John Ball Zoo

[GRCentro]

I HATE john ball zoo!!!! not for lack of content, but for the TERRIBLE treatment of their animals, the tiger has 0 grass in its entire cage only its 20x20 slab of concrete. The fact that it si the 10th oldest is all the more reason to tear it down! When people from out of town ask about going to a zoo, I tell them we dont have one just to save me and the city of GR from being embarresed.

Perhaps this is an example where your perception differs from reality. The animals at the zoo recieve excellent treatment by a professional staff who genuinely care for their well-being. To say that the animals' treatment is "TERRIBLE" is a gross misjudgement. Don't think for a second that the animals are abused or mistreated.

With that said, the zoo does need to be expanded. This is an item of great frustration for the zoo staff. A couple years ago, the expansion millage was voted down by county taxpayers. The zoo is already on a shoe-string budget and the county cuts back on its funding every year. Now, income is primarily from admissions and donations. Every new exhibit requires a large public funding drive, like we will see later on this fall.

The only way for the zoo to improve is through public support. Visit the zoo. Donate through drive events. Support millages.

Its time to pull the NIMBY rod from our arses and get the Zoo expanded and upgraded.

Quoted for truth.

[NorthCoast]

As proud as I am of GR, I must agree that the zoo is sub-par. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice quaint little zoo when GR was just a small mid-western town but it is no longer adequate for a mid-sized midwestern city. If Toledo can put forth a zoo like the one they have then I gotta believe that GR can do just as good if not better. The exhibits such as the chimpanzee one are great and represents the new look the zoo should be going for. Unfortunately a great exhibit like that is overshadowed by the aforementioned Tiger exhibit. And what is the deal with the duck 'exhibit' in the entry way. It just seems sorta dumb, when you could just save yourself a couple bucks and get up close and personal with the ducks on the pond in the actual park.

I understand, though, if the zoo had its way things would be a lot better than they are right now.

[suydam]

Perhaps this is an example where your perception differs from reality. The animals at the zoo recieve excellent treatment by a professional staff who genuinely care for their well-being. To say that the animals' treatment is "TERRIBLE" is a gross misjudgement. Don't think for a second that the animals are abused or mistreated.

The animals may be treated well but the cement-and-iron living conditions of some of those older cages are absolutely deplorable.

For the record, I would have voted in favor of the millage if I actually lived here back when they were voting on it. GR should have a great zoo. What we have now is not even "good enough."

[tamias6]

The animals may be treated well but the cement-and-iron living conditions of some of those older cages are absolutely deplorable.

For the record, I would have voted in favor of the millage if I actually lived here back when they were voting on it. GR should have a great zoo. What we have now is not even "good enough."

My thoughts is that the zoo is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They tried to expand into John ball park. NIMBY's cried "fowl!". They tried to move to a more roomy location. Those same NIMBY's cried "Fowl!" again and penny pinching horders we call Kent county residences didn't want to give up a few dallars a year to let the zoo move. As long as we have NIMBY's saying "No! No!" to JBP and Kent county keeping a pad lock on the purse strings. We're going to be stuck with a hopplessly antiquated zoo. In short this would be a fine example of "You get what you pay for.".

[GRDadof3]

I thought a lot of people voted against the new Wildlife Park because it was not IN the city of GR, but in Grand Rapids Township. The people spoke.

Did anyone look at the enhancement and expansion plans in the first post in this thread (for which the fundraiser is kicking off this Fall), or does everyone just wait for information to be spoon fed to them?

[GRCentro]

I thought a lot of people voted against the new Wildlife Park because it was not IN the city of GR, but in Grand Rapids Township. The people spoke.

It's true that many people were concerned about the zoo being outside city limits, but I still wonder if many others were simply unwilling to pay the few extra dollars. (It's also worth remembering that the zoo is not operated by the City of Grand Rapids, but by Kent County.)

When the millage was rejected, the zoo was still left back at square one, with very little money for improvements. They went back to the drawing board and created a great new set of plans (some of which haven't even been seen by the public yet) for the current location. But, the question still remains: is the public willing to pay for it? Will people take ownership of their zoo or just remain critical towards it? This time there is no millage to vote on -- only the generosity of donors.

