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Dane County has selected a contractor to take over operating the Vilas Zoo’s concessions and rides following the breakdown in negotiations with the nonprofit organization that has run them for decades.

County Executive Joe Parisi said Centerplate, the in-house caterer and concessions provider for the county’s Alliant Energy Center, has been chosen to run the zoo’s Glacier Grille restaurant, carousel, train and gift shop, pending approval by the County Board.

The Henry Vilas Zoological Society, which has worked with the zoo and raised money for it since 1914 — and with the county since it took over ownership of the zoo from the city of Madison in the mid-1980s — will have to leave the zoo’s grounds when its contract expires March 31. The county plans to hire limited-term workers to replace the society’s employees who now staff the concessions stands, gift shop and rides.

The County Board will decide on two zoo-related resolutions in the coming month. One would approve a contract with Centerplate, the other would allow the county to pay the salaries of an additional nine full-time-equivalent zoo employees at a cost of about $620,000.