Worthy Bond Measures

The Los Angeles Zoo, city branch libraries and Exposition Park are public educational, cultural and recreational facilities that serve millions of children and adults across the city every year. But they are in need of repair and modernization. All three deserve voter support for separate bond issues on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Propositions CC, DD and EE would have a big payoff at a small total yearly cost--$10.80--to property owners. Each measure would authorize the sale of general obligation bonds.

Proposition CC, zoo bond. The Los Angeles Zoo is already one of the city’s best educational and recreational values, attracting about 400,000 visits by schoolchildren every year. The recently opened chimpanzee exhibit is an example of its potential to become a world-class zoo after years of controversy and criticism of previous management. Proposition CC would raise $47.6 million--about one-third of the amount needed for the zoo’s master plan--for specific projects, including exhibits involving primates, sea lions, reptiles and a South American rain forest. Funds also would be used for plumbing, sewer and electrical renovations. Proposition CC is expected to help the zoo attract more private donations, of the sort used to help construct the new chimpanzee exhibit. The proposition would cost the average homeowner $1.89 a year.

Proposition DD, branch libraries. Since 1989, use of Los Angeles city branch libraries has exploded, in some locations by up to 300%. Proposition DD would raise $178.3 million for improvement, construction and rehabilitation of 32 branches. The Los Angeles Public Library Department was very successful in managing the $93.5-million library bond that voters approved in 1989. The result: three new libraries built and 24 existing branches rebuilt, renovated or expanded--all on time and on budget. That’s an excellent track record. DD would cost the average homeowner $7.06 a year.

Proposition EE, Exposition Park. The big public park, south of the USC campus, is a historic educational, cultural and recreation center dating to 1913. Today the new California Science Center, plus the Natural History Museum, Olympic Swim Stadium and Recreation Center and the California African-American Museum, draws millions of visitors.

The complex needs renovations and expansion. The famous Rose Garden needs a face lift, the Olympic Swim Stadium is too small and there is a new Environmental Science Learning Center planned. The city cannot afford to take the estimated $88-million cost out of general funds. Proposition EE would raise $46.5 million, much of which would have to be matched from other public and/or public sources. The annual average cost for homeowners: $1.85.