Potter Park Zoo's plans to renovate its nearly century-old feline and primate building have been put on hold after the state legislature cut $10 million in funding for the project.
- Potter Park Zoo lost $10 million in state funding for renovating its 95-year-old feline and primate building, which needs roof, HVAC, electrical repairs and updates for ADA compliance.
- A GOP-led House committee cut $644 million from the 2024 state budget, calling much of it "waste, fraud and abuse" and "secret pork spending."
- The Senate passed a bill to restore the funding 23-13, but House Speaker Matt Hall says it won't be taken up, leaving the zoo uncertain about moving forward.
The building, constructed in 1930, was set to receive major upgrades to address infrastructure problems and improve animal exhibits. Potter Park Zoo Director Cynthia Wagner said the funding would have helped "fix infrastructure problems like a failing roof, HVAC, electrical as well as redo some of the outside cat exhibits," and some accessibility upgrades indoors needed to stay compliant.
WATCH: ONE ORGANIZATION CONSIDERS FUTURE AFTER BUDGET CUTS
"The grant agreement was in place from February 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028," Wagner said. "It was a very big surprise to find out over night that it was going to be taken away."
The zoo project is among many now searching for new funding after a GOP-led House committee used a rarely used law to cut projects approved in the 2024 state budget. The cuts totaled $644 million, according to GOP Speaker of the House Matt Hall.
"I believe it was $644 million of additional waste, fraud and abuse," Hall said.
Hall acknowledged not everything that was cut constituted waste, but defended the decision to eliminate what he called excess spending.
"Community enhancement grants, right? That's secret pork spending. So that's $102 million, we cut it," Hall said. "There's some things in there that are good but there's a whole lot of things in there that are bad."
Democratic appropriations chair Sarah Anthony criticized the cuts as harmful to communities that were already planning projects with the promised funding.
"It's a bad fiscal policy and terrible governance," Anthony said.
Anthony said she plans to work toward restoring the funding through multiple avenues.
"I will fight and use every tool available: legislation, negotiations, the budget process to work with my colleagues and the governor to restore these funds," Anthony said.
The Senate approved a bill to restore the funding by a vote of 23 to 13, but Hall said the House will not take up the legislation.
At Potter Park Zoo, officials are uncertain about the project's future without the state funding.
"This project is critical for us to maintain accreditation and without this funding, we are not certain we can move forward with this project," Wagner said.
Here's a list of other projects in our neighborhoods that have been canceled by the legislature.
| "Small Talk" Program | $1,500,000 |
| Building 21 Teen Center | 320,000 |
| LMTS Community Center | 500,000 |
| First Presbyterian Church of Lansing | 500,000 |
| Lansing Schools Infrastructure | 2,500,000 |
| Holt Schools Feasibility Study | 150,000 |
| Potter Park Zoo | 10,000,000 |
| Lansing Lugnuts Infrastructure Improvements | 1,000,000 |
| City of Jackson Downtown Development Project | 4,500,000 |
| Residents in Action non-profit | 1,000,000 |
| Lansing - Election Centers | 1,000,000 |
| East Lansing - Election Centers | 1,000,000 |
| MSU Child Development Lab | 2,000,000 |
| Brooklyn (School routes) | 450,000 |
| CATA (Facility improvements) | 5,000,000 |
| MI Assn of Municipal Clerks | 1,035,000 |
| BWL Steam Conversion Project | 5,000,000 |
| Eaton County Bank Intercounty Drain Project | 5,000,000 |
| Windsor Twp Water Hookup to BWL | 2,000,000 |
For a look at all of the work projects canceled, you can check them out here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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