Corn in a bag at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, January 4, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The price of a bag of corn at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary could be raised from $2 per bag to $5, as the city tries to increase the revenue generated at the facility.
This year’s city budget calls for the 535-acre sanctuary at 1660 East Shore Drive to generate another $90,000 in revenue. To do so, three items are under consideration:
- An annual cage sponsorship program. 20 sponsors at $1,000 per year would raise $20,000. There are 40 cages available.
- Create an “Ottertoberfest” event to raise $10,000
- Increase the price of corn to $5 per bag to raise $60,000
“We currently sell approximately 60,000 bags of corn per year for $2 per bag. As part of this change, we anticipate selling less bags of corn. If we sell 36,000 bags of corn at $5 per bag, we will generate enough revenue to meet our original budget goals for corn sales with an additional $60,000 in profit. We feel this new price is competitive with other similar entities for this service. There will be several direct benefits that will come from this change. We primarily use volunteers to bag the corn. The volunteers can be directed to other tasks with the time saved by bagging less corn. Secondly, there will be less cost to purchase corn, which is not taken into this calculation. Finally, if less corn is fed to the birds, it may result in less birds onsite. Less birds on site would likely have a direct impact of less bird waste on the walks, which is very labor intensive to clean,” the memo from Parks Director Dan Ditscheit states.
The price was last raised in 2023, when it doubled from $1 to $2 per bag.
The City Council’s Parks Committee will discuss the item at 5 p.m. Wednesday in room 207 at City Hall, 100 N. Jefferson Street.
A proposed land swap between the city and Green Bay Area Public School District is also on the agenda.
Comments