Parks Officials Vote to Tighten Controls Over L.A. Zoo Group

Over the bitter objections of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., city parks officials on Monday voted themselves sharply increased authority over the nonprofit organization and the millions of dollars it raises for the city-owned zoo.

GLAZA officials called the action by the Recreation and Parks Commission “disgraceful” and said it will severely damage the group’s ability to raise money. They predicted that the move will lead to the virtual dissolution of the 135,000-member organization.

“This display in here today was a power grab and I have no idea why, because they are not thinking of the zoo,” said Camron Cooper, chairwoman of the GLAZA board of trustees.

But park officials said the action was a long-needed reform that would streamline management of the 25-year-old zoo under one director. Under a decades-old contract, GLAZA and the city shared responsibility for zoo operations.

The parks commission’s 3-1 vote brought to a head the issue of who controls the Griffith Park facility, a question that has surfaced repeatedly over more than a decade. The action is final unless the Los Angeles City Council decides to invoke a recently approved City Charter amendment that gives the council the power to overrule city commissions.

Cooper said GLAZA would attempt to enlist council support for an override.

Under the measures approved Monday:

* GLAZA must pay the city $2 each time one of its members enters the zoo. Previously, members were allowed unlimited free entrance in return for their annual GLAZA membership fee of $35 for individuals or $45 for families. The new charge would be levied on GLAZA, not the individual members.

* The board of GLAZA, a private, nonprofit organization, must report to the zoo director, a city employee.

* The city has the right to audit GLAZA’s books.

* GLAZA would be charged $2 for each member of a tour group led by one of GLAZA’s volunteer docents. Previously, there was no charge.

* The city must be reimbursed by GLAZA for any time spent by zoo employees on GLAZA projects.

The commission approved the changes at the urging of James Hadaway, the retiring head of the Recreation and Parks Department, who said the city has “a rare opportunity” for a “new beginning” under the city’s new zoo director, Mark Goldstein, who takes over in January.

The troubled facility has been without a director since Warren Thomas resigned a year ago amid allegations of mismanagement and financial irregularities. Thomas was not charged with any violation of law and admitted no wrongdoing.

GLAZA officials said the commission’s action conflicts with two contracts between the city and GLAZA that expire in 2005. It was unclear whether the nonprofit group would invoke the contracts as a basis for ignoring the new directives.

Under the agreements, the city is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the zoo, while GLAZA operates the food and souvenir concessions, returning 10% of the gross revenue to the city. GLAZA also operates a 500-member volunteer docent program and education and grant programs. In addition, GLAZA has raised $27 million in donations for the financially troubled facility over the last decade.

Cooper told the commission that there will be a “mass exodus” from GLAZA’s board of trustees and from the membership of the organization.

GLAZA, she said, “will be turned into nothing more than a conduit for piping money from donors straight to the city without any oversight.”

The 40-member GLAZA board is composed of people from a variety of professions and includes a number of Hollywood celebrities, including actress Carmen Zapata, who pleaded with the commission not to make the changes.

Commissioners J. Stanley Sanders, Dean D. Pregerson and Dominick W. Rubalcava voted for the proposal, saying that it was time to end an unacceptable management setup that had harmed the zoo.

Commissioner Richard Riordan opposed the measures, saying they would keep volunteers and donors away from GLAZA. He instead proposed an extension of time for the sides to negotiate.