- Cape Rolling Out Bloomfield Road Art Trail (8/21/19)1
- Donors Pledge Almost Two Grand To Replace SEMO's Possibly Sentient ‘Gum Tree' (8/16/18)
- SEMO and The Will To (Become A Consultant) – Part 2 (6/14/18)
- SEMO and The Will To Do (You Really Want To See That Legal Notice?) – Part 1 (6/4/18)
- Judge, Jury... Trashman (6/1/18)
- Diary of Cape Girardeau Road Deconstruction (5/11/18)
- Trying To Save A Tree From City “Improvements” (4/30/18)2
New Police Station Ideal Use Of 'Tourist Tax'
The city of Cape Girardeau has had a one-cent restaurant sales tax for the past 30 years that is set to expire this coming fall unless local voters decide to extend it.
However, there is dissension over the continuation of this tax. Historically, it has been used for capital projects that promote tourism -- which seems to be the current problem.
Apparently no one has come up with any sure-fire tourism projects to spend this revenue stream on, so a few City Council members feel the tax should be continued but applied towards a new police station. I think this is a good idea.
Unfortunately, some people feel that a new jail is a public safety issue, and a tourism tax like this one should not go towards it. Two touristy suggestions that have been tossed out are to spend the money on a new double slide at the waterpark or to convert the former Venture store at the mall into an indoor sports complex.
Those ideas are kind of lame if you ask me.
Will the addition of a double slide attract very many more people to a venue that is open just 3 months of year? I seriously doubt it. Any potential increase in attendance will be negligible and the billboards and other marketing spent to promote this Great! New! Attraction! will wipeout any extra revenue.
If we really want to see attendance jump at Cape Splash, the attraction needs something truly remarkable such as a cannon that shoots thrill seekers out of it and into a kiddie pool 100 yards away. I guarantee THAT would attract more customers. Heck, even I might go to the waterpark just to watch.
As far as the mall is concerned, if its owners want to re-develop this long dead anchor store, let them come up with a plan to deal with that white elephant. Don't foist the current and future infrastructure repair costs of a 30-year-old building off on the public.
And I have serious reservations about hiring a St. Louis company to run the facility as has been proposed. Surely, if this project materialized, the Parks and Rec Department has someone who could handle the incredibly difficult chore of scheduling various sports leagues and managing a concession stand or two.
I believe the problem with this tax is how it is viewed. It's a tourist tax, some say, although it's not really. Anytime anyone eats at a restaurant in Cape -- whether they live here or have come from East Timbuktu -- they pay the tax. Personally, I'm so used to paying this small amount that I don't even notice it on the bill. I think that is the reason why taxes with sunset expirations far in the future never seem to die. Everyone gets acclimated to paying them.
While some opponents to spending this tax money on a new police station feel this won't generate tourism, I disagree. If done correctly, I believe a new police station could generate a windfall of visitors to the city. While these might not be tourists, in the traditional sense, aren't any out of town visitors spending their out of town money here in Cape a good thing for the city's bottom line?
And I guarantee that an appropriately sized police station will generate plenty of visitors.
Consider this: If the Cape police station is in such decrepit condition, then what sort of state are all the jails in all the much less prosperous counties surrounding us? There must be a couple dozen jails with in 100 miles that are ready to cave-in with leaky roofs, ancient heating systems and no money in the local budgets to replace or repair them.
But if Cape had a brand-new, state-of-the-art Police Station and Detention Center with excessive capacity we could easily take-in plenty of criminals from the quad-state area with each locale paying us for the privilege of them not having to build new jails. We could be their criminal detention out-sourcer.
Not only would this generate a tidy revenue stream for our local Police Department, but think of all the visitors who will have to drive here from the surrounding counties to see their beloved Bubba who was caught allegedly cooking meth out in the woods in West Podunk.
And while they are here visiting Bubba -- and perhaps working with a bondsman at the handy Bail-Is-Us franchise located at the main entrance of the new police station -- they will go out and eat, maybe gamble at the local casino or test their luck being shot out of the giant cannon at Cape Splash, that we can now afford thanks to this massive influx of revenue.
A new police station would be a smart use of this tax. Crime, unlike tourism, is recession proof.
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