking about isn’t worth the effort.
Entrance fees at State Parks don’t pay for maintainence. The Library entrance is free. The City of Eureka plants flowers and trees and maintains them. Try going overseas and look around. Take a walk in Paris. Take a walk in Guatamala City. It has a zoo and flowers planted everywhere. There is a different idea of what constitues a civilized society.
The cost of the zoo has been the subject of debate for years. In the seventies the plumbing under the structures had to be replaced, which meant structures had to come down and be rebuilt. Up to that point the bears (and a lion and was there a tiger?) lived on small, stinky concrete slabs behind bars, encircled by a 4′ high cyclone fence. The monkeys and birds lived in big wire-faced wooden structures. We could buy peanuts and hand them to monkeys through a metal tube stuck through the fence. At one point the zoo had a camel, and always, Bill the Chimp. Ziggy, too.
The rotten plumbing turned into a do-or-die situation for the zoo. As a result, Bill and Ziggy got new homes, the bears got an indoor/outdoor grotto, and the zoo got the redesign it needed. Other major changes have been since, but the seventies-era remodel was a real commitment, made by the city council, to the zoo.
Not long after, California voters passed Proposition 13, freezing local government’s property tax revenues. Since then the cost of running the zoo has increased and so has every other function of local government. Today there is no prospect of new revenue for local government, like there still was the last time the city renewed it’s commitment to the zoo.
What isn’t being talked about is how badly the Zoo Foundation screwed up the Eureka Zoo. The zoo was always free until the Foundation got a local millionaire to finance a bunch of unneeded and expensive-to-maintain “improvements.” Then the city had to start charging admission, nobody visits the zoo now (I haven’t been there for years) and it’s become an albatross. The Zoo Foundation should be held accountable for destroying a Eureka institution.
Sorry Oldphart. The difference in population size makes a huge difference in what we can afford. San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Diego (and Paris and Guatemala City) can afford zoos because they have more people (and more tourists) to fund them. Eureka doesn’t and can’t. Equating libraries and parks with zoos is ridiculous.
Those pesky Europeans and their socialist ideas.
Bringing back zoo memories, Greg. Remember the polar bear? Poor old shaggy bag of bones wasting away in a cage barely big enough to turn around in. And the camel, Miss Eureka, dying from being fed plastic bags. Bill and Ziggy slowly going insane from harassment and isolation. Anyone who takes civic pride from this sorry excuse for a zoo needs their heads examined.
Suggestion for FD supporter bumper sticker:
“Next time your home catches fire, call a chimp.”
Added note on the earlier zoo remodel. Most of it was provided by the Hilfikers.
Back in the days when entertainment wasn’t everywhere, the zoo was entertaining. It still is, and the design of the zoo is much more animal-friendly (as zoos go) than it was in the “good old days”.
Jane, I was on the Parks & Recreation Commission with Nancy Hilfiker (and Al Harman, another local legend). The Hilfikers were always very supportive, but I don’t remember them funding that remodel. The Hilfiker Aviary, and a lot else, yes, but public money was and is still the key to maintaining the zoo.
Sorry for the typo, Al HarTman, wherever you are. Al had Rockin’ R meats on South 101. Hartman Field, across the street from the zoo, is named after Al.
The Hilfikers built the bear grotto as well as the aviary, Greg, and while I don’t have the dollar amounts of their donations of labor and materials for the bear grotto, it was not insignificant.
Anon wrote, “It’s a false choice Larry has made — public safety vs. the zoo. There are MANY other areas of the city that can absorb cuts.”
I don’t think anyone on the city council, including Larry Glass, want to shut down the zoo. They just don’t know but that they have no other choice.
As I suggested on the T-S Topix comments, If you have an idea of where cuts can be made elsewhere to fund the zoo, by all means let the city council know. I’m sure they’d love to find a way out of this without having to close the zoo.
But yes, public funds are mandatory to maintain what our local philanthropists build for us. We just don’t have adequate funds to do it and a small zoo can’t command enough in admittance fees to pay for it.
Lots of small cities have third-rate zoos. We need to concentrate on attributes that give us an edge. Families can enjoy tourist facilities (hiking, parks, the bay etc) as much as visitors can. Why compete in things like zoos that, at best, we can only be mediocre at.
According to the latest FBI report, our city’s crime rate competes with Oakland. Yet our city’s population is much smaller, hence, our revenue is much less. The zoo in this city is a joke, no one out side this county would walk across the street to visit it.
The way it has housed animals in the past was deplorable. To think that our tiny city has been trying all these years to fund this boondoggle is nothing short of miraculous.
$700,000 a year from a city our size, is a debt we can no longer afford. All of those people who want the zoo to stay open, need to open their wallets & dig deep. The zoo needs to sharpen their pencils & stop scratching their asses & come up with a plan that does not involve the city. Enough is a enough, our backs are against the wall & something has to give. If as a city that means cuts, people’s jobs should be our last solution not this poor excuse of a zoo!
With so many problems & so little money, in the end, it will come down to want & need. As a home owner & tax payer in this city, I need safety, I don’t need a zoo!
Joel proposes we scrap the zoo (where animals are treated like family and honored with sculptures when they eventually die of natural causes) in favor of well-run farms or ranches (where animals are bred for the specific purpose of killing them before their natural life-span is over.)
A cold, deliberate decision to cut zoo funding would cause real pain. People have fond, childhood memories of the zoo and they hope that their kids might enjoy similar recollections.
I have a low opinion of zoos, and the zoo should be a first choice for cutting expenses from my point of view, but I respect supporters of the zoo, and their opinions are as important as mine or anybody else’s.
As has been pointed out many times “Living in Eureka”, our statistics are skewed. While the city limits only has around 28,000, we are the county seat & economic hub for another 22,000 or so on our immediate city limits. Cutten, Ridgewood, Pine Hill, Myrtletown, Humboldt Hill, King Salmon & Fields Landing contribute to the crime.
