Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Henry Vilas Zoo Commission  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Tuesday, June 25, 2024  
8:00 AM  
Henry Vilas Zoo, 702 S. Randall Ave., Madison, WI 53715  
A. Call To Order  
Others present: Ronda Schwetz, Joseph Darcangelo, Kristin Moala  
A motion was made by ROSS that the Zoo Commission meeting be called to  
order at 8:07am.  
7 -  
Present  
TAG EVERS, JEFFREY GUNDERSON, SARAH JUSTUS, MICHAEL PETERSEN,  
ANNE ROSS, JASMINE BANKS, and ERIN WELSH  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
2024  
MIN-046  
Attachments: 2024 MIN-046  
A motion was made by JUSTUS, seconded by PETERSEN, that the Minutes be  
approved. The motion carried by a voice vote.  
2024  
MIN-047  
Attachments: 2024 MIN-047  
A motion was made by JUSTUS, seconded by EVERS, that the Minutes be  
approved. The motion carried by a voice vote.  
C. Action Items  
AUTHORIZING TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES FOR STAFF  
MEMBERS FROM HENRY VILAS ZOO  
2024  
RES-068  
RITT  
Sponsors:  
Attachments: 2024 RES-064  
2024 RES-068 FISCAL NOTE  
The commission discussed the importance of these opportunities for staff.  
A motion was made by EVERS, seconded by PETERSEN, that the Resolution be  
recommended for approval. The motion carried by a voice vote.  
D. Presentations  
None  
E. Reports to Committee  
SCHWETZ gave an animal update - the zoo has welcomed a new male camel, 4 female  
meerkats, and some new insects since the last commission meeting.  
Keeper staff are getting a Boys & Girls Club intern this summer. Both the operations and  
education departments will be getting a Centro Hispano intern this summer. The zoo is in  
the process of making an offer for the .6 FTE clerk position. The zoo's FTE clerk  
recently left for another opportunity, and the zoo is going to re-class that position to a  
clerk III because it handles payroll among other things. We expect it to take some time  
to get the re-class and interviews done for that position.  
We are at the beginning of the 2025 budget request period. The zoo will need to show  
cuts or new revenue to include any new items in 2025.  
Summer is event season for the zoo. For the second year in a row the zoo hosted a drag  
show to celebrate PRIDE month. The event was very successful and we had a lot of  
positive feedback about the stage/seating improvements made since last year. Staff are  
already looking at options for next year since we may have to move the location for the  
stage due to the new giraffe building construction. Feast with the Beasts, a new event for  
2024, unfortunately had to be canceled due to flooding on zoo grounds and severe  
weather in the forecast. The flooding on zoo grounds receded and no animal facilities  
were impacted, but the ground is very saturated this year. We are working on ways to  
improve rain dates for future events knowing that our summers could continue to get  
wetter. The zoo's next after-hours event, BrewFari, will take place on Saturday, July 27th.  
2024  
RPT-134  
Attachments: 2024 RPT-134  
AZA inspectors randomly selected 30 zoo staff, concessions staff, and volunteers to  
interview. 99% of those interviews had positive attitudes towards the zoo. Inspectors told  
zoo staff that the application that was submitted in March was "one of the best they had  
ever seen." Fourteen achievements were highlighted by inspectors. The report did not  
have any major concerns, but there were two "lesser" concerns listed. Zoo staff is  
confident in their current methodology to address those two concerns. Zoo staff is happy  
with the report and eager to carry this momentum into the last stage of accreditation at  
the AZA conference in September. Discussion ensued.  
This resolution was approved  
F. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
The next Zoo Commission meeting will take place in-person on Tuesday, July 16th at  
8am.  
G. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None  
H. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None  
I. Adjourn  
A motion was made by EVERS, seconded by JUSTUS, that the Zoo Commission  
meeting be adjourned at 9:25am. The motion carried unanimously.  
Respectfully submitted by Kristin Moala, pending approval from the Zoo Commission.