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County Asks To See Zoo's Safari Wild Audit

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By BAIRD HELGESON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County's top administrator wants Lowry Park Zoo to make sure that no county money was used for zoo President Lex Salisbury's private exotic-animal park in Polk County.
County Administrator Pat Bean sent a letter to the zoo Friday asking for a copy of its independent audit of transactions with Safari Wild, which should be finished in a few weeks.

Salisbury faces criticism for a potential conflict of interest after reports that the zoo had built two barns on Safari Wild's property. The zoo brought animals to Safari Wild to give them a break from life on display.

If Bean decides it's necessary, she will ask the taxpayer-backed, nonprofit zoo to open its records relating to Safari Wild. This year, the county will give the zoo about $450,000 for operations and $1.8 million for capital improvements, according to the budget office.

"I am compelled to make this request in order to assure the residents of Hillsborough County that county funds have been used exclusively in Hillsborough County for their intended purpose," she wrote.

The zoo had not received the letter by the end of Friday and declined to comment.

The barns were built as part of a now-voided memorandum of understanding between the nonprofit zoo's six-member executive committee and Safari Wild. As part of the deal, the zoo got a free, 10-acre lease that allowed exhibit animals to graze on the Safari Wild property.

The executive committee ended the relationship in June when concerns arose about a possible conflict of interest in having Salisbury run the zoo and Safari Wild. Several of its members, including former Gov. Bob Martinez, said they didn't know about the zoo's relationship with Safari Wild, or that Salisbury was an owner.

Larry Killmar, the zoo's director of collections, said he gave a presentation about the agreement and Salisbury's connection at a previous board meeting. The full board never voted on the agreement.

Salisbury said in an interview Thursday that he didn't personally profit from the zoo's relationship with Safari Wild.

The executive committee didn't find anything improper when it reviewed all transactions between the zoo, Salisbury and Safari Wild, said Bob Merritt, who sits on the executive committee. Merritt is overseeing the independent audit of the zoo's transactions with Safari Wild.

Salisbury and St. Petersburg veterinarian Stephen Wehrmann bought 258 acres of land north of downtown Lakeland in 2007 to create Safari Wild. The attraction will feature an African-style safari tour in which visitors would see exotic and endangered species. It hasn't opened and is stalled by state and county permitting issues.

The zoo viewed its lease of Safari Wild land as an interim step until it can find 2,000 acres within 45 miles of its Tampa facility, Killmar said. The satellite property would allow visitors to see the animals in a more natural setting.

Bean is the second government official to express concern about the zoo's ties to Safari Wild. On Thursday, Mayor Pam Iorio sent a letter to the zoo seeking more government oversight of the zoo, which sits on city land and gets an annual city subsidy for operations.

The mayor said the zoo should look at the 400 acres owned by the city water department in Thonotosassa to replace the land at Safari Wild.

Salisbury said he looked forward to exploring the possibility.

Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at bhelgeson@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7668.

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