From what I have been told, when taking that additional population into account, our crime rate is not that high.
And “Booster”, pray tell, name some of those “lots of small towns” that have zoos anywhere in Northern California or Southern Oregon.
Our zoo is one of the things that make us unique between San Francisco to Portland.
Walt’s bumper sticker idea says quiet a bit with few words. “Next time your home catches fire, call a chimp.”
And you need to hope the chimp is close by. Response time matters. Heart attacks, dislocated gas lines from a 6.5 just passing through type of earthquake, or fire. How soon they arrive matters greatly.
Money for funding public concerns is going to get thinner and thinner before it even thinks about getting thicker. The sooner we plan how to deal with current situations the more effective are outcome will be.
No one wants to see the Zoo go away. No one wants to give up their dog or cat when they loose their job and need to move. These are in many ways heartbreaking times.
Greg notes that in the times of long ago, the City of Eureka replaced parts of the zoo that were beyond repair.
Don’t we all remember how well the Zoo managed that transition? In order to make a new home for the two bears who had lived in squalor for most of their lives, plans were made to replace the old bear enclosure.
Then the time came to start the demolition work on the old bear enclosure. The first thing the Zoo did? It killed both of the bears!
Boy, you think you have lived through some turbulent times in recent decades? They don’t hold a candle to the civil unrest that followed the killing of the bears! Most Eurekans treated it not only as a crime against helpless animals, but a betrayal of the bears’ long years of suffering in the festering cell they had been forced to call their home.
Shocked Eurekans and Humboldters from every corner of the County rose up not merely in anger but in outrage, as if not merely two bears, but two members of their own families had been summarily executed without trial. So many Eurekans were so angry, the workers who had killed the bears were reported to be in fear of retaliation. Luckily, no humans were killed as a result of this incident.
Before dismantling our Zoo, we’ed better make sure each and every one of the animals has a good home to move to. If any of the beloved Zoo animals is harmed while the Zoo if dismantled, God only knows with what righteous anger our local animal lovers might react.
But remember the specific situation of those two bears that made people so angry. They had lived for years in a terrible enclosure. The Zoo had engaged in fund-raising appeals for the public to contribute to a new bear enclosure. The public had responded generously. Then, when the dreams for the bears to finally have a decent place in which to live was only hours away from becoming a reality, word came out that the old bears had been killed – to make room for some new bears to move to our Zoo and live the good life that the old bears had so richly deserved.
No wonder people around here were so upset.
Nothing like that could probably ever happen again.
So parks, libraries, open spaces, flowers, trees and other public spaces don’t equate to a zoo? What planet are you on? They all cost too much? So we should all go live in a cave then? Have a sense of civilization. You. Plain Jane, apparently just don’t like zoos. Did you get a lemon for Valentine’s Day? Sorry, but it is there, enjoy it or don’t, but don’t deny others that privilege.
Joel’s comments at 12:54 pm surprised me in a good way. A refreshing attitude. Thanks.
It has nothing to do with what I like or don’t like. A zoo, like virtually every town knows, is not affordable without a huge population to support it. Figure out how much keeping the zoo open will cost per household and put an initiative to raise property taxes by that amount on the ballot. That’s what we do to raise money for schools, fire houses, libraries, etc. Why I’m wasting time responding to an Oldphart who thinks zoos are as important as libraries and parks is anyone’s guess.
Zoophobia
Most people never set foot in the Library. Maybe tht should close too by your logic.
And how may people really use the jail?
That is an ignorant statement. The Library is one of the most happening places in Eureka. Obviously, you don’t visit the library much. It shows.
We are the largest area of population between Medford area and Santa Rosa, and I feel it’s our responsibility to provide our low income population and well as any local children with as much cultural and educational enrichment that we can provide. I think a beautiful park (that has to maintained as well) and zoo provides for a place for all to enjoy and learn. Such a place has to be within City limits for those who don’t have the opportunity to travel, camp, or own their own animals. I know I developed a love for animals at this very zoo, as child. Zoos provide a haven and health for animals that are not able to live in the wild and an introduction to the animal world to those who cannot otherwise see it up close. I also see the negatives, but I think our zoo has made great improvements and the focus is now on more positive presentation of the animals. Hopefully we can find a way to keep this afloat. I think providing positive and beautiful experiences for citizens pays off in quality of life and lowered crime rates.
As someone who visits both the library and the zoo, I’ve got news for you. I see far more people at the library than I have seen at the zoo for many years and they are local people, not tourists. The library has more educational resources about animals than any zoo could possibly provide, not even counting videos and internet access to see animals in the wild.
Let the people decide if they want to fund the zoo. Put it on the ballot!
The Library is funded by the County, not the city. The city kicks in some money for the Eureka branch. But the Library serves the entire county, and taxpayers across the county pay for it. And that is the way it should be with the zoo, if we are going to keep it open. The financial burden should be shared by the entire county – not just the city.
The same thinking & rationale that a few people use to demand the zoo goes on the ballot, cannot then deny putting everything else on the ballot.
That includes the library, city parks and everything else that costs the city money.
Larry Glass & Plain Jane & a few old boring people don’t like the zoo? There are others of us who don’t like other things. All the schools have libraries, the internet provides us a lot of what the libraries have and only a tiny minority of the people go to the library.
You gore people’s ox, they’re going to come after your’s.
I’d love to “gore your ox” H.F. tell me where you are I’ll come right over!
Anony.Miss you should start rising money now or get the county to start footing the lions share of the bill, then we can talk. Hey maybe that kazillionare guy can take it over like he did the Zoo board and foundation.
