Keep the zoo in west Jackson: Mayor Lumumba

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba emphatically pressed for the Jackson Zoo to remain in west Jackson and said the city will do everything in its power to make that happen.

"For anyone who is under any misconception, it is the position of myself and my administration that we do not support the move of the zoo out of west Jackson," Lumumba said at a Tuesday news conference.

The mayor took aim at the Jackson Zoological Board and its director, Beth Poff, who said about two weeks ago that because of declining attendance and a surrounding neighborhood in decline, the zoo has committed to moving to LaFleurs Bluff State Park in northeast Jackson.

But the zoo, established in Livingston Park on West Capitol Street in 1919 by firefighters, has a good deal of support from the City Council and many residents to stay where it's at now. Lumumba now leads that charge.

The mayor called the proposed $50 million investment that would be needed to move the zoo out of west Jackson "disrespectful to the history of the zoo and the folks in the community in which the zoo currently resides."

"We believe that if there is a significant investment in the Jackson Zoo, it should be made right where it is today," the mayor said, after comparing the financial woes of the zoo to similar issues of zoos across the country.

"We will not support losing another resource out of west Jackson," the mayor continued.

Poff could not be reached immediately for comment.

Lumumba said the city has a plan for dealing with the blighted area around the zoo, but did not go into detail or address the condition of the roads and other infrastructure.

He said he's committed to "using every tool" the city has at its disposable to keep the zoo where it is.

Members of Working Together Jackson, a coalition of 35 community groups, whose members flanked the mayor at his news conference, said they've been left out of the process and kept in the dark on the zoo's plan.

"The zoo's recent announcement of its intent to leave west Jackson is disheartening: Not only because of the possibility of losing a historic, 100 -year old ecosystem, but because of the lack of transparency and involvement of the community in the decision-making process," west Jackson resident Heather Ivey said.

City Council President Charles Tillman, whose Ward 5 takes in the zoo's location, also expressed his displeasure over the proposed move and recommended the zoo board rescind its vote and work with the city.

Tillman and the mayor expressed their belief that moving the zoo from one area to another will leave a void that will affect the entire city, not just west Jackson.

"To be here to say to fight to keep the zoo in west Jackson, it's a sad day," Tillman said.

"Jackson is Jackson. Resources should be spread around and not in one section," he said.

The mayor said decreased marketing by the board has contributed to declining revenue and suggested the zoo could find ways to pay for additional attractions that Poff laid out in the zoo board's news release at the west Jackson location.

"Foolish men build walls, wise men build bridges," the mayor said, taking a quotation from the hit movie "Black Panther."