Fresno Chaffee Zoo gets $1.7 million federal PPP loan. Here’s what it will do with money
Fresno Chaffee Zoo received a $1.7 million loan through the federal paycheck protection program for coronavirus impacts and will use it to pay employees and utility bills, zoo officials said.
The money will be used to keep all 220 zoo staffers on the payroll through June 30 so they won’t have to file for unemployment, CEO Scott Barton said. The money will also go toward the zoo’s costly utility bills.
The zoo temporarily closed to the public in March at the request of Fresno city officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus. Despite the closure, zoo staff continued working to care for the animals and have worked to create online education content, Barton said. The zoo is considered an essential business.
“(The loan) is an exciting thing for me, seeing how dedicated our team is, coming in every day and making sure the animals are very well cared for,” Barton said. “Through all of these challenges we haven’t lost focus of taking great care of our animals.”
The zoo’s employees include zoo keepers, veterinarians, an education team, visitors services employees and administrative employees.
The zoo’s goal is to meet the loan criteria so that it’s forgiven.
The closure came at the zoo’s busiest time of year, Barton said, essentially tanking the zoo’s revenue to $0 for March and April. The zoo also gets Measure Z money, which is used for operations as well as capital projects. But that funding stream may dip, too, depending if sales tax revenue is down.
“It could be impacted pretty largely though, with so many businesses being closed,” Barton said. “We’re trying to build into our model all possibilities to make sure the zoo is protected.”
Meanwhile, zoo officials also are working on a reopening plan and closely following updates from the governor, Fresno County and the city.