[snoogit]

I thought a lot of people voted against the new Wildlife Park because it was not IN the city of GR, but in Grand Rapids Township. The people spoke.

Did anyone look at the enhancement and expansion plans in the first post in this thread (for which the fundraiser is kicking off this Fall), or does everyone just wait for information to be spoon fed to them?

It looked like it was taking up some of the existing park, but wont they have to go back to the voters with this plan?

[GRCentro]

A quick aside note for those who raised concerns about the condition of some of the older exhibits:

"It

[snoogit]

It's true that many people were concerned about the zoo being outside city limits, but I still wonder if many others were simply unwilling to pay the few extra dollars. (It's also worth remembering that the zoo is not operated by the City of Grand Rapids, but by Kent County.)

When the millage was rejected, the zoo was still left back at square one, with very little money for improvements. They went back to the drawing board and created a great new set of plans (some of which haven't even been seen by the public yet) for the current location. But, the question still remains: is the public willing to pay for it? Will people take ownership of their zoo or just remain critical towards it? This time there is no millage to vote on -- only the generosity of donors.

It still seems like there will be NIMBY's who fight tooth and nail to keep JBZ off of JPB...

the bad thing is that would be a huge disservice to the zoo.

[Allison Slater]

I really like that plan.. it looks very exciting, and looks like almost the whole park will be completely redone. One question though... over towards the kids area there's that series of waterfalls with a step-path going up to the top. Will that be preserved? Or maybe made taller? =D =D Ever since I first went at who knows what age, I've ALWAYS loved going up to the top of that thing and some of my best memories of the zoo are on that path.

[RustTown]

John Ball's problems sound exactly like Potter Park's problem here in Lansing. While the City of Lansing currently owns and operates the zoo, 70% of its visitors are out-of-city visitors. Our recent mayor is trying to pass operation on to Ingham County, and trying even harder to pass it on to Eaton and Clinton Counties (much less likely). Ingham County, though, seems like it really wants to take up operation, but they want to run a millage by Ingham County residents. That's where it becomes tougher, because while Lansing has passed all of its' park milages over the past decade, I wonder if the rest of Ingham County values their parks as much as Lansing does.

John Ball and Potter Park are also nearly the exact same size (103 acres to 102 acres)

I wish John Ball the best of luck. I've never been there, and unfortunately, I haven't heard much good about it from those that have been, but I'll definitely try to make it out that way to see it and form my own opinion. The plans look great, though, especially the hillside trolley.

[Rizzo]

According to the folks at GRBJ the zoo recorded a record attendence for a single month in 10 years. The zoo counted some 69,569 people in the month of June. The record for stands at 69,982. According to the director, the month of June is usually slow.

[sfloria]

I thought a lot of people voted against the new Wildlife Park because it was not IN the city of GR, but in Grand Rapids Township. The people spoke.

Did anyone look at the enhancement and expansion plans in the first post in this thread (for which the fundraiser is kicking off this Fall), or does everyone just wait for information to be spoon fed to them?

I was very impressed by the PDF from the first post that shows all the new improvements. I'm exicted to see those changes. I would love to take the funicular up the hill and hang out in the tree house. I hope they can make these changes sooner than later.

I haven't been to JBZ yet, but I understand and empathize with the comments about the deplorable conditions. I'm sure the animals are treated with the utmost care, but even 5 star treatment at Abu Graib isn't going to make you a happy camper.

I think the natural topography of the zoo could make it one of the most interesting zoo's in the region. The proposal looks like they will take advantage of the landscape. I'm exicted for the zoo to transform. Now lets get Meijer's zoo money back in action!!

[GoBroncos]

Binder may be a "factory zoo" but we are not talking about suburb developments, we are talking about actual living things. at binder they have large open areas to roam, at JBZ this is obviously not the case. I cant believe anyone could defend JBZ in its current state.

also i did make the mistake of taking a few out of towners to the zoo this past month and they wanted to leave because of how crappy the conditions were.

Your opinion would be better off kept to yourself because its way off. My sister and her kids came up from about an hour south of GR and they loved John Ball Zoo. Who are these out of towners you speak of, they sound like snobs. Its a zoo, what did they expect freakin Disney World?!

[GoBroncos]

The only way John Ball can improve itself is by doing the unpopular things, either completely taking over JBP, or moving out to an area with more space.

