Is Fort Worth giving away its botanical garden? Some say management deal is bad move.
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas is expected to take over management of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden formally after a council vote Tuesday — a move proponents hope will bring new resources to the struggling garden, but critics say amounts to giving public land away for free.
Private management of the 86-year-old city-owned garden is the last step in an effort aimed at improving the garden’s condition that began last year with the institution of admission fees. The decision sought to fund $17 million in immediate needs and a budget hole of about $1.2 million annually at the garden, but Fort Worth residents who spoke out against charging admission said the cost would be prohibitive and discriminatory. The garden was one of the last free public venues in the city.
The Botanic Garden was projected to bring in nearly $1.5 million in annual revenue from the fees, first imposed July 19 of last year. The fees are $12 for adults, $10 for those over 65 and $6 for children over 5. Options for free admission include passes available for checkout at the library, and about 4,500 family passes distributed to nonprofits that work with low-income residents.
Before shutting down due to the novel coronavirus, the garden made just under $800,000 in fee revenue and had seen 46,158 visitors in the first quarter of the year.
The 20-year contract council members will vote on Tuesday mimics the city’s agreement with the Fort Worth Zoo.
The city will retain ownership of the land and buildings while contributing $3.35 million annually, adjusted for inflation, for operating costs. Fort Worth taxpayers are also on the line for the $17 million in maintenance needs, split between $4.3 million this year and and $13 million that will be on the 2022 and 2026 bond election ballots.
BRIT will be charged with increasing attendance, pumping up non-tax dollar funding, boosting educational and volunteer programs and providing at least 10% of admission at a free or reduced cost, excluding memberships.
Bob Byers, the garden director, said working with BRIT would be a good deal for the city and a logical choice since the research institute is immediately next door on University Drive. It’s unclear how long Byers will remain with the garden after BRIT takes over. Employees within five years of retirement may remain as city employees assigned to BRIT.
The longstanding theory behind private management is that a nonprofit could better leverage the new fees to raise philanthropic funds to improve the garden, Byers said.
“People are a lot more willing to donate to a charity than they are to a city,” he said.
In response to an interview request to discuss BRIT’s plan for the future of the garden, a spokesman emailed a statement from Ed Schneider, president.
“We are excited by the potential of working together with the staff, patrons and supporters of the Botanic Garden to make it an even greater resource and attraction for our City and the North Texas region,” Schneider said.
Byers said one possibility is that BRIT could use the garden to expand research and conservation efforts focused on native Texas plants. While education has become an larger focus of the botanic garden, Byers said BRIT was much more well equipped to expand the effort.
Not everyone is happy with arrangement
Members of the Tarrant Coalition for Environmental Awareness, including Lon Burnam and Joey Rios, said the deal lacks proper public oversight.
In letters to the city, Burnam, a former state representative, urged that the contract include provisions requiring the City Council to approve parking or attendance fee changes and allowing the council and public to review BRIT’s financial reports for the life of the contract. The proposal requires only the first three years be made available. The city’s Park and Recreation Advisory Board should play a key role in providing input in the garden’s management, he said.
Burnam also wants a provision included to protect old growth trees that line University at the entrance to the Botanic Garden out of fear BRIT may want to use the space for a parking lot or something else.
Rios raised concern over the BRIT’s ability to raise admission fees while continuing to receive financial backing from the city. Burnam is also worried the Botanic Garden’s location near Dickies Arena will make some part of it prime acreage for redevelopment.
“We’re basically giving them all this free land, but there’s little available for the less economically well off of our city,” Rios said.
While the council is handing over control of the 33-acre Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the city is in the process of buying up potentially hundreds of acres of natural land to preserve as public space. This month the city should close a $610,000 deal to secure the 53-acre Broadcast Hill in east Fort Worth next to the Tandy Hills Natural Area.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
