(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . City ends longtime contract with Zoological Society [1] ['Elida S. Perez', 'More Elida S. Perez', 'El Paso Matters'] Date: 2024-03-12 The nonprofit that has been raising funds and providing volunteers for the El Paso Zoo will have to vacate the premises now that the city has ended its long-time contract with the organization. The Zoological Society, a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board and supported by local donors, formed in 1963 to support the zoo. The nonprofit has had an agreement with the city that allowed it, in part, to raise money for the zoo since at least 2012. The contract will end March 17 and is not being renewed. Dozens of the non-profit’s supporters attended Tuesday’s City Council meeting and spoke during the public comment period. The City Council voted on Feb. 26 not to renew the contract. “I have a passion for the work we do and I believe in our mission to be an integral partner to the growth and success of the zoo,” said Renee Neuert, the nonprofit’s CEO, during the meeting. “We want to move our zoo forward. So please help us design a new partnership.” Neuert said the nonprofit has helped raise funds for multiple projects over the years including the Digital X-Ray Equipment in the Clinic, the McKee Giraffe Shade Structure and Viewing Hut, the Hunt Family Splash Pad, the El Paso Electric Kalahari Research Station and the El Paso Water Utilities Discovery Education Facility among others. The nonprofit assists the zoo with operational expenses in marketing, advertising, employee appreciation and professional development, education programs, maintenance, facilities, landscaping and more. They also raise 66% of their annual budget through memberships to the zoo. “We have been trying to renegotiate our contracts for over two years now with a city,” said Pam Agullo, Zoological Society board president, in an interview with El Paso Matters Tuesday. “That has been our primary objective to continue supporting the zoo.” Agullo said the contract initially expired in December 2022, and they had been trying to negotiate a renewal since. However the society was notified on Feb. 26 that the contract would not be renewed or extended and that they needed to vacate the premises. “At the same time, we’re being told that they do want to enter a new agreement and start that dialogue, but these are conflicting actions – on one side, you’re kicking me out the other side, you do want to negotiate, it is very confusing,” she said. Upon voting not to renew the contract, city Rep. Brian Kennedy read a statement following the executive session discussion that said the city looks forward to discussing any proposed support under the El Paso zoological societies 1963 articles of incorporation, but did not give an explanation as to why the contract would not be renewed. Dionne Mack, the deputy city manager that oversees the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens, said ending the contract with the Zoological Society does not end the nonprofit’s status, or fundraising capabilities. “From our perspective this does not undo their articles of incorporation,” Mack said, in an interview with El Paso Matters Tuesday. “Their articles of incorporation allows them to be a fundraising body.” Mack said the city wanted to transition the aspects of how money is raised at the Zoo gate back to the city as well as take over the volunteer program. “One of the things that the Zoological Society has done for many years is sell memberships. Memberships are really city public funds that are related to the cost of entry to the zoo,” Mack said. “Those were really the two elements that were primarily the responsibility of staff who were sitting on campus so we will utilize that space to continue those services.” Mack said memberships and volunteer services will not be interrupted for those that have purchased them, but the Zoological society does have to vacate their operations from the premises. Mack said the zoo had just undergone extensive reviews by the American Zoological and Aquarium Association which helped the city decide the direction they wanted to go in various aspects of operation. “From our perspective, this move allows for those dollars to be with the zoo and for us to come up with a plan to really deal with deferred maintenance across the zoo in a way that’s very predictable for us,” Mack said of one of the areas where being directly in charge of funding will benefit the zoo. Mack said it is possible that the city enter a different type of arrangement with the Zoological Society such as a memorandum of understanding, but those conversations have not started. [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/03/12/el-paso-zoological-society-contract-ended-with-city/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/