Now If it were me, I'd say take over JBP, and with Millenium park just across from it JBP's relevance is slowly fading away.

The zoo needs an upgrade, and needs some expansion, denying that is doing a disservice for the area, and the zoo.

Its time to pull the NIMBY rod from our arses and get the Zoo expanded and upgraded.

Great point on the relevance of JBP with Millenium Park right there. I would love to see the zoo expand out into the park.

[GRDadof3]

Great point on the relevance of JBP with Millenium Park right there. I would love to see the zoo expand out into the park.

That might be difficult, since they don't really border each other:

I know the section just over I-196 is planned for a "Kids Town" area with a ferris-wheel.

[andrew.w]

Umm...I think GoBroncos meant that since Millenium Park is right there, the zoo could expandinto John Ball park without depriving the community of a park.

Snoogit was the first to mantion this somewhere in this topic

[civitas]

(the writing is sideways, but this is oriented more accurately than on the County's website)

Are you one of those people who spin the site plan on the conference table until north it pointed in the right direction?

[GRDadof3]

Are you one of those people who spin the site plan on the conference table until north it pointed in the right direction?

As a matter of fact... I'm even worse, I like to have North on the site plan correspond with true North in the room.

[tamias6]

That might be difficult, since they don't really border each other:

Has the zoo ever consisdered sweet talking the city into handing over the land marked as "Future City Park" shown in the upper right hand area of the above image depicting the Millenium Park's master plan? I used Google earth to measure that plot of land. I'm not too sure how much room a decent zoo needs. But to me. it seems more than big enough to build a very nice zoo.

[GRDadof3]

Here are some of the minutes from Kent County when different scenarios were being discussed (the Butterworth Landfill site that you mentioned tamias, and expanding into Millenium Park).

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:s3Lk0v...t=clnk&cd=1

and everything you ever wanted to know about the Butterworth Landfill EPA Superfund site but were afraid to ask

[GoBroncos]

Umm...I think GoBroncos meant that since Millenium Park is right there, the zoo could expandinto John Ball park without depriving the community of a park.

Snoogit was the first to mantion this somewhere in this topic

Yes, Andrew is right, I meant that I would love to see the zoo expand into John Ball Park.

[tamias6]

Here are some of the minutes from Kent County when different scenarios were being discussed (the Butterworth Landfill site that you mentioned tamias, and expanding into Millenium Park).

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:s3Lk0v...t=clnk&cd=1

and everything you ever wanted to know about the Butterworth Landfill EPA Superfund site but were afraid to ask

That's some unnerving info on the landfill, esp. the second hyperlink. I'm currently building a fantasy GR using Google Sketchup and Google Earth and have a football stadium and baseball stadium placed on the landfill. Now you got me thinking of moving them elsewhere.

[mgreven]

Went to the zoo today (after the rain ) for a brief walk. I got a kick out of this lady who started yelling at the gizzly/brown bear exhibit. (the bear was pacing) "Look at him, he's all stressed because he's in too small a cage...this is horrible I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Sure, I guess the living space is pretty small and I'd love to see a bigger one for the bears someday, but I trust the zookeepers know what's best.

On a seperate note, I too, see so much potential there. Why don't they get the fundraising going soon? Everytime I go, I want to give to improve that place but there's none of those drawings up or anything to get people to buy into their vision.

[GRDadof3]

Went to the zoo today and thought it looked great. I haven't been there in probably 6 or 7 years, and there were a few exhibits I don't remember. Treasures of the Tropics was a lot better than some other reptile houses I've been in that stink so bad you can't breath. And some of the creatures they had were pretty exotic. Mokomboso Valley with the chimpanzees was an excellently designed area, and really allows the animals to spread out. The clubhouse serving that area was also quite a beautiful building. The camel rides were kind of neat (and I don't remember them from before). Australia Trail was a bit weak, and I kept expecting to see Koala Bears (because there were signs for them everywhere) but I was sadly informed they had no Koalas. And the new Camp Rio area with all the new decking and information boards was nice looking as well. I was thinking too about the proposed additions and think it really wouldn't take much to make it a top-notch attraction.

For the woman who left in a huff mgreven, a zoo is a zoo.