Escambia, Gulf Breeze pledge support for ZOO

Support continued to dribble in to The ZOO Northwest Florida. Last week, the Escambia County Commission decided to match Santa Rosa County’s $125,000 commitment to the financially struggling nonprofit attraction. On Monday, the Gulf Breeze City Council approved dedicating $5,000 from bed-tax revenues to help the zoo.

“We’ve recognized the zoo’s significant and beneficial contribution to the area’s tourist economy and we’re going to set aside some money for it,”  Gulf Breeze Mayor Lane Gilchrist said at the council’s meeting. The amount is 12.5 percent of the city’s anticipated $40,000 in tourist-development tax revenue.

For more on this story, see the Oct. 23 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.