The Salt Lake County Council gave Hogle Zoo what it wanted Tuesday: a spot on the November ballot.
Just one catch, courtesy of council Republicans: Even if voters approve a $65 million bond for a lifelike African savanna, an expansive polar-bear play land, an updated animal-care facility and other renovations, Hogle won't capture a single public dime until it raises $20 million itself.
That's a heavy burden for the nonprofit zoo, which had pledged to raise those funds over the life of the project. (The zoo has raised $7.3 million since launching its campaign in late 2006.) It's so hefty, in fact, that Hogle Zoo may decide against hitting up voters for money this fall.
"I won't comment on any options right now," Zoo Director Craig Dinsmore said. "We just want to analyze [the decision] and see what is in the best interest of the zoo."
The County Council attached similar strings to the Tracy Aviary, which also earned a place on the fall ballot Tuesday. But those demands seem unlikely to deter the Salt Lake City bird sanctuary, nestled in Liberty Park, from pursuing a project that could restore its national accreditation.
Here's why: Unlike Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary would get to spend two-thirds of its $19.3 million bond to help build a larger outdoor amphitheater, redesign its south pavilion (now used for storage) into a walk-through rain forest and erect an entirely new complex that would feature birds from the mangrove swamps of Mexico to the coastal regions of Panama.
The rest of the bond money would come after the aviary had raised $1.5 million on its own.
"They gave us a step forward that we think we can work with," said Pete Taylor, an aviary board member. "It's not easy. We have our work cut out for us. Our focus right now is to be successful on the ballot."
While Republicans and Democrats conceded Tuesday that the tweaked aviary proposal was "workable," they clashed bitterly over the zoo's bond.
Republicans - who opposed the request earlier in the day as a "nicety," not a "necessity" - captured a slim majority with a deal to put Hogle's bond on the ballot, but to require the park's private contributions upfront.
The four Democrats, who favored putting the bond on the ballot without any restrictions, gritted their teeth and voted against the measure.
But GOP Councilman Marv Hendrickson - the swing vote who had publicly promised to put the bond before voters - went along with his four Republican colleagues.
"This resolution was a poison pill," Democratic Councilman Joe Hatch said. "It was deliberately designed to defeat [the Hogle bond] and keep it off the ballot."
Republicans deny any attempt to kill the proposal, although Hendrickson acknowledged it "will make a lot of people happy" if the zoo decides not to pursue the money.
Instead, they say, it is forcing the zoo to live up to its commitment of contributing $20 million to the project.
"Go do exactly as you say," GOP Councilman Jeff Allen said, "and raise the money."
Hogle Zoo now must decide its next move as it seeks enough money to transform its menagerie at the mouth of Emigration Canyon from the concrete enclosures of decades past to animal-friendlier exhibits resembling the recently remodeled big-cat habitat.
That sounds like a good idea to stay-at-home dad Dan DeNamur, who strolled through the zoo - his first visit there - Tuesday with his wife and two children.
"I'd pay it as long as it went to the animals," said the Herriman resident.
For Tracy Aviary, the ballot request rang with more urgency and won a unanimous council nod - good news for an attraction that lost its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums two years ago because of antiquated exhibits, deferred maintenance and insufficient funding.
Since then, its internship program has shriveled, zoos have refused to exchange birds and some philanthropists have declined to donate. Executive Director Tim Brown said the bond is crucial for rising above the park's ailing infrastructure and regaining accreditation.
Elizabeth Miller contributed to this story.
