Beth Poff is still hopeful the Jackson Zoological Park can be saved.
However, the longtime executive director admits the recent pay cuts are a sign the zoo is continuing its “downward spiral.”
Last week, the Jackson Zoological Society, the group that manages the park, voted to significantly cut pay for hourly and salaried employees.
For hourly workers, wages will be reduced to $8 an hour, down from around $15 for the highest-paid keepers. All salaried workers will receive a 50 percent reduction, she said.
The move comes as attendance at the West Jackson destination plummets and amid uncertainty about the park’s future.
Poff said the pay cuts are temporary but wouldn’t predict how long they would last.
“I hate to make predictions anymore because attendance has been down so much lately,” she said.
She’s not worried zoo keepers will start looking for other jobs.
“Zoo people are very passionate and care about their work,” she said. “They will stick it out.
“It’s not forever, just temporary.”
She said animal care would not be impacted by the cuts.
“They will continue to receive the same quality feed, vet care and attention from keepers,” she said. “Before (care is impacted) we would look into making the collection smaller.”
The zoo has approximately 380 animals.
Meanwhile, the zoo’s future is in limbo.
In March, the society announced that it was considering moving the zoo to the golf course at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park.
Zoo officials cited declining attendance and revenues as a need to move.
A 2016 report conducted by Schultz and Williams showed the zoo’s current location was a major detractor for not only visitors, but also donors.
The zoo is located at 2918 W. Capitol St. The park is surrounded by blight, with 17 dilapidated homes located between the zoo’s main entrance and the I-220 exit.
In response, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba directed his administration to search for a zoo management firm.
“It is the position of myself and the administration that we do not support the moving of the zoo,” he said.
The administration has since drawn up a request for proposals (RFP), but the city had not begun advertising the request at press time.
Jackson’s contract with the society ends on September 30.
Council President Melvin Priester is worried that a new firm won’t be in place by that date and said the current society’s agreement should be extended.
“It’s just not realistic in my opinion to find a different partner before the agreement expires,” he said. “We’ll have to do to some kind of extension with the society.”
The society has managed the zoo since the mid-1980s. Under the agreement, the zoo oversees the park and the animals, and the city would pay the zoo an annual allocation.
The agreement was last updated in 2006.
The zoo’s decline began in the early 2000s. In 2003, the park attracted more than 180,000 visitors. Last year, however, the zoo brought in just over 100,000.
For 2018, the numbers have been even more dismal. Year to date, attendance has been down by about 15,000. In July alone, ticket sales were down by 2,000.
Further, 500 fewer people attended this year’s Ice Cream Safari, a popular fundraiser held in the month of July.
Poff hopes figures will spring back when the weather cools off. “July and August having down attendance is not too surprising,” she said. “Spring and fall are better.”