Frank Jaeger”s natural constituency were the stiffs at the morgue-he exhibits the intellect of household fungus and all of the dynamic activity of a corpse.
i worked with the man for years when he was an investigator-investigative referrals passed on to him were considered the equivalent of being sent to “the dead letter file.”
we were all overjoyed to see him off to the Coroner’s office so that we could actually accomplish something. we held his going away party AFTER he left. I doubt that he could even muster the gray matter to figure out why he wasn’t invited.
As for the zoo, why not just put a tent over it, declare it a “circus” and recruit dwarves and morons from Sunshine For Humboldt, with Rob and Cherie hosting?
As for public safety?If you want to be excused from taxes, try calling the Libertarian Party for help the next time there is a medical emergency in the house or your home catches on fire.
It is true that Eureka is actually a population of 50,000 when you count the citizens of Cutten and Mytle Town with nowhere else to go. There’s thousands more units on the way.
Thus, Eureka probably has far too few police officers per-capita.
Hilarious to read former right-wing curmudgeons now advocating for “quality of life”, defending huge public subsidies, calling for cuts to public safety, and lamenting Eureka’s lack of open spaces and green belts for “the kids”…following decades of good-old-boy development projects that refused to include them.
Incredible.
Does HiFi not vote? We have ballot initiatives in almost every election to raise money for schools, libraries, fire departments. Elected officials can’t increase taxes without a VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, dimwit. There aren’t enough funds to pay for the absolute necessities and cuts have to be made unless people are willing to VOTE to increase their property taxes. When push comes to shove, most people would rather have adequately staffed police and fire departments than a zoo and that’s why you don’t want it put up to a vote.
Of course, Reinventing. If the council member’s stances were reversed, they would be skewering Glass for putting animals above community safety.
Paid firefighters reflect poorly on a community making it appear it’s residents don’t know how to take care of themselves. Shut down the fire dept and go VOLUNTEER.
Another way to save money is just to shut down city hall and tell them to learn to feed themselves on their own and not from your wallet.
Shut down the police force and create an Armed Citizen Militia to provide security for the area, it would run off donations of time by Citizens who know being forced to pay taxes for protection isn’t being free.
The best way to keep more of your wealth is to begin putting government workers on rail cars for deportation. Work will set them free!
Why is it “all” or “nothing”.
Families (of all income levels) enjoy the zoo because it is a clean, safe, interesting place to go for a few hours. Can’t the same benefits be had for a much lower cost? Keep the barn animals and have 4H/FFA run the show. Perhaps keep a few of the small easy to maintain exhibits and get rid of the more expensive things. Use docents (like the people who learned about animals here and have fond memories of the place) and invite local non-profits (botanical garden people, etc) to help with exhibits. Use the strength of this community to make this a “community” facility that is within our means.
“Anonymous Says:
February 14, 2010 at 1:52 pm
The Library is funded by the County, not the city. The city kicks in some money for the Eureka branch. But the Library serves the entire county, and taxpayers across the county pay for it. And that is the way it should be with the zoo, if we are going to keep it open. The financial burden should be shared by the entire county – not just the city.”
Maybe it’s time to make public safety regional departments. Humboldt Fire District and the Eureka Fire Department work hand in hand, why not combine the resources? Eureka Police could combine with the Humboldt Sheriff’s Department. Why have overlapping departments?
I contend it is all about politics here. Right versus left- plain and simple. The same people who want to prioritize public safety over the zoo would be switched if it weren’t for or local circumstances..
Have Reggae Rising fund the zoo!
It seems inconceivable that anyone would advocate prioritizing the zoo over public safety regardless of your political leanings. It is especially in conflict with traditional conservative values and what makes this current scenario so bizarre. The left (most animal rights people are to the left) may not be as staunchly pro law enforcement as the right, but many have no love of zoos or circuses so their support of putting zoo funding on the ballot makes sense. The only explanation for the howls of outrage from the right is which councilman proposed it.
The city should zero out the hundreds of thousands of dollars they give to subsidize the chamber of commerce, start charging them more than a dollar in rent, and until the other free-riding cities and counties start to chip, zero out the Humboldt Visitors and Convention Bureau. No more socialism for right wing political business advocacy groups or over-valued promo groups. And put the zoo and their supporters on notice that they’re also off the dole in three years. Maybe they’ll find people to put their money where their mouths are (regionally, not just in the city) before that time is up. Leave safety alone. It’s barely adequate now as it is.
2.42pm, that was the most childish threat possible.
St d’jst 2.53, congratulations, you just won the fifth grade playground insult award.
Plain Jane, you sound like you’re really old. And you’re being dishonest when you accuse those of us “prioritizing the zoo over public safety”.
What we are doing is saying a minimal, temporary cut in the police & fire departments is easier to take the total & permanent end of the zoo.
It’s not pleasant to debate you, when you are being so blatantly dishonest.
If Larry Glass is so concerned about costs, he should get this proposal on an agenda and vote on it.
It costs the City for every item being voted on in an election. That isn’t speculation, its a fact.
anonymous, 4.47pm, I know you’ve been told this before, but try listening for once.
The Chamber of Commerce for Eureka, spends 100% and more, of the money it receives from the city’s bed tax receipts on outreach & assistance to tourists & people interested in moving to Eureka.
The city makes a profit off the chamber. Both in sales tax and more bed tax revenues but also in more business for Eureka’s businesses & that creates more jobs for Eurekans.
Which side can pack a council meeting isn’t democratic, it’s mob rule. Put it to a vote. I wonder how much of the anti-Nielsen movement is behind this sudden desire to cut public safety funds “temporarily.”
Yet nobody has mentioned my comment about the jail. Jeez, some of you need to take the cork out and let some of your pomposity loose. Plain Jane, count the people in the Library, figure out the percent of use per capita, and then get back to me. Your sense of humor has been removed (blame Frank Jager?) and you have no idea when you are being poked. Or maybe you need a poke.
