Zoo-Museum District bill dead for this year, sponsor Joan Bray says
As the Legislature entered the final day of its 2009 session, State Sen. Joan Bray has dropped her effort to widen the financial base of the Zoo-Museum District beyond St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Bray’s bill to allow nonresident admission fees at district institutions has been stuck in a Senate committee for more than two months and she has decided against trying to amend her proposal onto some other measure that still has a chance of passing.
The St. Louis Art Museum
The original version of Bray’s measure also would have allowed St. Charles County and other outlying counties to hold elections on expanding the district’s property tax to their areas but she deleted that provision in an effort to minimize opposition.
Bray, a Democrat from University City, acknowledged that lack of support from the Zoo-Museum District board was a factor in the measure’s failure this year.
Two fellow Democratic senators who live in the district - Jeff Smith of St. Louis and Rita Days of Bel-Nor - agreed to be co-sponsors, but no lawmakers from outlying counties signed up as well. The lack of any Republican co-sponsors in the GOP-run Legislature could not have helped either.
Bray said she may try again on the issue next year. “We’re going to have some talks with interested parties in the community” to decide on a strategy, she said.
Bray’s measure would have given the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Science Center authority to charge admission for people outside the district. The district’s fifth institution, the Missouri Botanical Garden, already is allowed by state law to do so.
What time does the clock get unplugged? (You know so they can extend the session to get that one additional pork bill passed.)
to endedd - where’s your brain - it’s not pork anything - the people of st louis city and county pay the tax for everyone to enter zoo, etc for free - the bill is to offset that and let visitors pay as do many other cities and as does the bot. grds. and not just those people living in boundary of city and county. Hello!!!???
After insulting half the legislature yesterday, she couldn’t pass a bill to honor mothers on mother’s day.
I was under the understanding the land for the Zoo was donated and for them to receive the money from the Proprietor they could never charge admission. that is why parking is so expensive.
Thank God Bray is almost done as a politician. She has done nothing to help the taxpayers in her district with their outrageous property taxes.
This was a dumb idea from the start and she tried to make it look like she was making a big effort. On my recently received tax bill, I am paying several hundred dollars so non-residents can enjoy what we have in the city of St. Louis, yet I live in the county which does not benefit from visitors so why am I paying this tax. And don’t tell me people wouldn’t come here if they had to pay something. That is nonesense. I am sick of paying these taxes for free-loaders.
Centrist, I know all about paying for other people. I personally am sick to death of paying for other people’s brats to go to public school when I never had any rugrats of my own (nor wished to) go through the public school system. Anyway, the Zoo is anything but free if you take your brats there, who want everything they see.
There is a huge captive audience at the Zoo. Wouldn’t it be possible to generate more revenue by adding more shops and restaurants? A large book store or Cardinal baseball outlet store perhaps. How about some unique vending stands with different foods. Soul food stands featuring St. Louis barbecue. Mexican food stands, Chinese food and fried chicken stands. Maybe a small taste of St. Louis could be set up in the Zoo by individual restaurants and a portion of the money could go to the Zoo and the admission could still remain free.
Zeb said, “There is a huge captive audience at the Zoo. Wouldn’t it be possible to generate more revenue by adding more shops and restaurants? A large book store or Cardinal baseball outlet store perhaps. How about some unique vending stands with different foods. Soul food stands featuring St. Louis barbecue. Mexican food stands, Chinese food and fried chicken stands. Maybe a small taste of St. Louis could be set up in the Zoo by individual restaurants and a portion of the money could go to the Zoo and the admission could still remain free.’
You’re kidding, right? No really,…tell me you’re kidding.
I can see charging something to non-residents, but you have to remember that tourists do aid the economy by spending money at other businesses, generating jobs and increasing tax revenue. I imagine part of the reason they come here is the free admission. However, all of these institutions do charge for special exhibits. So, if you had to pay an admission to the History Museum for example, then pay for a special exhibit also, how often would you go to the History Museum? You probably would not becasue they have nothing there worth paying for to see. These are all private non-profit corporations not controlled by the state. They pretty much can do what they want with this money within a certain framework. Property owners should not be forced to subsidize them through taxation. I think they should abolish the tax completely and charge everyone admission. Let the patrons who visit pay to support these institutions. I bet if they put it on the ballot, people would rescind the ZMD tax by a landslide. Remember that when you receive welfare, which this is, there is no incentive to succeed, and all you end up with is mediocrity.
As much as I detest being taxed to death, I probably detest this tax the least. In fact, if I could redirect the tax that goes to schools to this I would. I like the fact that I can walk up and enter without any hassle. I don’t want to have to stand in line to pay some surly minimum-wage punk who refuses to speak or make eye contact.