Monday, December 14, 2020

Zoo Blues?

 The Jackson City Council discussed a proposed zoo management contract with Zooceanarium last Tuesday.  WAPT reported: 

 

<i>JJ</i> would love to post the video from the City Council meeting but for some reason, the city has not  posted a video on its website or on Facebook.  <i>JJ</i> would love to show you a copy of the contract but there was no board packet nor did the Mayor provide a copy of the contract to the City Council.  The city attorney did not appear at the meeting to answer questions about the contract.  The agenda simply said there would be a discussion about the Zooceanarium contract.  That's it. 

 The city will apparently provide $1.2 million per year.  The amount is a little more than the $990,000 it provided annually to the Jackson Zoological Society but less than the $1.5 million the Society usually requested.  

 The City Council still will not demand the company disclose the name of the owners or its operating agreement.  Company filings at the Missouri Secretary of State's office  only provide the name of a registered agent.  The Lumumba administration is apparently hell-bent on giving millions of dollars to a company without knowing who actually owns the company.  The City Council apparently can't be bothered to perform basic due diligence as well. 


 

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

sunshine needed-

Anonymous said...

Who cares the zoo sucks and Jackson is a shithole.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm! Sumpin' fishee gwain' on rount heeruh.

Anonymous said...

If the city council did it's investigation and "due diligence" it would only result in more bad news. They don't want to hear no more bad news.

Anonymous said...

From LinkedIn, it appears Zooceanrium Group has many UAE/Dubai project directors and administration. It's probably a foreign entity with US headquarters in St Louis.

Visionary said...

I noticed that too, 9:21...Next we'll see Baby Chock buy a pig in a poke and contracting with Dubai to build 40 story glass structures in west Jackson and Chock will be made an honorary Prince. Man! Talk about a resume' bullet point!

Anonymous said...

ZoOceanarium, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is headquartered in Dubai.

Anonymous said...

The city can’t afford a zoo. They can’t even afford to fix potholes.

Anonymous said...

The city could afford a zoo if it was well maintained and properly run like a business generating a profit for the city in a safe part of town. Problem is, none of that will ever happen. It’s located in an absolute warzone. Most of your customers aren’t going to risk getting hit by stray bullets to go to a run down zoo. It’s just not feasible at this point where it is located. Demolish the useless Smith/Wills and relocate the zoo on that property. Let the blight surrounding the current zoo finally engulf the property.

Anonymous said...

Amazing that The City of Jackson is spending good money on ads for tourists on high dollar programs like Limbaugh radio nd football TV. For What? Also perhaps even more amazing is the ads use the word/s "safe" or "safely" to indicate that unlike other tourist destinations Jackson is especially safe to visit for the Soul.False ad claims to follow. It never ends.

Anonymous said...

How do these big companies who do business with Jackson stay in business?
Look at Siemens. They lost a boatful of money dealing with Jackson.

Anonymous said...

@10:45am - They knew it would be a minority contract write-off before they signed. Just the cost of doing business.

Anonymous said...

Zooquarium list a mailing address of 460 Briarwood Dr., Suite 100, at the Triad Business Center. Problem is they do not have an office at this location, they just use it to forward their mail. Face it, Chokwe has no feasible plan and is trying to put one together with tape, smoke and mirrors. Chokwe has no idea what to do or how to do it. It’s sad to watch mediocrity in motion. It’s even sadder to watch people defend Chokwe’s incompetence. This ends poorly.

Anonymous said...

As stated $1,200,000.00 is a little more than $990,000.00 a year. $210,000.00 a year is more than “a little more”. P.s. that’s $5000.00 more EACH And EVERY WEEK.

Anonymous said...

If the contract T&Cs were a big win Antard would have blow his horn loud about it a long time ago. He's stuck the city with a $6 million dollar collection of zoo animals. Nobody on that Council is going to get in the way.

Now the flat rate water billing? That's going to be a HUGE problem.

Anonymous said...

Please oh please......... let it be owned by Carol Baskin or Joe Exotic

Anonymous said...

My hunch is that there is Chinese (Chicom) money behind this. Don't laugh; if they can own the Biden crime family they can own zoos.

Anonymous said...

