Walk into a majority of the shops in downtown Walla Walla and you’ll most likely see little cans placed near the cashier counter asking for donations to keep Pioneer Park’s aviary open.
A one million dollar shortfall for the City of Walla Walla’s budget for this year has forced city officials to consider cutting funding for Pioneer Park’s aviary. Maintaining the aviary costs the city approximately 55,000 dollars a year, and with a large budget gap, the aviary is one of the first things to be put on the chopping block. Local businesses around Walla Walla, however, have banded together in protest to keep the aviary open.
Local business owners and residents worry that closing the aviary, home to about 200 birds of 50 species, in the midst of a budget crisis would make it nearly impossible to bring it back. Business owners and other aviary supporters organized the Friends of Pioneer Park Aviary committee to raise money to keep the aviary running without government funds.
Although the committee has raised nearly 36,000 dollars in a matter of months, they still have only raised a portion of what it costs to keep the aviary open annually and have not come close to the amount of money it will take to sustain the aviary in coming years.
“We’ve applied to grants and we also have individuals that we can depend on to donate. We still have next year to worry about though so we’re looking at long term grants,” committee member Tammie Neve said.
On Jan. 15, the committee sponsored a silent auction which brought in nearly 13,000 dollars with items donated from local businesses.
According to Craig Keister, a local business owner and chairman of the fundraising committee, business owners have been a major component to the effort in keeping the aviary open.
“The community has been very generous,” he said. “Other businesses have been very supportive, but the people that I’ve leaned on the hardest has been the wine community. They have been spectacular and really stepped up when we needed them.”
Earthlight Books owner David Cosby is one of the many business owners who supports keeping the aviary open. Cosby donated a set of Audubon’s bird portraits to the silent auction.
“The aviary is a valuable asset to our community and I would hate to see it go,” he said.
Sweetwater Paper and Home owner Robin Consani has also donated to the cause and echoes most of the community’s sentiment toward the value of the aviary. Consani has kept a can in her shop for customers to donate to the fund and has seen considerable amounts of support from the community after three months of keeping the can in her shop.
“The can is pretty full, customers usually just donate whatever they have left over from their purchase,” she said. “[The aviary] is a historically significant place; it would be a shame to see it go.”
Joan Schille, a maintenance supervisor for Walla Walla Parks and Recreation, was optimistic that the aviary would stay open in the long run, one way or another.
“I’m not worried, we’re doing the best we can,” she said. “I’m certainly hoping that we can find the funds, it’d be a shame if we didn’t because a lot of people have put a lot of hard work into this.”
Despite the remaining fundraising hurdle, local artist Julian Raine also expects to see the aviary open for awhile and remains confident in the committee’s ability to raise enough money for later years.
“Craig has almost reached his goal and his work will make an impact,” she said.
