Ryan Poe

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Memphis Zoo officials threatened Tuesday to withhold their half of the $500,000 needed to design a parking lot expansion, jeopardizing a compromise that saves most of the Overton Park greensward.

A council committee voted Tuesday to recommend acceptance of the money, split by the Memphis Zoological Society and Overton Park Conservancy, despite zoo officials' concerns the OPC wouldn't pay its half of the costs to begin construction this October or November.

But OPC board member Eric Barnes said the conservancy has every intention of paying its half of the design and construction costs. The total construction cost could reach more than $3 million. Raising that amount of money this year will be a challenge, OPC Executive Director Tina Sullivan acknowledged, but one her organization was committed to meeting. And having the design would help raise funds, she added.

"We've got a lot to do," she said.

Zoo President Chuck Brady said the OPC "directly" told the zoo that it wouldn't commit to paying half the construction costs, even though Barnes said that wasn't the case.

"Unless we have the construction funding, we oppose moving forward with this," Brady said.

In a statement released after the meeting, OPC said it is willing to proceed with the plan laid out by Mayor Jim Strickland and shoulder the construction costs, even though the relatively young organization doesn't currently have $1.5 million in reserve. Revenue from parking fees would offset the cost to the Zoo and OPC.

"We welcome this opportunity to continue working with the mayor’s office to resolve the long-standing issue of parking on the greensward," the OPC statement reads. "We have made it clear that every effort in this process should be made to minimize the amount of encroachment onto the greensward or any other area of Overton Park. The Conservancy’s willingness to commit construction funding is contingent upon our acceptance of the final design concept, which is why we are eager for Powers Hill to begin their work."

Memphis Chief Operations Officer Doug McGowen said he plans on moving forward with the plan laid out by the council. The city won't contribute any money to the project — except indirectly by partially funding both the zoo and OPC — so a lack of funding in October or November could delay the start of construction.

"I have my marching orders loud and clear," McGowen said.

Council member Martavius Jones, echoing comments by Worth Morgan, said asking a nonprofit to put up the total construction funding immediately was "unreasonable."

"We're talking about a nonprofit organization that can't go out there and open the gates and money automatically comes in," Jones said.

But zoo attorney Robert Spence said the zoo wasn't willing to spend $250,000 on design work without knowing whether the work will result in any improvements to the parking lot.

"It is a waste of resources. It is a waste of money. It is a waste of time," Spence said.

The committee vote starts the clock on behind-the-scenes negotiations ahead of a discussion in the April 11 council meeting.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.