The man who helped shepherd the Honolulu Zoo back to full accreditation last year is retiring March 1.
Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo sent a letter to Mayor Kirk Caldwell this week announcing his intentions to leave the zoo a little more than two years into the job.
Despite his short tenure, Mollinedo won praise from both Caldwell and the head of the Honolulu Zoo Society for his work.
"Manuel was the driving force behind the zoo’s successful accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums," said Ted Otaguro, executive director of the zoo society. "Manuel’s knowledge and experience were significant in making improvements at the Honolulu Zoo during his tenure."
Caldwell said in a news release that in addition to leading the zoo from what essentially was probationary status back to full accreditation, Mollinedo "led the renovations of the zoo entrance and the new elephant exhibit."
Meanwhile, the mayor said, "the zoo collected a record amount in admission fees, which helped the city reduce the cost to taxpayers" during Mollinedo’s watch.
Mollinedo, 66, made it clear he is leaving on his own terms, noting that he had retired from the San Francisco and Los Angeles zoos before being coaxed into applying by former city Enterprise Services Director Sidney Quintal.
Mollinedo said he and his wife, who maintain a home in Sonoma County, Calif., recently assessed their living situation. "I think the zoo is in a much better place than it was when I first got here. It’s just good timing. I’m leaving on a high note."
He said while he won’t rule out taking another job, his intention is to return to Sonoma.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums put the Honolulu Zoo on "deferral" status in March 2011, citing city delays in completing a long-delayed elephant enclosure as a major reason for its concerns.
But the new 1.5-acre elephant exhibit opened in December 2011, and accreditation inspectors returned the following month. Full accreditation through 2016 was announced in April.
Mollinedo praised his staff of about 80 employees and city officials for mobilizing to meet the needs of the accreditation.
While the Waikiki facility had been accredited for a number of years, "somewhere along the line, the zoo had been allowed to lapse."
Besides the delays in completing the elephant facility, inspectors raised concerns about rust and termites in back holding areas and the lack of a consistent and clear educational graphics system, Mollinedo said.
In his resignation letter, Mollinedo cited the need for the city to give more autonomy to zoo officials. Obtaining funding from the city wasn’t as big an issue as cutting through the bureaucracy in order to use it, he said.
Mollinedo also said he wants the zoo and the zoo society work toward shifting the focus to soliciting money from corporations, foundations and philanthropic donors rather than holding work-intensive fundraising events that generate relatively small sums.
Caldwell said the city will accept applications from across the country to find Mollinedo’s replacement, "but my preference would be to hire someone from Hawaii."
Mollinedo, in his resignation letter, urged Caldwell to consider hiring Assistant Director Baird Fleming as his successor.
