Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba will discuss the recent management changes at the Jackson Zoo at 2:30. The Facebook Live feed is posted below.
The Mayor said he wants an auditing of the zoo's books. He also said that an RFP will be issued for a management contract for the zoo. However, the Mayor said he "wanted to bring on new management." The Jackson Zoological Society can submit a bid. Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Robert Blaine said he wants to make the zoo part of a "Capitol Street Corridor."
The Mayor also blamed the marketing of the zoo for part of its attendance problems. The zoo's marketing budget has fallen to nearly nothing as it has lacked the funds to promote itself.
Kingfish note: Every time I hear the word "grants" used with Capitol Street in this town, another phrase comes to mind: "Sticky fingers." If they want to keep the zoo in West Jackson, then here is a cheaper and prettier alternative.
Earlier post on keeping the zoo in West Jackson. Of course, this idea doesn't fit into schemes that look great on drawing boards in a manner what would make any WW1 general proud.
One observation, Mr. Mayor. Its about time you cats realized that this is not just the West Jackson Zoo. It is the zoo for Central Mississippi. Schools and visitors from Brookhaven to Vicksburg to Yazoo City are customers of the zoo. Those are customers who can and do go somewhere else. Don't fall into the trap of Jackson-only thinking. Oddly enough, it took slumlord City Council President Charles Tillman to point out that obvious fact at the press conference.
Oh, I went out and took a tour of McLane's in Rankin County last week. The zoo now has some serious competition. Don't think others aren't watching to see how it does. It already uses 60 acres, nearly double the size of the zoo, and has another thousand acres for expansion.
36 comments:
i'm confused - 12:30p or 2:30p? They're late either way.
what are the numbers of these festivals such as zoo brew, zoo blues, ice cream safari?
CL makes it sound like thousands upon thousands attend...
Why does everyone have to refer to Chris Rock, I mean the mayor by all three names?
Another obfuscating press conference from Mayor Jokeway.
Why does everyone have to refer to Chris Rock, I mean the mayor by all three names?
I was told they use all three names so the public will not be confused as to which Lumumba is in the news. I am assuming the others are Chokwe Skippy Lumumba and Chokwe Bubba Lumumba.
Why is this so hard? Close the thing down and allocate that 900k per year towards the crumbling infrastructure.
4:17 PM Too Funny.
The Zoo is dead. Been dead. No new management is going to turn it around. OK Jackson keep throwing money at it.
Its sad that this guy is Mayor. He is more concerned that it remains in west jxn than it be successful. I would say the economic impact the zoo has in west Jackson is minimal. They could bus any employees from area to the new zoo
if it was shown that a new location would allow it to survive. This clown fails to recognize that the zoo's ability to survive rest in non Jackson residents. His comments regarding zoo blues and zoo brew were shuck and jive with no relevance to zoo attendance issues.
"Capitol Street Corridor" and other made up words...there is no such distinct district. Drive down Cap. St. and you will feel like you are cheating death with every breath.
This just in...The manager of the Collins Zoo on Hwy 49 will be taking over operations ASAP. Its all about "mismanagement" of funds.
Hey Mayor/ Chief- nobody wants to venture in to the West JXN hell-hole.
Indulge me in a shallow comment (as if that's never happened here before), but the Mayor's PR team should really advise him to trim that beard. I realize it's on trend. I realize a beard makes him appear more mature. But he needs to appear more polished and professional.
Close it down, open the gate, let the animals roam free and watch the hilarity. GO!
Have to wonder @7:45 of video what Music Director Blaine had been smoking before the presser. 21st century zoo to collaborate on blight elimination?
Hell with the broken water lines, surface sewage streaming through people's yards, a murder rate on a record breaking pace, the near stampede exodus of the black middle class and near impassable streets. Let's serve up some more pie-in-the-sky about the Zoo!
2:57,
I’ve gone to Zoo Brew the last few years. No question that there are at least a couple thousand folks there for it. The place gets packed.
RFP still not released. LMAO
Close. It. Down. Fix. The. F***king. Potholes.
Stokes for Mayor.
Everything with Chuck is a plan. Dang man has more plans than any human being I know. Just doesn’t know how to implement said plan. Can’t wait to see what idiot organization is bidding to run said west Jackson zoo. I may be that sanders guy that rambles on at council meetings.
Mayor get your Head out of your A __”
Be A Leader
Make Tough Decisions
The City is Bankrupt - BROKE -
Do U Care ?
