Legislators visit the zoo

answered, I’ve found that everyone seems really excited about the project,” she said.

Another point of optimism is the jobs this project will bring to the area. Regional Compliance Specialist Robert Short shared that there are incentives for project leaders to hire Syracuse residents for the work.

“Contractors want to hire people from this area and there will be a lot of different jobs available,” he said, noting the importance of helping the community. “Syracuse is an impoverished area nationally, so this is great for this community. It’s good business to do business locally.”

Murphy looks forward to the positive changes and modernization this will bring to the area.

“We’re going to look like those big cities that you visit, and it will be right here in Syracuse,” she said.

Contact One is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2025.

For more information on the project, visit webapps.dot.ny.gov/i-81-viaductproject-overview

As a youngster growing up in the Town of Clay, Cody Kelly made countless trips to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo over the years. Many were school field trips when he was a student in the North Syracuse Central School District.

“I always enjoyed the penguin exhibit” he said Fast forward twenty-something years and Kelly is now serving as an Onondaga County Legislator, representing the 14th District.

He is a member of the county facilities committee and recently joined other legislators on a tour of the zoo.

The county legislature regularly is asked to approve funding requests for the zoo, and so legislators saw various exhibits and buildings which recently have had work done – with the money they approved.

As they walked, Zoo Director Ted Fox shared specifics of projects the zoo would like to do in the near future, including an African Savannah and enhanced gardens. He says it’s important for legislators to see firsthand how important and impactful their decisions can be.

A highlight was getting to spend time with some of the xoo’s most popular animals.

Legislators met an Andean bear named Bjorn, baby elephant twins Yaad and Tukada who eagerly posed for photos in between playing, adult elephant Siri, and koala bears Kolet and Kumiri who are visiting from the San Diego Zo o for the summer.

“I have always felt a sense of wonder regarding the diversity of life in the animal kingdom, and I think the appeal of something like the elephant exhibit is that it’s so foreign to what we would otherwise encounter in CNY,” Kelly said.

Fox says he and Onondaga County Park Commissioner Brian Kelley “were very excited to have the legislators visit the zoo for a tour and even meet some of the wonderful animals that live at the zoo; which brought out the “child” in many of them.” He added, “I feel that it is critical for Legislators to see firsthand how their investments are being used to maintain and improve the facility that is so important to our community.”

“Not only do we get to observe the financial investments we are making there, but we have the fun of seeing the animals and hearing from the dedicated staff that takes care of them,” Legislator Debra Cody (5th District), who chairs the county facilities committee, said.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is a tremendous asset for Central New York, exposing kids to science education at a young age and providing a sustainable revenue generator to help fund local government,” Kelly said. “The investments being made at the zoo are already paying dividends with large increases in attendance, as well as animals like the koala bears and twin baby elephants on exhibit.”

Visiting the zoo brings Kelly back to his childhood.

“It’s an honor to recognize that some of the decisions we’ve made to help grow CNY will support exciting new attractions at the zoo in the future,” he sid.

Follow the legislature on Facebook and Instagram: @OnondagaCountyLegislature.