Section 6 Corporation duties and obligations - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 6. The corporation shall have the following duties and obligations:

(a) The corporation is hereby directed to maintain, repair, enhance and otherwise improve the zoos and their collections.

(b) The corporation shall develop within a reasonable time individual master plans for the operation and improvement of each zoo. The preparation and development of the plans may be undertaken in consultation with the franklin park zoo advisory committee and the middlesex fells zoological society and other interested citizens. The plans are to be used as a framework to revitalize each zoo and to ensure that the programs and collections of each zoo compliment one another.

(c) The corporation shall file with the secretary of the commonwealth to establish itself as a chartered nonprofit corporation within the commonwealth.

(d) The corporation shall file with the Internal Revenue Service to establish itself as a nonprofit corporation to ensure that contributions to the corporation are tax deductible.

(e) The corporation shall, to the best of its ability, raise funds and gifts of property or services or both from individuals, corporations, foundations and any other public or private entities for the purpose of enhancing, expanding and maintaining programs, exhibits, buildings, visitor services, and any other purpose consonant with the responsibilities outlined in this chapter. The corporation may establish gift shops, concessions, rentals, membership programs, publications, and other revenue raising devices to meet its obligations to raise funds for operating and capital purposes.

(f) The corporation shall maintain a detailed inventory of its personal property which it shall incorporate in its annual financial report.

(g) The corporation shall maintain detailed records of all expenditures, and may, if requested through the commission, continue to utilize the Massachusetts management, accounting, and reporting system.

The corporation is obligated to preserve and maintain the health, welfare, life quality and humane treatment of the animal populations of the zoos. In furtherance thereof, the corporation may consult with the members of the Boston chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. The corporation may also consult with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, as well as local organizations having expertise in conservation, education and management issues relating to zoos, with regard to the animal collection.