Cosley Zoo reduces admission fees

An admission fee for out-of-towners visiting Cosley Zoo in Wheaton won't be as steep as first planned.

Just a month after deciding adults who don't live in the city must start paying to enter the popular zoo, Wheaton Park District board members Wednesday reduced the nonresident admission fee to $3 for adults and $2 for senior citizens.

Officials originally planned to charge $5 for all nonresident adults when the change takes effect in late June or early July.

Meanwhile, Wheaton residents, Cosley Zoo members and visitors 17 and younger will continue to receive free admission to the facility at Gary Avenue and Jewell Road.

Commissioner Phillip Luetkehans said the decision to lower the nonresident adult admission fee came because officials want Cosley to remain a regional attraction.

"What we don't want to do is scare people away," Luetkehans said Thursday.

Park district officials estimate 80 percent of the zoo's roughly 100,000 visitors a year come from outside Wheaton. Two-thirds of all the zoo visitors are 17 and younger.

Luetkehans said the admission fee is needed to generate much-needed revenue for the facility, which long has operated at a loss.

This year, Cosley expects to face roughly an $88,000 deficit. Luetkehans said park board members realize the district will have to subsidize the operation.

"It (Cosley Zoo) is a wonderful place, and we want everybody to enjoy it." Luetkehans said. "But we also want to be able to try and recoup some of those costs."

Last month, park board members agreed they don't want to charge Wheaton residents because local property tax dollars provide 73 percent of the zoo's total revenue.

With its 5 acres of exhibits, Cosley has more than 200 animals representing dozens of species, including llamas, horses and owls. There's also a gift shop, a picnic area and a recently renovated caboose that's been on the grounds since the early 1980s. A new pigs and poultry exhibit is slated to open before the admission fee is imposed.

Instead of the admission fee, officials considered the possibility of charging a parking fee. That idea was rejected after concerns were raised about visitors parking along residential streets.