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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Giovanni Santana, Superintendent of Parks & Recreation
Dan Powell, Manager Phillips Park Zoo
DATE: 3/4/2020
SUBJECT:
The Aurora Parks & Recreation Department is requesting City Council approval to apply for a Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant in the amount of $50,000.
PURPOSE:
Parks & Recreation is seeking a grant from Kane County to assist in the creation of an Educational Area at the Phillips Park Zoo
BACKGROUND:
The Educational Area and Elk Observation Plaza will be constructed on the site of the former Elk Outlook Deck on the Zoo’s eastern end. Over time, the condition of the Outlook Deck deteriorated, however, and it was closed in 2018.
Our Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant request would be used to build a new Zoo Educational Area at the Outlook Deck site, while still offering a place to observe the Zoo’s magnificent elk herd.
The Educational Area will include a wall for seating and a patio space for groups to gather and for educational presentations. This viewing plaza will be used for tours, talks, and as an educational space for the hundreds of school groups and organizations which visit the Zoo each year.
This area will become the central site for the Zoo’s Story Time Reading Sessions and its Sensory Sensitivity Days, when Zoo staff members will encourage visitors to touch animal pelts and bones and antlers. The Zoo also will use the Educational Area as a site for a new day camp program for children. .
DISCUSSION:
We have received vendor estimates of $55,000 for the creation of the new Zoo Educational Area. This includes the Elk Deck Seating Wall, the Observation Area Plaza, and new fencing at the site. Our grant request is for $50,000 from the Kane County Riverboat Grant, with contributions from the Phillips Park Zoo Society and funds in the Parks Department budget to cover the remainder of the cost. The Revenue Account number is 101-4441-337-30-40
and the Expense Account is 101-4441-451-50-50. Zoo staff and the Parks Department would be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Educational Plaza.
Funds for the City's matching portion are available in account 101-4440-451-38-05. A budget amendment will be necessary for both the revenue and expense account above for $50,000.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Phillips Park Zoo sees about 180,000 visitors every year. Most are parents and children enjoying the Zoo for a day, while thousands more children tour the Zoo with school groups.
Right now, there is no central area where people can gather and learn about the collection of animals and the 105-year history of the Phillips Park Zoo. On occasion, Zoo staff will set up a tent or table near one of the Zoo’s display, to speak about the Zoo and its programs.
Our new Educational Area will serve as a central gathering site, where Zoo staff regularly will present educational programs- and allow people to actually interact with some of the animals in the Zoo collection. The Educational Area will become the central site for the Zoo’s Story Time Reading Sessions, Sensory Sensitivity Days and for a new day camp program for children.
The Zoo is developing a collection of its tamer animals to interact with visitors young and old - turtles and snakes, rabbits and guinea pigs, alpacas and goats, and even a screech owl.
The Zoo will train staff members, seasonal staff and college interns to present these educational programs, with at least 100 presentations from Spring to Fall.
It is estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 children visit the Zoo each year on school trips. The upgrades in the Zoo’s educational programs is sure to draw even more schools, more children, and more families to learn more about wildlife from across the world
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the City Council give approval for the Parks & Recreation Division to apply for a Kane County Riverboat Grant to help create a new, and needed, Educational Area at the Phillips Park Zoo."
cc: Infrastructure and Technology Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
title
A Resolution to allow the Parks & Recreation Division to apply for a Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant, to help create a new Educational Area at the Phillips Park Zoo).
body
WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, Kane County is offering Grand Victoria Riverboat Grants to local communities and non-profits for projects focusing on Education, Environment and Economic Development::
WHEREAS, the Zoo is in need of a centralized area where it can offer educational programs on animals and nature to the thousands of visitors, young and old, who come to the Zoo year-round; and the former Elk Observation Deck has deteriorated and been closed since 2018; and the Parks Department and Zoo have drafted plans to create a new Educational Area at the former Elk Deck, where Zoo staff regularly will present educational programs about animals and nature to the thousands of visitors and school groups each year
WHEREAS, Parks & Recreation has received vendor estimates totaling $55,000 for the construction of an Elk Deck Seating Wall, Observation Seating Area, and required fencing for the new Educational Area; and the difference between the $50,000 request for the Kane County Riverboat Grant and the total $55,000 cost will be made up by Parks & Recreation Department funding and financial assistance from the Phillips Park Zoociety. (The Revenue Account number is 101-4441-337-30-40 and the Expense Account is 101-4441-451-50-50.))
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: That the Parks & Recreation Department may pursue a grant of $50,000 from the Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant Program to assist in the development of an Educational Area at the Phillips Park Zoo to serve the thousands of children and families who visit the Zoo each year.