Seminole County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on a three-year agreement that would give the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens $350,000 a year in tourist development tax money, a total of $1.05 million for fiscal years 2027 through 2029.
The agreement is on the consent agenda for the Board of County Commissioners meeting that starts at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 10 in the BCC Chambers in Sanford. Consent items are usually approved together in one vote unless a commissioner asks to pull one for discussion.
Where the money would go
In its application, the zoo said it would spend $125,000 of each year's grant on marketing, including television, radio, billboard, digital and print ads, and $225,000 on habitat, accessibility and facility upgrades.
Florida law lets counties with fewer than 750,000 residents spend tourist tax revenue to build, improve, maintain or promote zoos that are publicly owned or run by nonprofits and open to the public. The zoo is operated by the nonprofit Central Florida Zoological Society.
The county's Tourist Development Council heard the request on April 16 and recommended the full amount, according to the staff summary. The first year's $350,000 is already in the county's 2027 tourism development budget.
A long-running grant
The county has supported the zoo with grants for over two decades. A funding history in the agenda shows annual grants of $225,000 a year from 2009-10 through 2015-16, a peak of $390,500 in 2019-20, and $350,000 in each of the past two years.