If you weren’t such a fool people might realize when you are trying to be funny, Oldphart. Does anyone remember when there was a ballot initiative to fund the library…late 90′s I believe?
5:03 – prove it. It’s just talk in exchange for hard cold cash unless you prove that those organizations actually bring that money in where it wouldn’t be otherwise. All I’ve ever seen is talk and taking credit, especially by the Chamber. Just because they do “Outreach” doesn’t mean that most people, or even a lot of people, who come here come because we give money to these groups.
Claiming that because the Chamber does “outreach” the city obviously gets a “profit” is missing some essential pieces of information and logic to be credible. (Kind of like “ooo it’s snowing in the South, therefore there’s no such thing as global warming.”)
Show me some love, Plain Jane. It’s Valentine’s Day – hugs. (Still missing that humor babe.)
5:26 – my guess is that you do not own a business.
It wasn’t funny, Oldphart. Quit begging for laughs.
No, you have no sense of humor. And for that I am truly sorry. Not looking for a laugh there, was I?
Now that’s almost funny; but you didn’t intend to be.
You must be a lawyer cuz you have to have the last word. Just a guess. I’ll quit so you can have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
olphart – so identity is a substitute for proof or logic. I’m not presently a business owner so therefore 5:03′s logic is sound. They call that a non-sequitur in the non-business world.
So you had a business? Just curious why business people are bad.
Olphart – How do you get that conclusion? I never said business people are bad. (I actually miss being in business for myself, and admire many businesspeople I know.) I don’t see how you get that from my argument.
Oh, ok, now I get it. First, bald conclusion without logic or facts from 5:03. That fails to persuade. Then me not being one of “us” (a businessperson) means I’m wrong. That fails to persuade as well. So then, you just go straight to making stuff up to make the other side look like they’re attacking you, as what, a distraction? Certainly no logic connected to the argument that I can see.
Try again? Proof? Facts? Logic that hangs together? Anything that actually shows how the money given to the Chamber and the VCB to do “Outreach” actually brings in the money they claim credit for?
When is Murl Harpham retiring? That will save three jobs for younger and less senile cops. How much does he make anyway?
So where does that Chamber of Commerce money go? Mixers? Oh, wait, that raises money. Its a lobby for the local businesses. That is what it is on a national level, that is what it is on a local level. Trying to persuade government to not punish the business community. These are the private employers that also, through taxes, provide pubic employment.
You argument proves my point, Olphart. Lobbying for the business community is a perfectly ok thing to do. It just isn’t something that the city’s taxpayers should be paying for.
Went to the zoo today, so no more that a dozen other patrons.
Something tells me this more typical than not-
The goals of a Chamber of Commerce are to promote the businesses that join. Although this is accomplished in different ways across the county, they elect a board that advocates for a town’s businesses and helps with promoting a good business climate and interaction and teamwork among business members. In a small town like we have, I think this is especially important for the “little guy”.
On a rainy Valentine’s Day not many people went to the zoo. Humm.
I meant to say the goals are to promote business in general in a community but the businesses that actually pay to join can take part in the Chamber’s activities and information directly. I think we all benefit from a healthy business community.
Happy VD! Going to dinner with my special someone…
annonymous, you are so uninformed & misinformed that it isn’t funny but sad.
The Chamber charges its members dues, some are paying up to $250 a year. That is the money that is spent on lobbying, on mixers & overhead.
You want proof you say? Well then just go over to the Chamber & get a copy of its budget & look at it like I did before joining. Maybe some facts would stop you from making shit up all the time.
Since the zoo is charging admission, presumably they have some fairly accurate records of patronage. How many folks actually visit the zoo per year? A per-visitor cost could easily be computed. Then both sides would have some FACTS, not just opinions, to discuss.
The newspaper article said they collected $100,000 in admissions. The charge is $4 for adults, $1 per child.
It’d be desirable to know how many adults, how many children.
If the visitors were ONLY adults, that would mean 25,000 visitors.
If one assumes a ratio of 1 adult per child (not realistic, I know), then that would mean 40,000 visitors (20,000 * $4) + (20,000 * 1).
If it’s two children per adult, than that would mean 50,000 visitors (16,667 * 4) + (33,333 *1).
The city funded the zoo at $532,000. This suggests that the cost to the city per visitor is somewhere in the range of $21/visitor (all adults) to $11/visitor (adult w/ 2 children).
Let’s say that the average cost to the city per visitor is on the order of $10/person. Is that something the people of the city want to pay? Do they consider that a suitable cost-to-benefit ratio?
What did the pre-Arkley budget look like for the Zoo? Has the cost to the city gone up since Arkley “improved ” it?
$532000.00 is not the right number that been spun by the zoo folks check with the finance dept. you’ll find the number is much higher. They hide allot of they’re cost. $700,000+ come to mind.
One other calculation regarding use. If we use 50,000 visitors per year, the average number of users/day is 137 (50,000/365) I think this number is the right order of magnitude.
Destroy the zoo. That’s your new battle cry? Why? because Arkley donated to it? Unbelievable.
Dumb it down to the lowest possible level and there you have rose’s argument.
Put the “progressives” in power and suddenly everything that was once affordable is no more. It is quite the reversal to see the sudden concern for the police dept. Not that it will help, the cops arrest the bad guys and Gallegos lets ‘em go.
Yes, the so-called conservatives were great for the economy, weren’t they?
Thanks, EPD, for the great improvements since 2006. Much concern has been alleviated.
MURL RETIRE NOW! Make way for someone who can actually do police work and save the city some money at the same time.
The T-S today says zoo patronage last year was 54,000 and the city’s part of the operational budget $520,000 (http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_14403774).
