It’s a jungle out there: Limestone officials throw zoo hopefuls haymaker

ATHENS – The Limestone County Commission’s unanimous approval of a resolution last week blocking a local group’s efforts to build a zoo, possibly in the Tanner area, came out of nowhere and blindsided the North Alabama Zoological Society.

The measure prohibits the use of government taxes and fees to fund the construction of the proposed “private” zoo. The item was added to the agenda before meeting Monday night in Athens.

The resolution was in response to the NAZLS trying to rally support for a 3% tax added to electric bills to fund the project and to let voters decide.

NAZLS Executive Director Ethan Woodruff was unaware the move was coming and claimed the commission had a reputation to “do these things in a back room” without transparency. 

After passing the resolution, Limestone County Commissioner LaDon Townsend told the TimesDaily of Florence, “We’ve been getting a whole lot of calls, emails, texts about not wanting this tax. I mean a lot. I can’t even put a number on how many emails and text messages and people in the community who have talked to me. And that’s every one of us (commissioners).

“So, we thought, let’s just put this on here and kind of give a little ease to the community to let them know that, hey, right now we’re not supporting this.”

Woodruff told 256 Today and others before the resolution was enacted that misinformation was hijacking the project. The zoo needs public funding to get off the ground, but Woodruff insists it’s not a “private” endeavor and will use “public funds’’ for what will be a “public” zoo run by a nonprofit.

“In the long run it can actually reduce their tax burden,’’ he said.

He told 256 Today that interested readers could find NAZLS’s full reaction at https://www.nalzs.org/media.

“We want to clarify our position and the public nature of our proposed zoo project,’’ Woodruff wrote in the news release. “Public Asset and Non-Profit Structure NALZS is committed to creating a public asset in the form of a zoo that will serve the community of Limestone County and North Alabama. Unlike privately owned entities, our zoo is designed to operate under a non-profit organization dedicated to the public good.

“This means that any funds raised through municipal bonds or tax initiatives and then allocated to the zoo project will be utilized solely for the benefit of the public, ensuring that the zoo remains a community-driven resource.”

Woodruff said NALZS tried to raise the needed funds through private donations but, slowed by the pandemic and then inflation, the total money received was enough to “build a building, but not build a zoo.”

NALZS then enlisted advisors, and eventually a plan was devised to follow blueprints of a tax-based bond that voters passed for the Limestone County Jail.

In 2001, county residents were assessed a 1% tax on their Athens Utilities electric bill to pay off a county bond to pay for the jail. After refinancing, the Limestone County Commission paid off the jail early and the tax ended last summer.

Woodruff told 256 Today that his group was following the same “recipe” that got the jail built. This time, the commissioners weren’t interested in sampling what NALZS was cooking. But, the chef isn’t giving up.

“The North Alabama Zoological Society is excited about the opportunity to create a world-class zoo that will serve as a treasured public asset for generations to come,” Woodruff writes in the release. “We look forward to continuing our work with the Limestone County Commission, local officials, and the broader community to bring this vision to life.”