Kwame Kilpatrick's name to be taken off Detroit Zoo water tower

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The Detroit Zoo, which is not in Detroit but in Royal Oak Michigan, will soon have the name of
Kwame Kilpatrick removed from the zoo's tower.

Patricia Janeway a spokesperson for the Zoo said plans are being made to remove the adhesive wrap around the tower. The wrap contains images of animals as well as the mayor's name. The wrap is to be removed in the spring of 2009 after the weather is warmer. It will take about a month to remove it. The portion, which is separate, that has "Kwame M. Kilpatrick, Mayor" on it will be removed soon.

Janeway said, “I don’t know the exact time frame, but it will mostly be shortly after Sept. 18 (the day Kilpatrick’s resignation goes into effect).

The new wrap, which is like "a giant bumper sticker," will include some minor artistic changes according to Janeway.

The water tower is 163-foot-tall and was built in 1928 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. The tower was used until 1984 when it supplied water to several nearby cities as well as a golf course and the Zoo. During that time it could hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water.

Even though the city of Detroit still owns the property, the operation of the zoo was turned over to the Detroit Zoological Society in 2006. At that time Detroit ceased to financially support it. In August, residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties voted to support the zoo for the next 10 years with a 0.1 mill tax.

A resident of Birmingham Michigan, Eleanor Kerimian wrote to C & G Newspapers in a letter to the editor, “It has been over two years since the City of Detroit relinquished its responsibilities to the zoo and Kilpatrick’s name remains on the water tower. He is a disgrace to the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan.”