The cost to the city per visitor would be $9.63 (that’s the taxpayer per-person subsidy) with an average of 148 visitors/day.
My 8:17 and 10:21 estimates were pretty close.
Rose invents opponents and posts arguments for them. She then angrily counters them.
It’s her version of solitaire.
Rose must be very lonely. Every time I look at a Humboldt blog, she’s usually posted on it multiple times. How sad.
This blog needs both sides to speak. I like reading what Rose has to say.
Debate solitaire is the only debate she can win, Joel, and even then she has to cheat.
If Rose debated her opponents actual beliefs rather than her delusions of those beliefs, she might have something of value to contribute, Anony.Miss. As it is, she argues against points and positions that no one believes, assigns vile motives to those fictitious beliefs and spins herself dizzy. If that is one of 2 sides, the line of demarcation isn’t right / left its sane / insane.
anonymous 7.45am. I see you posting much more than her.
Pot, kettle, black?
Now THAT’S funny, HiFi! Intentional?
Hi Finance,
That was possibly the dumbest comment I have ever seen on this blog.
Vee Sorenson, Rose Welch Gloor and Dennis Hunter will be panel members for the Humboldt Republican Women Federated’s (HRWF) program on campaigns and elections on Thursday. This topic at the club’s general meeting at the Elks Lodge, 445 Herrick Ave., in Eureka is prompted by 2010′s role as an election year.
The panelists bring strong backgrounds to their topics because of extensive participation in Humboldt County’s political scene and longtime community involvement in varied areas. A question and answer session will follow the panel’s presentation.
HRWF members are asked to sign up for the organization’s staffing of the Republican Office at 311 Fifth St. in Eureka.
HRWF members are encouraged to bring guests, and interested community persons will be welcome. The buffet line opens at 11:30 a.m. Lunch cost is $14.50, and speaker only or speaker/beverage cost is $4. Reservations are needed, and cancellations are a necessity.
Members are asked to bring donations for Food for People food bank in Eureka.
For reservations, call Colleen Hedrick at 268-0101.
Zoos are an excellent educational source for kids who are destined to be slave masters.
I have no real problem with their being a zoo as long as it is 100% privately funded.
Get a life Plain Jane. Both you and Carson are so full of shit it is unreal. Attacking Rose does not change the facts. You spin and spin, don’t make it true. Roses statements can usually be validated with some research on the net. Many times as HiFi stated by going and looking at public records.
HRWF event will be interesting.
Is there a contest today to see which of the cons can be the funniest?
I’ve never even had a traffic ticket PL, let alone done any time. I never try to be funny about serious subjects. I consider what is being done here by the regressive folks as very serious. You can not back up your bullshit and Rose’s is usually verifiable. I believe you are one of the kool-aid mixers, a true believer.
I’m guessing you will miss the HRWF event, probably best as you would stick out. Perhaps you could bring Pete and Mark and they could whine from the bleachers.
Rose said:
Typical bullshit coming from McKinleyville’s biggest bullshitter. But hey, you can probably “verify” her claim with an internet search of her blog.
When Rose shows up here she usually masquerades as a “conservative” not a Repugnican. So how is it she is addressing a Repugnican gathering?
Rose is a pretty decent internet archiver but the problem is most of the evidence she finds supports a position counter to her own delusionary stances.
Why would I want to give money to the Republicans when I can see Rose’s insanity here on a daily basis for free? Thanks for letting us all know how desperate the Republicans are for speakers.
“Rose said:
Destroy the zoo. That’s your new battle cry? Why? because Arkley donated to it?”
No Rose,it’s because those crying loudest about keeping it going are not willing to pay their fair share for its maintenance,and would rather stick that to Eureka taxpayers who may not even want a thing to do the zoo.
# anon Says:
February 15, 2010 at 6:36 am
MURL RETIRE NOW! Make way for someone who can actually do police work and save the city some money at the same time.
I actually think Murl is working for free right now, according to his web page Murl has work for the City for 45 years, if his safety retirement is 3% at 50 he could be drawing 135% of his salary. It looks like he is already saving the City money
http://www.murlharpham.com/
High finance,
Just FYI-The crime statistics for Eureka are collected by the FBI under the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The stats only represent the “incorperated” area of Eureka. These stats can be found on various web sites which compare cities based on per capita crime. If you think that Eureka’s crime rate is being “inflated”, I suggest you go on a ride along with EPD and see for yourself what the cities underbelly is like.
BTW-So far this year Eureka has 2 homicides within the city limits and it’s only February.
Rose asked a question that basically asks if you all are against the zoo because Arkley donated to it.
I don’t believe that is the case, but it does bring up a point. Not one of you left-wingers have ever supported the cops here before, but now you are all sounding like Republicans. Instead of laying off two cops you want to destroy the zoo forever.
Not all of you are PETA type nuts (Joel, “well managed” farms & ranches don’t want you & others walking about visiting their animals) who think animals are people too. So why are you against a family friendly recreational outlet that costs little money to spend time at?
Let me try to explain it to you a little slower anonymous 11.30am.
The crime rate reported for Eureka seems outrageously high for a town of 28,000. But if the reporting agencies would consider it a town of 50,000 then our crime rate is more in line with other communities.
Surely you don’t think our town is more dangerous than Oakland do you?
I am not saying our crime rate is acceptable. I am not saying zoos are more important than cops. I am saying that reducing the police department & fire departments by two positions during this fiscal emergency is better than destroying a zoo forever. A zoo that 54,000 people visited last year.
Let the taxpayers decide if they want to continue to subsidize the zoo. If the voters decide they want to cut back on public safety or pay a special assessment for the zoo, turn it over to private management without taxpayer subsidies or reduce zoo expenses by laying off personnel there, eliminating some exhibits, whatever is fine. Pretending that this has anything to do with Arkley is patently dishonest and a pathetic attempt to change the subject from city finances to personnel vendetta. Maybe Rose can work on getting McKinleyville to contribute to the zoo since she loves it so much.
