Kent County Board of Commissioners
For Immediate Release
October 30, 2002
For Additional Information Contact:
Al Vanderberg
(616) 336-3511
Kent County Zoological Task Force Membership and Responsibilities
Kent County -- Chair Steven Heacock of the Kent County Board of Commissioners announced earlier the formation the Kent County Zoological Task Force. The primary responsibility of the task force will be to provide a critical communication link between the organizations involved in determining the feasibility of developing a new zoological garden on the current Grand Rapids Golf Club property near the Frederick Meijer Gardens. These organizations include: Meijer family; County of Kent; John Ball Zoological Society; Grand Rapids Charter Township; and residents representing the County at large and the area that would be impacted by construction of a new zoo.
The task force will review progress reports from Economic Research Associates of Los Angeles, CA and Jones & Jones, the Seattle, WA based zoo architectural firm. These firms have contracts with the John Ball Zoological Society to determine initial design and economic feasibility of the Grand Rapids Golf Club site for a new zoological facility. A development impact study of public facilities and neighborhoods in the immediate area of the potential development site will also be completed. Members of the task force will provide valued input to make sure that the concerns of the above organizations are addressed in the feasibility study. The scope of this group is limited to assessing the feasibility of the Grand Rapids Township site.
County staff will combine the task force findings with the existing information regarding expansion of the current John Ball Zoological Garden site into a final report to the Board of Commissioners. If the County Board of Commissioners decides to move forward with development of a new zoological facility on the Grand Rapids Golf Club property, additional groups may be appointed to study finance and transition plans for the new zoo.
Mike DeVries, Supervisor, Grand Rapids Charter Township has been named to the task force because the site involved is within Grand Rapids Township. Development of the site would require significant cooperation between the County and Township. Grand Rapids City Commissioner Lynn Rabaut has been named to the task force because her extensive knowledge of land planning in the area and her considerable abilities with respect to such strategic thinking.
The task force membership is as follows:
Tom Postmus, Kent County Commissioner, 11th District, task
force Chair
Dean Agee, Kent County Commissioner, 12th
District, task force Vice-Chair
Jim Vaughn, Kent County
Commissioner, 16th District
Robert VerHeulen, Meijer
family representative
Brent Dennis, Executive Director,
Frederick Meijer Gardens
Mike DeVries, Supervisor, Grand
Rapids Charter Township
Lynn Rabaut, County resident
at-large
Gary Milligan, President, John Ball Zoological
Society
Brenda Stringer, Executive Director, John Ball
Zoological Society
Audrey Nevins, Chair, John Ball Zoo
Advisory Board
Patricia Pulliam, Editor-in-Chief, Grand
Rapids Times, County resident at-large
Bruce Brown, County
resident at-large
John Gretzinger, Grand Rapids Charter
Township resident from affected area
The task force will be staffed by the following individuals:
Daryl Delabbio, County Administrator/Controller
Al
Vanderberg, Assistant County Administrator
John Lewis,
Director, John Ball Zoological Garden
Completion of the Kent County Zoological Task Force work is dependent on the delivery schedule of the project consultants but is expected by end of 2002.
