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,,AUG 2 2 6989 "7 F,H,t <br />697 <br />operate it, they would be looking to go a little bit further than <br />what the County had envisioned in terms of restoring and <br />utilizing the existing structures. He believed their basic <br />operating expenses, as they see the project, would run about <br />$40,000 to $50,000 in the first year and about $70,000 in the <br />second year. He felt it is very important to discuss our intent <br />prior to the referendum as to whether the County or the Society <br />will operate the Gardens. <br />Commissioner Bird believed that most people envision the <br />Gardens as they were some years ago, and if we are talking about <br />just going in there and clearing paths, some people would be <br />disappointed in just taking a walk through there after voting to <br />spend $2.5 million. He felt that some of the color would have to <br />be put back in there to help make it what it used to be. <br />Administrator Chandler emphasized that if the County was to <br />restore those buildings and bring back the color to the gardens, <br />the cost would be considerably higher than what we have proposed <br />here. <br />Commissioner Eggert understood that the Society is saying <br />that with restoration, not just cleanup, and with the volunteer <br />labor and with donations, they still feel that $45,000 one year <br />and $47,000 the second year will go a long way toward returning <br />it to what the Commissioners and the public knew as McKee Jungle <br />Gardens. <br />Grover Fletcher, President of the McKee Jungle Gardens <br />Preservation Society, stated that the $45,000 and $47,000 figures <br />are correct. Basically, their plan is to open it up so that <br />people can see it, and they can put the color back by using <br />donations of flowers and plants from the garden clubs and asso- <br />ciations. They will turn on the water and open up the streams, <br />and put the water lilies back. He agreed that if you go through <br />there now, it looks like 20 acres of woods, but there remains the <br />underlying architectural site plan that was done by a <br />professional landscape architect. The Society has been told by <br />32 <br />s � � <br />