Communism and Socialism Stereo Types
Don’t Care
What Say You Mayor ?
Quit Suckin Up To Every Faction
Be A Man
Set Your Ego Aside and Lead
Lead , Follow Those Who Care, Or
Resign and Get The Hell Out Of The
Way !
End the death spiral-
CLOSE.THE.ZOO.
the last time I heard this kinda PLATITUDINUS BULL SHIT was in the news conferences of the 60's and 70's------don't even know where to start!!
If and only if, the city is willing to tear down at least 2 to 3 blocks of building around the zoo - except, perhaps, the church, then people may return to visiting the zoo. I don't think this is racial -- black and whites are not eager to stop at stoplights in the vicinity of the zoo.
When we lost the elephants and put animals where no one can see them, people quit going. As the area filled with graffiti and abandoned buildings, people quit going. Nothing good has happened around the zoo in a very long time.
Why doesn’t the collective use the zoo for their cooperative community organizing? Throw some other buzz words in there for effect and roll with another city hall presser. Get some kind of grant they will never follow through with, plant a flag in the elephant pen and call it kushville or NU Afrika, or some other un-American name.
When is Shadrack going to investigate Beth Poff for taking the infrastructure money and paying her various and sundry bills? Did she pay the high priced lobbyist with the bond money?
Release the animals within confines of the zoo and open up high dollar hunts after a few months of random food drops to the animals and vegetation growth. Use the funds to hire more cops and pave roads. Dibs on the rhino hunt. No, I’m not referring to Tator.
How has the saving of Metro Center Mall worked out?
"Is there somebody else up there we can talk to?"
How do you know he is not investigating? The SA is like the FBI, he doesn't comment on investigations nor confirm or deny their existence.
Move the Zoo to Metrocenter. Renovate the mall to accommodate animal habitats and build outdoor habitats in the overly large parking lot. Use the mall building for offices, exhibits, indoor habitats, and a theater. It would still be in West Jackson and would be easily accessible from I-20, I-220, and Highway 80.
Save the zoo. Turn metrocenter into an aquarium. Build a 70,000 seat dome to attract a semi pro football team and monster trucks. A 20,000 seat arena for the Conference USA basketball tournament and acts like Saline Deon for the Eastover crowd and REO Speedwagon for the former dockrockers living in Rankin County. Jackson turns into a boomtown.
@8:36 - good idea. The parking lot is already a carnival ride.
The Jackson Zoo is dead! dead! dead! It just hasn’t been buried yet! Why is that so hard to understand? Obviously, it is just a smoke screen to cover other things!
At this point, I do NOT even know if moving the zoo will help, which means my hope for it has bottomed out because this was at least what I once firmly believed. Move the zoo to LeFluer's park area, nice central location, off the interstate, easily accessible, but that too will take MONEY. If they are not even able to make payroll, how likely is it the funds are there for a move. Sad COJ, love my city, but this is so sad and with the poor, camera/conference happy, inept leadership, it's not looking good.
How hard is it to see that nothing is going to survive in west Jxn. The city is putting up such a fight with not moving the zoo that it will cease to exist by this time next year. We see how well they were able to hang on to retail at the medical mall, metrocenter, and even the old McRae's on Meadowbrook. Vacant and deteriorating. There is no such thing as The Capital Street Corridor. City council meeting today, it was suggested that they get some of the $60 million allocated for Hwy 49 from Richland to the coast and use it to fix from the medical mall headed north. Where do these officials come up with these ideas? You're in government, you know good and well that things don't work like that. Maybe you shouldn't work in government because you just don't get it.
Kingfish sez: "How do you know he is not investigating? The SA is like the FBI, he doesn't comment on investigations nor confirm or deny their existence."
I reckon your right. The last one for eight or so years never commented before, during or after investigations so we were left to assume he was earning his pay. When there's nobody to hold you accountable.....
Garage doors.
Motor homes.
Bass Boat.
Golf cart.
I live in Jackson and from what I see if investors has not signed on yet I would do a city/state partnership to move the zoo that way the city will not be footing the entire bill. Given the fact a zoo is not design to bring in revenue itself but serves as an attraction to bring indirect revenue. The area the zoo is now can become a park, housing, community center, grocery store or something different but before money is invested plans should be in place to give the existing area a facelift and can start just by doing an area wide trash pick, fixing sidewalks,tearing down abandon structures, have city to start enforcing laws about junk in yards, and council member in that area bringing community together for neighborhood watch, and all sorts of things that does not require money.
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