Common sense is no longer common, and political pragmatism appears obsolete in this case. The city of Jackson has more pressing issues, e.g., crime,infrastructure, widespread city blight, that should be addressed and prioritized rather than pouring money it can ill afford into a zoo.

Anonymous said...

When the real Mississippi Winter arrives in a few months, the pipes will freeze, burst . . . and the few remaining animals confined out there will suffer even more.

When that happens, I want to see some Movie stars (representing PETA)
. . . buck ass neck'id . . . on West Capitol with their "animal abuse" signs.

To clarify, I only wish to see the hot girls from Hollywood neck'id at the zoo.

John said...

Has there been any kind of vote by the CC yet? I'd like to see who endorsed it who nixed it.

A zoo in the current location is sheer stupidity. Kenneth is a squeaky wheel and his tantrums will cost JXN plenty if they come to fruition.

This kind of stupidity is why so many want to leave Jackson so badly. Sadly, their hoe have LOST value and they can't afford to sell.

Anonymous said...

Glad I'm not paying property taxes in this God forsaken city anymore. Seriously folks, you can't make this stuff up!

Anonymous said...

I get the feeling this is a front for the old Collins Zoo. I'd put money on it that this place won't be run any better.

Anonymous said...

Actually the previous management company was only receiving $880k. Com’on Kingfish you should know that, you served on the board 😂. Seriously though, Mr. Davis mentioned in the meeting that his Company was AZA accredited which is a flat out lie! All accredited institutions are listed on AZA.org look it up for yourself... Also, check out this page https://www.zoolex.org/firm/47/. Seems as if this company has never actually managed a Zoo, only architect work. In the past, Dr. Blaine has said ZoOceanarium manages the St Louis Aquarium, found out that was a lie too— after a couple phone calls.

Anonymous said...

Nothing but another airport style kickback scheme. Those poor animals.

Anonymous said...

Just so we are seeing 360, the City Attorney that had been working on this was really sick with Covid. Furthermore, a Councilman was sick as well. They didn't want to take action without the input of the City Attorney that had worked on this. I know the City looks to everyone as some sort of evil entity, and probably as is the case with every government or private sector entity, some don't have perfect intentions. But in this case, I feel like the Council as a whole was trying to do the right and prudent thing.



Recent Comments

Search Jackson Jambalaya

Subscribe to JJ's Youtube channel

Archives

Trollfest '09

Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

Wrestling returns, except this time it will be a Battle Royal with Othor Cain, Ben Allen, Kim Wade, Haley Fisackerly, Alan Lange, and “Big Cat” Donna Ladd all in the ring at the same time. The Battle Royal will be in a steel cage, no time limit, no referee, and the losers must leave town. Marshand Crisler will be the honorary referee (as it gives him a title without actually having to do anything).


Meet KIM Waaaaaade at the Entergy Tent. For five pesos, Kim will sell you a chance to win a deed to a crack house on Ridgeway Street stuffed in the Howard Industries pinata. Don't worry if the pinata is beaten to shreds, as Mr. Wade has Jose, Emmanuel, and Carlos, all illegal immigrants, available as replacements for the it. Upon leaving the Entergy tent, fig leaves will be available in case Entergy literally takes everything you have as part of its Trollfest ticket price adjustment charge.

Donna Ladd of The Jackson Free Press will give several classes on learning how to write. Smearing, writing without factchecking, and reporting only one side of a story will be covered. A donation to pay their taxes will be accepted and she will be signing copies of their former federal tax liens. Ms. Ladd will give a dramatic reading of her two award-winning essays (They received The Jackson Free Press "Best Of" awards.) "Why everything is always about me" and "Why I cover murders better than anyone else in Jackson".

In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

Trollfest '09 is a pet-friendly event as well. Feel free to bring your dog with you and do not worry if your pet gets hungry, as employees of the Jackson Zoo will be on hand to provide some of their animals as food when it gets to be feeding time for your little loved one.

Relax at the Fox News Tent. Since there are only three blonde reporters in Jackson (being blonde is a requirement for working at Fox News), Megan and Kathryn from WAPT and Wendy from WLBT will be on loan to Fox. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both and a torn-up Obama yard sign will entitle you to free drinks served by Megan, Wendy, and Kathryn. Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required. Just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '09 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.


Note: Security provided by INS.

Trollfest '07

Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

Note: Security provided by INS
.