* personal vendetta
Why isn’t anyone considering some consolidation in Public Safety? Why do Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Humboldt County, HSU and CHP all have their own dispatchers? Why does EPD write traffic tickets on the State Highway (4th and 5th Street), isn’t that the response area of CHP? It seems like we have a big overlap of services. It seems that consolidation would save some money.
“Why does EPD write traffic tickets on the State Highway (4th and 5th Street), isn’t that the response area of CHP?”
The EPD’s jurisdiction is the entire city of Eureka. The CHP is already helping us out by patrolling Eureka neighborhoods.
High finance-
Go to the FBI website so that you can have some facts, not just your personal opinion. The statistics are gathered from reporting police/sheriffs departments. The Sheriffs Office responds to calls for service in Cutten, Pine Hill, ect. When they send in their stats to the FBI, their crime reports are from “unincorporated Eureka”. Those stats are compiled into the “unincorporated Humboldt County statistics”, not the city of Eureka statistics.
Last year Andrew Pease, Brad Masten, and Michael Borcalli were murdered in the city of Eureka. Robert Alstine, who died after being dropped off in Fields Landing, was most likely stabbed multiple times in Eureka before being driven to the location where he finally succumbed to his wounds. That is a murder rate of 1 in 7000 per capita, much higher than many “major cities” in the US.
Oakland and Eureka are different towns. Oakland is statistically higher in murder, robbery and vehicle thefts. Eureka is higher in rape, burglary and thefts (also higher than Richmond in the same areas).
Overall, in Eureka you are statistically more likely to be a victim of any type of crime, than in Oakland.
Is Eureka more dangerous? Depends on whether you would rather be raped or murdered. I wouldn’t want either personally.
Zoo or police? I don’t know if thats the only option. What I do know is that EPD and EFD sacrificed their negotiated raises to help prevent hiring freezes and cuts.
“Anonymous Says:
February 15, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Zoo or police? I don’t know if thats the only option. What I do know is that EPD and EFD sacrificed their negotiated raises to help prevent hiring freezes and cuts.”
The Eureka City Employees Association also sacrificed their negotiated raises to help prevent layoffs and the Classified employees didn’t receive any raises and now they are looking at being furlough and most of those salaries are not paid out of the general fund.
Eureka’s fire department is at the very edge for maintaining its effectiveness. Further cuts will likely cause ALL of us to pay MORE for fire insurance on our homes and property. The reason for that is because the FD would be unable to guarantee a quick response time. Know anyone who had a heart attack recently? It could happen to any one of us. Who gets there first? The FD, that’s who. Delaying that response time would cost real lives.
There are only so many dollars in the pot. Whether we like it or not, if the city is to remain even marginally functional, it has to decide on its core priorities and limit its spending to those areas. If it should decide that the zoo is really more important than police or fire protection, my advice would be to move out of town, QUICK! Yes, there probably are other cuts that can be made but none on the scale of $550,000. Do you want paved streets? Do you want police and fire protection? Do you want water and sewer services? Do you want 911 dispatchers on duty? What do you really want?
Maybe the answer is to cut the zoo budget gradually, maybe $150,000 to $200,000 a year. That would give it time to raise more private money or place excess animals or somehow make it more self-supporting. It is not fair that the taxpayers of the city subsidize the zoo for the benefit of everyone else (see cost per visitor an above postings). But if that’s what Eurekans want to vote for, let them vote for the increased taxes needed to pay for it. The money’s not there now, folks, and won’t be soon. And PLEASE, don’t try to hide from the issue because the animals are SO cute or your kids love the old (sick) bear. This is a much tougher choice than that.
Well said, A-nony-Mouse!
There is no reason not to consolidate the Eureka Fire Dept & Humboldt Fire District 1.
That is one easy & certain way for it to take its share of budget cuts. But no, it can’t be done because of petty little people want to protect their turf & power.
The consolidation would not save even close to $550,000. It would not reduce the need for manpower or for engines or for stationhouses. True, there might only be one chief left but that’s most of it.
HiFi, don’t you wonder why the zoo is the only city operation that DID NOT get big cuts last year and is trying so hard to avoid any this year? Unless something unexpected happens, we’re not at the bottom yet so the zoo better find ways to cut back and find other money or it will be closed. Choices are great. Wish we had some!
“A-nony-mouse Says:
February 15, 2010 at 4:42 pm
The consolidation would not save even close to $550,000. It would not reduce the need for manpower or for engines or for stationhouses. True, there might only be one chief left but that’s most of it.”
How do you know that? Has there been a study? What about consolidating dispatch, and creating a regional dispatch center, it’s been done in other communities.
I’ve also wondered why do both the fire department and City Ambulance respond to medical emergencies, they both receive the same 911 call and the fire department can’t transport and it seems like both functions show up at the same time.
Yeah “just wondering”, we should just stop having the fire dept respond to medical emergencies. In fact, we should privatize fire fighting all together. And police for that matter, too! The problem in Eureka is that we have too much government run public safety, and not enough government subsidized zoo’s!
# Anonymous Says:
February 15, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Yeah “just wondering”, we should just stop having the fire dept respond to medical emergencies. In fact, we should privatize fire fighting all together.”
See how you are …, I didn’t say we should privatize anything.
I think our whole community should consider a regional dispatch center.
Currently we have several agencies that overlap services. The CHP are patrolling the neighborhoods, EPD is patrolling the State Highway, EFD responds to Humboldt Fire District, Humboldt Fire District responds to EFD, EFD and City Ambulance both respond. Maybe if there was a central dispatch, there would be more order in how calls were handled.
