It was a grim meeting Don Hutchinson walked into this past February.
Hutchinson, a former Baltimore County executive, took over as the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore’s president and CEO in January with his work cut out for him. The 132-year-old zoo’s physical infrastructure had suffered from years of neglect, its fiscal structure had wasted away, and attendance was sagging, as crowds focused on the Inner Harbor’s attractions.
The executive leaders of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums wanted to meet with Hutchinson to deliver more bad news. The association last year had held off on re-accrediting the zoo citing a laundry list of problems including low salaries and mounting maintenance needs. The executives told Hutchinson in that meeting that there was almost no chance the zoo would receive accreditation.
“They came to see me to tell me there was virtually no chance we could be re-accredited this year,” he said. “I met with their CEO, the head of their accreditation program … and they said, in effect, they thought we were going to lose our accreditation.”
They were wrong.
The association last week said it would give the zoo accreditation after eight months of frantic work by zoo leaders and staff to address all but seven of the association’s 23 stated concerns about the zoo.
Zoo officials said this week that re-accreditation is primarily a symbolic victory — the zoo could have remained open without it. But to them, their employees and zoo-goers, it is a sign that things may finally be moving in the right direction.
The old and the new
Terry Young had taken Hutchinson up on his offer to help save the zoo but hadn’t yet resigned her job at Stevenson University when Hutchinson called again in February.
“He said, ‘Have you given your resignation yet?’ ” she recalled. “He said, ‘Full disclosure, I’m not sure we’ll be able to make payroll in April.’ I called my husband, and he said, ‘Well, isn’t that why you want to do this?’”
Young, former chief of staff to Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger and former president of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, was recruited by Hutchinson to be the zoo’s executive vice president of institutional advancement.
She worked with some of the zoo’s long-time staff, including general curator Mike McClure, who came to the zoo 13 years ago, and Karl Kranz, its chief operating officer since 2005, to develop a strategy to resuscitate the failing city icon.
Young said the zoo operates on a $12.5 million annual budget that cannot cover the maintenance needs accumulated over decades, let alone provide adequate raises for staff and the addition of new attractions. A $16.5 million budget would be more comfortable, she said.
But instead of a flashy new exhibit or big-dollar building project, she said the zoo has put time into the small, “unsexy,” behind-the-scenes needs. A $1 million water drainage project, a 5 percent salary increase for staff and $750,000 in general repairs are all complete or in the works.
“One of the things is, we’re really using our money wisely now,” McClure said. “We’re not putting Band-Aids on things anymore, we’re doing things right.”
Young, Kranz and other zoo staff credit Hutchinson with the turnaround and said his connections in the political and business worlds have brought help and attention to the zoo’s problems.
“We’ve spent a lot of time planning our way out of our problem,” Kranz said. “It didn’t happen overnight.”
Running again
Like any other toddler, Samson enjoys playing and loves exploring new places. But at 640 pounds, it’s a little harder to stop him from doing either.
The elephant, born at the zoo in March, has proven to be a major draw. “The publicity has been tremendous.” Hutchinson said.
“Attendance is up, and I think you have to attribute that to the two new exhibits, the giraffe feeding station and the new elephant.
But McClure pointed out a small extension to the path around Samson’s area, allowing a more accessible view of the baby elephant.
It’s those kind of small additions that the zoo hopes will contribute to visitors’ experience.
“If we can’t do the little stuff right,” Young said, “what makes people think we can do the big stuff right?”
Even in the middle of a brisk weekday this past week, there were still a few dozen people clustered around the elephant exhibit, and more walking through the zoo.
“You gotta keep a place like this in Baltimore,” said Baltimore County resident Frank Molnaur, as he took his mother in a wheelchair through the Africa exhibit. Molnaur said both had been zoo members since the mid-1990s.
“It’s gotta be here,” he said. “All the large cities have zoos. It’s what makes a city, these kinds of things.”
Despite the good news of re-accreditation, Hutchinson said the zoo isn’t out of the woods yet.
“We’re telling everyone … we won several battles this year, but we haven’t won the war,” he said. “The war is to put the zoo on a firm financial base. It is, I think, really irresponsible to allow an organization that cares for 1,500 animals, mostly exotic and endangered species, to not have a firm financial footing.”
The comeback trail
Actions taken or planned by the zoo in the last year:
- A $1 million wastewater management project
- A request for proposals for $750,000 in miscellaneous zoo repairs.
- A $500,000 restoration of the exterior of the Maryland House
- A 5 percent salary increase for lower-level staff, and a 10 percent salary increase for animal handlers
Source: The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
