By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson City Council member took the occasion of the approval of a bid for a zoo project to take aim at the overall idea of a zoo in the Salt City.
"I would like to see the whole thing without any animals," said Sara Bagwell. "I'm just going to throw it out there. I'm not really into the zoo. I think it's a huge expenditure on taxpayer dollars. I would like to see something that doesn't cost taxpayers so much money."
The zoo does not currently charge admission.
"I'd rather either see a zoo that has vouchers for low-income people and a $5 entry that has more to it," Bagwell said. "Right now, it's just, it is a real big money pit and you're just having an extended park. I understand that, but some of the expenses on the zoo is huge."
It's clear that the city will need to make some cuts in future years with the loss in revenue from COVID-19.
"I am just saying, like with staff, what is it, $756,000 a year?" Bagwell said. "Eight personnel. Some people would go, almost a million dollars that everybody's paying for the zoo. If you kind of put that into perspective, someone saying, okay, as a city, we're paying almost a million dollars a year for not too much."
Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho and council members Nancy Soldner and John Daveline jumped to the defense of the zoo, so it's clear that Bagwell's opinion is in the minority, but it may portend some difficult discussions to come as the city grapples with its 2021 budget in the coming months.