Maybe there would be less burnout for dispatchers, because they wouldn’t have to cover as many shifts.
A-nony-mouse’s idea of weaning the Zoo from municipal funding in stages is a creative compromise.
Mouse, how do any of us know what the savings of consolidation would be? Like Just Wondering said, their are other duplications like dispatching between the two departments. I’ll bet both Chiefs have assistant chiefs, secretarys, accounting services, audits where there could be additional savings.
And how do we know we would need the same amount of fireman?
And who said that was the only possible expense to save? That was just off the top of my head but I’ll bet there are other areas in the police & fire departments.
You’re missing the point, HiFi. If the zoo was the only city function short on funds we could probably work something out. But ALL of the city functions are short on funds. They have undergone consolidations with more to come. They have gone through across the board budget cuts. They have utilized furloughs (a serious pay cut for employees). But the zoo rides above it all. When the zoo indicates it will take cuts of at least 20% THIS fiscal year and 20% more next year, then maybe I’ll agree we could hang onto it. But when every other CRITICAL function of the city is running perilously close to the edge of nonfunctioning, the zoo becomes an expendable luxury. It’s sort of like your internet service. If your income drops a large amount and you can barely afford basic food and rent, what will you give up? I suppose you could become a very skinny internet user but even that has an end somewhere.
I’ll never argue that there are not still some savings to be realized. But there is simply not enough slack in the budget to keep funding the zoo at its current level. I agree that consolidating the dispatch center is a good idea but when the entire police department is short staffed and has already made near-crippling budget concessions, the best you could hope for is slightly better funding for the PD. It’s too simple. If the income ain’t there, you can’t spend it. You can squeeze that rock ’til doomsday but the blood won’t run.
OOH, and I like that idea HiFi just got “off the top of his head” that has been discussed for years. Inspiration!!!
So High Finance,
You may be on to something. Consolidate the fire and police with the county. Do the same with planning, city maintenance, city roads etc and we will trim the size of city gov down to the point where we won’t need a city manager anymore, for example.
At any rate we should look at outsourcing the city manager’s job, I am sure there is someone in Bangalore or Rawalpindi who can do the job at one tenth the cost. If its good enough for auto workers or mill workers it should be fine for city employees.
We could just disincorporate the city and let the county provide us will all those services. Think how much money we would save.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
“we”? Who is this “we”, Bill?
You’re on social security and public assistance, as you’ve stated many times.
Social Security isn’t welfare. Unless of course you are a right wing extremist.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
For someone who’s never worked, it is welfare Bill.
Have a peaceful day on behalf of my tax dollar,
WORKING AMERICAN
Those taxes I paid for thirty years working on the books must have been my imagination.
Go find yourself, coward.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
I should find myself. I’ll start by following your example. Give me a guitar, a joint, and some government welfare (that I’ve “earned” after only contributing for 2/5 of the time I was supposed to) and I will SEE THE LIGHT!
Light one on me, Bill
Have a peaceful day on my tax dollar,
WORKING AMERICAN
If High Finance had any courage he would put his name behind his dumb ideas. A little courage here would be refreshing. Too much to ask from the right wing extremists around here. Have another drink.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
Have you noticed that many of the right wing crackpots here in Eureka derive their living by sucking off the public teat? My thirty years working was all in the private sector. I know what real work is. High Finance wouldn’t last a half hour in on a loading dock or in a factory. I have BTDT.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
How right you are bill. What do you think of HiFi’s idea about Police and Fire starting to “pull their own” by writing more tickets and generating more revenue to support the Dept’s?
I think that the police and fire depts should be supported by general tax revenue. They should not derive their income from fines -that invites corruption.
Maybe its time to revoke Prop 13 or put a tax on high fructose corn syrup.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
Here is a thought problem.
Let’s suppose that the average Eurekan consumes 1 can of soda per day. That’s 30,000 sodas per day. I don’t drink that stuff anymore but lots of people drink more than one everyday so it is a good ballpark assumption. Plus a few thousand people who work here everyday but live in Cutten or Fortuna.
If we put a ten cent a can tax on sodas, that’s $3,000 a day. Thats $1,095,000 per year.
The high fructose corn syrup in these sodas (most of them) is addictive and destructive of health. The consumption of these sodas is doing more damage to our health than tobacco. Obesity and diabetes are taking a huge toll on our health system, raising costs for everyone. It is time to TAX HFCS.
have a peaceful day,
Bill
Thirty is two fifths of seventy five, I know it’s a ponzi scheme, but surely I can cash in before I’m ninety-something.
Whoever said Murl is practically working for free because the city would have to pay him more if he retires has it wrong. Calpers pays him when he retires, which he would do if he wasn’t so self-centered and short-sighted. He is selfishly taking up 2 paid positions and isn’t even doing the work of 1 lieutenant, let alone a beat cop. I mean the guy’s in his 70′s for chrissakes. That’s the whole solution to the epd budget problem. Take up the cry, Murl retire now, Murl retire now!
I did some checking and, as far as I can find out, the Zoo has NOT TAKEN ONE SINGLE BUDGET CUT in this or any other year. In fact, the zoo’s budget has INCREASED by nearly $100,000 per year. Good people of Eureka, if you want to pay for it while cutting your basic fire and police services, go ahead. But do it knowing what you’re doing because it will cost us dearly in the end. At the very least, our fire insurance rates will skyrocket if fire protection is cut any more.
The zoo claims it gets only $550,000 from the city’s General Fund. What it doesn’t tell you is that it gets almost another $150,000 in services that are hidden under other budget headings, like landscaping, water, power, etc. So the total drain on the city is more like $700,000 per year if they don’t try to get even more next year. That’s between half and two thirds of the city’s budget DEFICIT right there.I even agree with HiFi (don’t faint) that there are still other places the city can save money. But at best they would only cover that missing 1/3, not he whole thing. Sorry guys. I love those furry critturs as much as the next guy but I’m tired of paying $10 a head for the 75% of zoo visitors who come from out of town (beyond city limits, anyway).
