Updates on Watson Island
By John Dorschner
John Dunlap, Jungle
Island's new president, has managed to boost admission revenue while
slashing labor costs by 40 percent, but the long-troubled tourist
attraction still showed a net operating loss of $813,435 for the
first eight months of this year, 51 percent worse than the loss for
the same period last year.
Dunlap, 37, was brought
in last year from San Diego to transform the property, and he's
announced plans to create a “real jungle experience” for
tourists, including swimming, zip lines and a beach. “Our goal is to
be Miami's water attraction,” he said in a cover story by this
reporter in the Biscayne Times October edition, entitled The Long,
Dismal Saga of Watson Island, available HERE.
“Jungle
Island is healthy and thriving,” a
spokeswoman
said
in an email Wednesday morning. “While year-over-year admissions
were up through August, a host of new (2014)
special events and programs have been implemented which has driven
down current year profitability.
“However, all
of these initiatives are expected to make a positive impact to the
park in the years to come. As an example, we recently transformed an
un-groomed and underutilized parcel of land into a spectacular sandy
beach with a floating aqua park to take advantage of Jungle Island’s
prime location on Biscayne Bay and to expand the average length of
stay,” the spokeswoman said. “The installation came at a one-time
cost of over $300,000.”
Meanwhile,
another major player on Watson Island, Flagstone Property Group, has
filed a motion to intervene in a citizen's lawsuit against the city
that is intended to block the development, and a Flagstone
spokeswoman has come forward to say the proposed Island Gardens
project has many positive elements.
At time of publication of
the Biscayne Times story, government
sources had not responded to two requests for information: The city
of Miami on Jungle Island's financial reports and state wildlife
regulators on the attraction's perimeter fencing requirements. Both
entities have since supplied the requested reports.
State regulators say that
Jungle Island doesn't need to meet many requirements because the
tigers caged there are only temporary, even though most of the cats
have been there for years. More on that later.
BIG SAVINGS IN
OUT-SOURCING
The Jungle Island
financial reports provided by the city reveal major changes since
Duncan took over in June 2013, although most changes didn't start to
show up on the financials until the start of 2014.
The biggest move
was out-sourcing many of the park functions, including food
concessions, the banquet hall, gift shot and photo shoots. The
records show that Ovations, which runs the food and banquet
operations, pays Jungle Island 30 to 35 percent of its revenues while
picking up all food and labor costs.
Deals like this have
dropped the park's employee costs – including
wages, benefits and worker's comp – from $4.24 million in the first
eight months of 2013 to $2.53 million for the
same period in 2014.
“Overall
cost and the number of jobs provided to the local economy is largely
unchanged,” the spokeswoman said.
“We have a joint venture agreement with Ovations. All employees
under Ovations are Jungle Island employees. ... No Miami based Jungle
Island jobs were lost with the shift of these services to third party
suppliers. In fact, Jungle Island’s plans to add new attractions to
the park will result in job creation.”
The financial report
doesn't mention how many people the attraction employs – a crucial
issue because Jungle Island received a federal loan of $25 million to
build the facility – on condition that it employ at least 603
people, according to county officials.
Dunlap told Biscayne Times
that the park is in full compliance with its loan promises but didn't
provide exact employment figures. “We expect that Jungle Island
will be forthcoming with that data,” the county told Biscayne Times.
Another major change:
Expanding special events. That helped boost admission revenue from
$3.7 million for the first eight months of 2013 to $3.9 million for
the same period this year.
One example: Winter World
Island, which featured a beach snow machine. These promotions
increased attendance – but at a cost. Special events expenses were
$329,000 for 2014, compared to a mere $7,000 for the same period last
year.
“We
are putting a greater emphasis on special events in order to broaden
our reach and attract new guests to the park,” the
spokeswoman said.
“However, both figures do not accurately represent special projects
in the same category. We also introduced new after-hour events this
year and brought in additional labor to service them. Examples
include Africa Nights and the current Terror in the Jungle Halloween
attraction, which employs 80 cast members.”
The financial report
indicates that Jungle Island is current with its rent payments –
paying the city $545,000 for the first eight months.
NO NEED FOR A
PERIMETER FENCE?
Because Jungle Island has
tigers and other animals considered potentially dangerous, it is
regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
No state official was
made available before the Biscayne Times deadine, but a spokeswoman
said that Jungle Island was in full compliance with state
regulations. She sent along a copy of the rules that indicated
generally an eight-foot-high perimeter fence is required, but that
older facilities, such as Jungle Island, don't have to abide by that
rule.
Jeff Shimonski, the
attraction's former vice president of facilities, said that while the
fencing of the individual cages is strong, he
was concerned that there were gaps in the perimeter fence. Dunlap
says that, as a former zoo director, he understands fencing
requirements and Jungle Island has no problems.
After publication of the
BT article, the state spokeswoman said that upon further checking
Jungle Island didn't need a perimeter fence because the “cats
currently at the facility are there in travel status only.”
The tigers are owned by
an outside company, but Shimonski, who left earlier this year after
almost 40 years with the attraction, says “I'm not sure how one
would define 'travel status.' The cats are there for years.
Occasionally one is moved for health or other concerns.”
FLAGSTONE SPEAKS
OUT
Bahar
Bayarktar, director of communications for Flagstone Property Group,
sent a statement on Wednesday: “Construction
of Island Gardens started earlier this year, encompassing multiple
projects including the development of North America's first
super-yacht marina and a multi-acre public use waterfront art park,
all of which will be major engines for economic growth, community
development and tourism for South Florida. We are excited about the
progress, which will help create thousands of jobs to the local
economy, and bring in millions in economic impact.”
She
said the construction project could pay over $500 million to workers.
“When doors open in 2017, Island Gardens will create 3,000 jobs,
providing approximately $72 million in wages to local residents and
afford millions in additional revenues” for
city, county and schools.
A
far less upbeat view is held by the Coalition against Causeway Chaos.
Two of its members last month sued the city, saying that political
leaders had violated their own charter in allowing Flagstone to pay
less than market value rent for its Watson Island holdings.
The
lawsuit, filed by Stephen Herbits and Sharon Kerby Wynne, complains
that the city's own reports show that Flagstone should be paying more
than $7 million in annual rent when the project is completed, not the
$2 million the contract calls for.
Flagstone
has been planning the long-delayed project since 2001, when it first
signed a deal with the city.
Critics have complained that the Flagstone development really isn't under way yet, with the company only doing some underwater surveying as it prepares to dredge for the marina.
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