Hogle Zoo officials are convinced voters do want better digs for the animals.

So they pressed the county's Debt Review Committee (DRC) on Thursday to recommend that the County Council put a $65 million bond issue on the November ballot.

"There is an urgent need to upgrade the quality of life for zoo animals now living in outdated facilities," said Craig Dinsmore, the zoo's executive director.

But DRC Chairman Larry Richardson, the county's treasurer, said his panel has work to do before it makes a recommendation.

The biggest challenge, he said, is to determine how the county legally can pay for improvements at a Salt Lake City-owned facility.

According to County Auditor Jeff Hatch, the county must retain title on the amenities the bond would buy - if voters did approve the measure.

But such an arrangement is possible, he said. "It's been done in other situations."

Homeowner property taxes could vary depending on the length of the bond. On a $300,000 house, a 20-year bond would tack on about $9 a year in property taxes, said Lance Brown, director of management and budget for the auditor's office.

If the bond were issued for 15 years, the annual tax payment would jump to about $12 a year on that same house.

And if the bond's term were reduced to 12 years, the added property tax would be about $18.

DRC members did not question whether the zoo needs better habitats for animals, but whether inflation on construction prices would cut into the $85 million makeover. $20 million of that is expected to come from private donations.

Karl Hendrickson, deputy county attorney, wondered which animals would get new homes.

"I see a [$65 million] bond that creates $45 million in facilities," he said. "What can you really afford to build? It's going to change the way you face things."

Dinsmore explained that priorities include a new polar bear exhibit, an animal health-care facility, carousel pavilion and parking-lot upgrades, among other things.

Zoo officials vow to build as much of the master plan as possible with the funding.

"If the zoo is going to advance," Dinsmore said, "it's going to advance with what's available."

Such improvements would pave the way for 1.4 million visitors a year to Hogle Zoo.

About 65 percent of them would be Salt Lake County residents, according to trends tracked by zoo officials.

Hogle Zoo already gets public money from the state and Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks tax.

In 2003, Salt Lake City voters approved a $10.2 million bond for the new entrance and other improvements.

The Utah Zoological Society, a private nonprofit that operates the city-owned zoo, recently initiated a campaign aimed at raising $20 million privately.

Thus far, it has amassed less than $1 million.

That capital campaign could take several years to reach its goal, Dinsmore said, and is not considered a match for bond funding.

"We don't think the animals can wait that long, and it isn't what the people want," he said.

"We have a great plan for the future, a realistic plan for the future."

csmart@sltrib.com

Hogle Zoo officials will meet again with Salt Lake County's Debt Review Committee on July 19.