Erie Zoo, Erie Events looking into partnership to fund expansion

The Erie Zoo has been entering a new era of growth and with growth comes the need for funds.

The zoo has been in talks with Erie Events about a potential partnership in order to get this.

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It's clear both organizations view the zoo as an Erie asset and they and doing what they can to ensure it has a long future.

Recurring sustainable operational support for years to come is what the president of the Erie Zoo said they are looking for. Erie Events, an organization who operates four venues in the downtown area, could help them attain that.

The zoo has been on a mission to modernize their facilities for the last three years.

This comes after they lost their formal accreditation in 2021 granted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Something they have had for more than 30 years.

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"Securing that sustainable recurring operational support is key for us as we work our way back to accreditation. That will help support staffing levels that will also help with some of the different maintenance areas that we are tackling," said Roo Kojancie, president & CEO of the Erie Zoo.

Executive director Gus Pine said Erie Events was approached earlier this year. After reviewing bi-laws, board members decided the zoo was "worth saving."

"I think it would be irresponsible for us to not at least examine what it is we could do if we could potentially do something," Pine said. "Obviously is an entity that reports to the city so the city has to make the determination on where they think the future of the zoo lies."

The zoo and Erie Events have recently presented their ideas to city council in a study session.

If there was an agreement, there would be a few non-negotiable items that Pine said were explained in the session.

"Oversight over the operating budget that would clearly be an important piece to any partnership and secondly the ability to have control over that land," Pine said.

While this is still in an exploratory phase both organizations are optimistic about where this collaboration can lead them.

"This is a transformational time for the zoo. We just turned 100 years old and we're really looking to the future," Kojancie went on to say. "Everything we've done over these last three years has really been to position the zoo to grow."

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She highlighted their recent award of a $2 million RACP Grant through the state and new winter hours which they haven't had in nearly 20 years.