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Essex County parks plan more playgrounds, zoo exhibit after steady revenues
Summary
The county’s parks director presented a budget that relies on strong 2025 revenues — including Turtle Back Zoo’s more than $13 million — and funds renovations and playground reopenings while keeping professional‑services spending near last year’s level.
Dan Salvante, director of the Essex County Park System, told the Board of Commissioners that the parks department expects continued revenue growth and has a slate of capital work planned for 2026, including playground reopenings, athletic‑field and restroom upgrades and a new lemur exhibit at Turtle Back Zoo.
Salvante said the department’s 2025 gross revenues were strong: “Turtle Back Zoo was over 13,000,000, golf operations was 5.55,” and the arena brought in about $3.2 million. He said those receipts, plus modest fee increases recently approved by the board, undergird the…
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