But big money could mean a big battle at the ballot box, like the one seen Tuesday before the Salt Lake County Council.

"We have so many needs that are pulling at us," Councilman Jeff Allen said. "I would love to see it happen, but I don't know that right now is when we want to do it."

Hogle's hefty expansion - which would require $65 million in voter-approved bonding - would give the animals more room and fewer cages. Officials want to make exhibits more like home for their occupants.

The money would expand the zoo's gorilla forest, improve the penguins' play space and provide a polar-bear exhibit where passers-by could peek beneath the water.

It would pay for an aquarium complex, a carousel pavilion and an upgraded animal hospital, the zoo's updated master plans states. And it would sprout an African savanna and a play land for the zoo's smallest guests.

"These projects will serve the community for generations to come," said zoo Director Craig Dinsmore. "We really want to make Hogle Zoo a great zoo."

The zoo plans to spend an estimated $85 million over the next 10 years - $20 million from private donations - to complete the projects enshrined in its master plan.

Officials have not yet calculated the cost per household from a $65 million bond, which zoo backers hope to see on November's ballot.

Some county Republican worry about the price tag of an expansion that would cost as much as all skate parks, baseball diamonds and recreation centers now in the countywide Zoo, Arts and Parks bond.

They fear other bonds - possibly for new buildings if the Granite and Jordan school districts split - could burden taxpayers even more.

"Why do we have to rush to make the decision today," Councilman Mark Crockett said.

To pay or not to pay is a decision for county voters, countered Democratic Councilman Jim Bradley. If people don't want to see an additional zoo tax, they can vote against it.

"There is nothing more pure, in my opinion, than putting it on the ballot," he said. "People aren't stupid."

Council members voted Tuesday to send the zoo's request to the county's Debt Review Committee.

The most strident opposition to Hogle's plans came from former zoo board member David Wilde, who accused the zoo's governing board of an east-bench tilt.

The zoo, which sits at the mouth of Emigration Canyon on Salt Lake City's east side, cannot possibly represent west Salt Lake County when three-quarters of board members live east of 1300 East, he said. So until that changes, Wilde said, he would not support giving Hogle Zoo more money.

Zoo officials highlighted the improvements the bond could bring visitors statewide.

Maura Carabello, a partner with The Exoro Group who is leading the zoo's fundraising campaign, said the zoo could provide more education, more interaction and better animal care if the bond succeeds.

"It is more of the best that [the zoo] has been."

jstettler@sltrib.com