The Los Angeles City Council has ratified a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association (GLAZA) to allow the nonprofit to handle the zoo’s public relations, marketing, special events, site rentals and catered events.

GLAZA will continue handling the zoo’s special events, such as the upcoming “L.A. Zoo Lights”, which begins Nov. 28. (photo courtesy of GLAZA)

GLAZA had been handling marketing and promotions for the zoo on an interim basis since last year, but last week’s council action will enable the organization to manage those elements of the zoo’s operations for the foreseeable future.

GLAZA president Connie Morgan said the MOU is a component of the zoo’s three-year strategic and business marketing plan. The goal is to increase attendance at the Griffith Park landmark, she said.

“This zoo is much beloved by everyone across the city, but there’s room for more attendance and we wanted to jump-start the marketing program for the zoo,” Morgan said. “It certainly means that we’re moving full steam ahead now on a number of fronts to create new events and programming to attract attendance.”

Attendance at the zoo hovers between 1.5 million and 1.6 million annually, she said. GLAZA would like to see those figures increase by at least 100,000 as a result of the MOU, Morgan said. Better attendance would lead to more people enjoying the zoo’s programming, which could lead to more donations to benefit the zoo, she said.

“And that will make it healthier in the long run,” Morgan added.

She said GLAZA currently receives no funding from the city for marketing and promotions, and that the city was allocating approximately $800,000 for those purposes prior to the MOU. Overall, the city’s General Fund allocation to the zoo has dropped from more than $10 million to zero since the recession, Morgan said.

“That’s why we’re doing this,” she added. “The city is hoping that the zoo will become self-sustaining. This is a piece of that puzzle.”

In May 2011, GLAZA began negotiating with the city to privately manage the Los Angeles Zoo. The proposal was slated to mirror the agreements that Los Angeles County has made with LACMA and the Natural History Museum.

At the time, city administrative officer Miguel Santana said the city and GLAZA had negotiated approximately 95 percent of the issues in the proposal, but the structure of the governance of the zoo sparked legal issues. The plan was put on hold in October 2012.

“For us, right now, we’ve closed the door … but we haven’t locked it,” Morgan said at the time.

However, the MOU is not related to that privatization proposal. Morgan said there are no new discussions on GLAZA taking over the zoo’s entire operations.

She said the MOU will not result in any job losses. It is simply a part of the effort that GLAZA and the city are undertaking to benefit the zoo, Morgan said.

“It should be exciting in the next few years as we bring more programming, I hope, to the zoo,” she added.

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, 4th District, said the agreement is a win-win for the city and the zoo. He said Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, chair of the council’s Arts, Parks, Health, Aging and River Committee, was instrumental in facilitating the dialogue between the two entities.

“It’s very important that we collaborate with our not-for-profit organizations,” LaBonge said, referencing the partnerships that have helped the Natural History Museum, the Hollywood Bowl and LACMA. “We’re very fortunate in our community to have good civically-minded people who support these collaborations.”

He noted that the city’s General Fund allocations to the zoo have been reduced by approximately $10 million.

“So this is a good partnership,” LaBonge said.