- Field Day |
- Buildings Alive |
- Visions |
- CLGBT |
- Green Community |
- Fun & Free S#!T |
- Crossword |
- CL Space |
Monday, December 1, 2008
Lowry Park CEO Lex Salisbury's newest problem? Environmental violations.
Posted by Alex Pickett on Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 4:22 PM
Lowry Park Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury is in hot water again.
Seems his for-profit side project, Safari Wild, has violated numerous water regulations and Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMUD) officials may fine him tens of thousands of dollars.
From the Times:
Robyn Felix, spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, says Salisbury and his business partner, St. Petersburg veterinarian Stephan [sic] Wehrmann, ignored environmental regulations in 13 areas of the 258-acre site.
Essentially, Salisbury and his Safari Wild partner Stephen Wehrmann did not apply for the necessary permits as they constructed their huge animal park in Polk County. From the moat where their monkeys escaped from to fencing that destroyed wetlands, the violations could impact neighbors to the property. And those neighbors were already pretty angry.
Also keep in mind that Salisbury's park was not built in just any rural area of Central Florida. He's smack in the middle of the environmentally-sensitive
These latest violations are just one more blackmark against Salisbury, who has taken criticism over the last seven months for taking Lowry Park animals to the Safari Wild site, not disclosing the project to the larger Lowry Park Zoo board, and letting those forementioned monkeys escape. (See Creative Loafing's investigation of Safari Wild here.) He's currently on a leave of absence while Tampa city officials conduct an audit of the dealings between the two animal parks.
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
Audits, Permit Violations, Resignations and the leader of our community's zoo on a "paid" leave of absence. Tampa's Zoo Advocates encourages the public not to forget the lives or loving memories of such animals as Enshalla, Eric and Herman. Empower yourself with the knowledge regarding the welfare of the animals, employees and visitors of our tax-payer supported community zoo. Respectfully, Jeff Kremer Tampa's Zoo Advocates www.TampasZooAdvocates.com
like
dislike
Not sure if you've been around there, but the park is surrounded by rusty trailers with trash-riddled yards. Yet, nobody mentions those as environmental hazards. It's ludicrous. I'm from Polk County. Before trying to pull the "ohh, they have all these environmentally-hazardous ANIMALS on this land", maybe you should do some actual journalism and check it out...and think about it logically for a second. This park would bring much better things to the community (e.g., jobs, community, a valuable resource, etc.) than the bunch of meth-riddled trailers and bleak furniture-decorated lawns.
I don't think the neighbors of this property that I've talked to -- some who are well-respected 4th or 5th generation residents/ranchers who have helped build up Polk County -- would agree with your representations of them. And they definitely weren't meth addled -- as someone who has lived in two of the country's meth capitals, I know tweakers. Also, not sure where you got the impression that the animals were environmental hazards. SWFTMUD is targeting structures on the building as well as water regulations. The animals are a different matter. Further, wouldn't you expect the CEO of a major zoo to do better than rusty trailer parks? I would hope a higher standard would be in order. Finally, what jobs are you talking about this creating? And what type of community has Safari Wild built by violating regulations, working secretly on this park without alerting neighbors or obtaining permits? Not to mention, allowing 15 monkeys to escape?
Latest in Daily Loaf
-
V.M. Ybor neighbood to City Council: We don't want Trinity Cafe to relocate here
Dozens came out to protest the facility coming into their neighborhood.
-
USF held hostage by legislative terrorism
What's JD Alexander want? Simple. A new, taxpayer-funded university in Lakeland that he can take credit for and potentially lead.
-
Mitch Perry Report 2.16.12 - Iorio calls out J.D. Alexander
- More »
Top Commenters
