Free?
Sunday’s “Tilghman Times” piece on whether visitors should be charged to visit the Zoo was well written and interesting. It’s unusual for a reporter who is not a conservative to grasp some of key points made in the piece.
Personally I don’t know Kenn Thompson, but I wish I did. He seems to grasp what Zoo Commission Chair Ron Alessi, Mayor Barrie Tilghman and a majority of the Salisbury Council are either too dim or too statist to wrap their small minds around.
“Any time you give something away for free, the public devalues it,” Thompson said. “I don’t know if it is fair to put the burden of the zoo’s budget on the city taxpayers. … Police, firefighters, water, sewer are services that are vital to the citizens. The zoo is a nice thing and a great tool to teach kids, but when we look at our priorities I don’t think the zoo is in the top five. The zoo isn’t a necessity.”
Mr. Alessi says that he’s not against looking for alternative funding sources but is opposed to an admission fee. Wake up Ron! Every man, woman and child in the city is already paying about $33 per year for access to the zoo - whether they use it or not. Where have you and your Zoo Commission cronies, including Council Veep Gary Comegys been? You should have been finding those sources and taking the burden off of the taxpayer already.
If the poll taken by the “Tilghman Times” is correct (70% in favor of a fee) we can expect Barrie Tilghman to be endorsing some form of fee in her next budget. You know, the one BEFORE she runs for re-election.
Technorati Tags: Salisbury, politics, salisburypolitics, zoo, BarrieTilghman, RonAlessi, GaryComegys, Gannett, TilghmanTimes
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Mr. Cato:
When you find out who this “Kenn Thompson” is, send me the info PDQ because he can’t jog in the City Zoo (with or without Joe Albero). Since John Jacobs and Jim Rapp are jumping ship, I’ll give him a scolding myself.