So Franks in a pickle. Does he support his zoo buddies and the Foundation Board that he sits on or does he make the hard decisions and support the health of the city which he supposedly represents? Tough one, Frank. I think they call it ‘divided loyalties’.
Working American has nothing to contribute to this thread except gutless insults. If he’s in favor of continued “welfare” for the zoo, he ought to come up with reasons we should continue supporting it.
What do you think those out-of-town folks do while they are in Eureka A-Nony ?
Stop being a small minded bean-counter & try looking beyond your green eye shades.
If they weren’t at the taxpayer subsidized zoo, maybe they would be spending money at non-subsidized businesses. No one comes here for the zoo.
Just curious what all of you think about the taxpayer subsidized city golf course & the county subsidized Wooodley Island Marina. Let’s shut them down too? How many of us golf or have a boat? What about volunteer fire departments like Fortuna, Ferndale and Willow Creek to name three. Then the Eureka fire Department could be eliminated. Just some thoughts. Discuss.
Well the Golf Course is privately managed. A quick search only found $4k of city funds allocated. Do you have other numbers?
Woodley Island Marina is run and paid for by the Harbor District. Its finances are debated often as a part of their budget.
Woodley Island Marina operates at a loss. Always has. Look at that budget. There is a waiting list for slips. There was a private marina back east and they paid a consultant to figure out how to make it successful. They had a waiting list too. They double the fees, lost half the customers, still had the same cash flow and nothing but upside. The hew and cry from the fishermen is what keeps the slip fees low. The taxpayers pay for the difference via property taxes.
Three stooges 3
Common Sense 2
The zoo continues on it merry way while basic services like police and fire protection get cut to the bone.
Go figure.
If the zoo foundation does not wake up they are eventually doomed.
Maybe a marina could double its fees, cut its users by half, and still achieve the same cash flow. What it would lose is service and utility to the community. It is there as a service and it at least mostly pays its own way. At least it tries. The Zoo, on the other hand, seems to think it should be TOTALLY supported by General Fund money, regardless of how high its budget climbs. Remember , the Zoo has taken NO budget cuts (even some increases) while everything else in the city has been slashed. If the zoo supporters don’t find at least some other money to pay for operations, the zoo is doomed. The city will very soon be on the brink of bankruptcy because its Halverson reserve will be gone. That’s the money it has been using to fill the budget deficit for several years and it won’t last much longer. When its gone, the city will have no choice but to cut off zoo funding. If the supporters want to just go on with their heads in the sand, then the liability is theirs.
It should also be noted that the Zoo Foundation, which boasts about its fund-raising, uses ALL of its money for improvements and acquiring more animals, NOT for operations. It does not contribute to the day-to-day expenses of running the zoo. It could even be argued that some of its activities have increased the costs of running the operation. This has to change or it will all go away. Time to put your money on the table, zoo supporters. We taxpayers are tired of subsidizing EACH zoo visitor some $10+ every time they visit by paying all of the expense. Gate fees produced around $100,000, but after paying the gatekeeper and bookwork, actually contributed less than $50,000 to the operation. That’s less than 10%. Somehow I doubt that the $25 to $30 gate fee necessary to make it self-sustaining would fly. Only 25% of the visitors are city residents but WE have to pay for it. This won’t continue, one way or the other so best get ready.
Form the Zoo’s web site:
“We’ve recently broken ground for the Red panda exhibit and expect its grand opening to occur in June of 2010. The majority of funding for this new exhibit has been provided by fundraising efforts from our Zootini gala 2009.
A second large project is also underway: the creation of a Flamingo, Patagonian cavy, & Crested screamer exhibit. This large-scale renovation will involve re-routing the main Zoo walkway and crafting a new flamingo habitat including a new pond and nesting area.”
Maybe they need a panda.
Maybe they can hire a couple former police lieutenants.
How about taking the money for the zoo and funding a tourist train?
It is interesting that Gene Bass is also a Zoo Foundation board member. He owns the private security company that used to patrol Old Town. He is also an outspoken critic of the Chief.
An interpretation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom.[1]Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human
We need safety and security foremost. Lets get with the budget. For sure, hard times are here. I would love a zoo, and a carnival on the boardwalk, and an ice skating rink for the kids, and be able to walk on the boardwalk, day or night, or in old town, without having people be agressive to me, because we have welcomed so many transient and homeless people to this area with promise and comfort, but have failed so many. No wonder they are pissed! But not my fault! I have paid into the system for years and am just clawing by. I give what I can, but when it comes to taxes, I would like my say.
“Bookkeeper Says:
February 17, 2010 at 5:44 pm
We need safety and security foremost.”
I agree… it all depends on what you think safety and security is.
Actually I think we need clean drinking water and waste water removal foremost
So true Just. There are more than enough infrastructure issues that are being sorely overlooked in this heated and ridiculous Larry Glass vs Zoo hysteria.
Shoot the messenger… and then continue building a bigger zoo. Other than animal rights, folks who can “hate” a zoo? To think Larry has some hidden agenda is hilarious. Those who slam Larry for this while fanatically supporting the zoo are doing their cause more harm than good.
Come to the table with a plan that respects the community. To play this any other way is pathetic given the situation the city is in.
If the city of Eureka actually ran the Zoo we would have seen budget cuts and staff reduction last year. Just like the rest of the departments.
Next we should look at the Chamber of Commerce a little more closely.
I see the Chamber as a good investment. How much would it cost the city to run and staff the visitor center?
Nano,
Does Gene Bass also have a contract to “protect” the Zoo with his private security company? That might explain some of the cost increases.