VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — City Council and the Virginia Aquarium Foundation appeared poised to embark on a new working relationship in the effort to address the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center’s ongoing structural and financial needs.
Both parties signaled their intensions Tuesday afternoon during a work session, which saw foundation chair Daniel Peterson address the council in-person for the first time, while fellow board members and aquarium supporters looked on.
In his remarks, Peterson laid out how the city and foundation could cost-share $100,000 to find out the status of older exhibits. He also encouraged the two bodies to unite in their push for state financial support.
Peterson didn’t necessarily say the foundation was against a third party operator coming in, but reiterated that not enough information has been gathered to ensure which model works best.
“We would look and explore all potential operating models,” Peterson said. “Some could be strictly on the foundation, some could be with the foundation partnering with the city. Some could be the foundation, the city, and a third-party operator. We’re not limiting the size and the scope of the assessment. We’re going to look at all possible potential business models.”
It’s been a year since City Council members began discussing the possibility of changing the way the nearly 40-year-old attraction operates.
Since the aquarium first opened off General Booth Boulevard in 1986, the city has been responsible for all the buildings and employees of the aquarium while the foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3, owns the animals and the exhibits.
The partnership has largely been viewed as a success, with the aquarium touted as the third most-visited attraction in Virginia, with nearly 620,000 visitors from July 2023 through June 2024.
In early 2023, Cynthia Whitbred-Spanoulis, the aquarium’s president and CEO, told City Council that several key exhibits were quickly reaching the end of their useful life. Specifically, the seal, turtle and shark tanks.
She pitched a $200 million to $300 million renovation plan that would not only make repairs, but double the size of the aquarium’s main building over ten years. It would allow for animals to stay on property while fixes are made while also providing new guest experiences.
“What happens if you don’t do this?” Whitbred-Spanoulis said in her presentation. “We know not only will we not see these (increase in visitation) numbers, but we will continue to decline and will lose attendance, we would potentially even close.”
Competing priorities lead City Council did not include the initial $3.7 million in planning money in their FY 2024 budget. Instead, City Council launched an effort to see if turning the aquarium’s operations over to a private operator would make more sense.
Even without renovations, the aquarium is subsidized by the taxpayers to the tune of $8 million a year.
Tuesday, Peterson clarified that the foundation stopped even considering a quarter billion dollar renovation when they found out City Council was uncomfortable with the price tag. In fact, the foundation revised their scope of work.
But until Tuesday, all public communication between the City Council and foundation has been by letter and media reports.
In June, Councilwoman Barbara Henley, who was vice mayor when the foundation was created, added that the foundation has felt disrespected by the city’s process.
Tuesday, Councilwoman Amelia Ross Hammond characterized the whole ordeal as a communication issue. Highlighting Whitbred-Spanoulis’ initial comments about the need to take action.
“What is the urgency?” Ross Hammond said. “It’s because that first meeting that we had, remember we had Cynthia up here. We didn’t have the foundation. So for me, if you’re talking about the aquarium and they have this whole foundation, where were they? It showed us as though they were not on the same page.”
Peterson responded saying that “the foundation is not perfect.”
“In hindsight, there is numerous things I would have handled differently and we would handled differently as a board,” Peterson said. “Are there ways that we can improve our partnership together, I think so.”
Next Tuesday, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said he will bring forward a resolution that will lay out both the city and foundations commitment moving forward.
Those commitments include: Review the city’s and foundation’s financial information to get a more accurate financial picture of the aquarium’s operation, and work to identify operation efficiencies for implementation; conduct a comprehensive assessment of the aquarium facilities; and seek federal and state funding to support the aquarium operations and/or capital needs to move forward.
“Going forward, be assured I think you are hearing from our council and our management a commitment moving forward … we are going to be able to move forward and get to yes on this,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said.