It could be a matter of weeks before Jackson city leaders say the zoo will be ready for federal inspectors.
City crews, contractors and zoo staffers have made numerous improvements to the park since it closed last October.
However, work has been delayed in part, because of wet weather, changes in city process and the COVID-19 outbreak.
Once remaining projects are completed, the city will bring in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect the site. If the site is approved, the agency will grant the city an exhibitor’s license, which is needed before the park can be reopen to the public.
Until then, the park remains closed. It is generating no revenue, but the city continues to pay staffers and animal upkeep.
“We wanted it done yesterday, but with the rain issue initially and then COVID, it has delayed us,” said Jackson Parks and Recreation Director Ison Harris. “We could be finished in two weeks, but it could a month and a half.”
The zoo has been closed to the public since October 1, when the previous USDA exhibitor’s license expired. That permit was held by the now-defunct Jackson Zoological Society.
The society had managed the West Capitol Street park for years, but the city did not renew its contract with the nonprofit at the start of the 2020 budget year.
Last week, the city was still in negotiations with the ZoOceanarium Group, a firm that it hopes to hire to oversee the park.
The Lumumba administration has been in talks with the Dubai-based company for almost a year and a half. Dubai is a city located in the United Arab Emirates.
The application is contingent, in part, on when the city is able to obtain its USDA permit.
To do that, the park has to be brought up to federal standards. Those standards are put in place to ensure animal safety, according to Zoo Interim Director Dave Wetzel. “They will look at animal records, medical records, acquisition records, disposition records to show that animals are cared for and data is collected. They will look at each individual enclosure looking for any hazards that might cause injury to an animal,” he said.
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducted a “courtesy inspection” of the century old facility in January.
The agency gave the city a list of about 30 items that had to be corrected before a new license could be granted.
Items included repainting animal enclosures, tearing down dilapidated structures, installing new fencing around some exhibits, and removing trees from around the park’s perimeter fence.
“We’re about halfway through the list. There are some things that are really small and some that are really big,” Harris said.
Among projects, the city had to paint several animal enclosures, as well as install new air and heating at others.
“We have AC units in seven places that previously didn’t have them,” Harris said. “We had to put air and heating in those.”
Additionally, the city had to repair the barrier wall around the African Savannah exhibit and rhino exhibit.
“It had holes in it, so we had to repair it all the way around,” Harris said.
Last week, the city was taking bids to replace the fence surrounding the African Savannah wall. USDA recommended that the existing fence be replaced with a taller one.
Said Harris, “Hopefully, we can get that going in the next two weeks.”
Work is being done by city crews and zoo staffers. Major construction, such as fence installation and barrier repairs, are being done by private contractors and city crews, while painting and general maintenance are being done in-house, Wetzel said.
The city has faced numerous challenges in completing the work. Heavy rains delayed repainting several animal enclosures.
“We can’t paint with the animals inside, and we can’t leave the animals outside in the wet, cold weather,” Harris explained.
The new air conditioning/heating units, in turn, couldn’t be installed until the painting was completed.
Other projects have moved forward, including the demolition and removal of the old Discovery Zoo. That aging, dilapidated facility was torn down by Northside nonprofit Revitalize Mississippi.
As for the perimeter fence trees, Chief Administrative Officer Robert Blaine said the zoo grounds have been too wet to trim them.
USDA is requiring that the trees be cut back, so animals that escape their enclosure cannot climb the trees and escape the zoo.
“We have a very large piece of equipment that cuts trees, brush,” Blaine said. “We’ve had so much rain that the ground has been too soft for us to use it.”
While rain has slowed progress, so has coronavirus.
Because of store closures related to COVID, zoo staffers have been unable to pick up certain supplies for work, such as paint.
When the USDA will come out to the park also remains to be seen.
With the outbreak, city officials were unsure when the feds would be able to conduct an inspection.
It was unclear where the inspectors’ offices were located.
Said Blaine, “We’re trying to get them to come out as soon as we can, but it’s one of those things that, because of COVID-19, has taken a little longer than we hoped.”
