Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Reports topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parks, seniors and zoo staff report on maintenance, events and animal care
Summary
Parks, seniors and zoo staff updated the Parks and Recreation Board on maintenance totals, a cemetery-cleanup schedule, senior-center activities and the zoo’s recent animal-care and fundraising developments.
City of Abilene Parks and Recreation staff updated the Parks and Recreation Board on ongoing maintenance work, cemetery cleanup scheduling and upcoming community activities at the senior center and zoo.
Jesus Coronado, Parks Division Manager, told the board the division completed 222 work orders last month, which “took 3,797 to complete” and incurred $81,631 in labor costs. Coronado said staff are still repairing wind damage at the hockey facility, including replacing a scoreboard and fixing damaged fencing so league play could continue. He also announced that the city will start a schedule of quarterly municipal cemetery mass cleanups beginning in January; the cleanups will occur in January, April, July and October with cleanup events scheduled the city’s second week of those months and staff performing follow-up cleanups the third week.
Anne Hall, Seniors Division Manager, said the senior center held an Earth Day nature walk and trash cleanup after lunch and plans to pursue similar quarterly trail cleanups. Hall said the center is preparing multiple May activities: a Cinco de Mayo Zumba session with a contracted instructor at 1 p.m. in the senior center ballroom, and a Mother’s Day bingo on May 8 sponsored by Coronado Nursing and Rehabilitation; Hall said she would bring photos of the May activities back to the board.
Jesse Potabom, Zoo Director, reported that the zoo humanely euthanized “Punk,” a 25-year-old female giraffe, after staff concluded she had mobility issues and severe arthritis in a hind leg; Potabom said the decision was made so staff could prevent prolonged suffering. He noted that a giraffe’s average lifespan is roughly 12 to 14 years in the wild and about 18 to 25 years in captivity. Potabom also said the zoo preserved trees during construction of a new four-lane boulevard at the zoo entrance: six live oaks and two red oaks were transplanted within the zoo for future shade and development. Finally, he encouraged attendance at the zoo’s public fundraising gala, “Zubilation,” this Saturday, describing it as a black-and-white event with a bison/Yellowstone theme; tickets and tables are available at abilenezoo.org.
Board members thanked staff for the reports and for animal care at the zoo. No board action was taken on the reports; they were received for discussion.
