Bank jumps in on Cape roundabout sponsorship

Editor's note: This story has been edited to clarify the city's reasons why a flagpole was not allowed in the roundabout.

A Cape Girardeau business is banking on beautifying a roundabout while marketing itself at the same time.

Montgomery Bank has “adopted” the roundabout at Independence Street and Gordonville Road. The bank has funded landscaping of the center of the roundabout with rocks, flowers and shrubs, as well as the installation of three Montgomery Bank signs showcasing the bank’s adoption of the roundabout.

Jim Limbaugh, regional president of Montgomery Bank, said Wednesday his bank views it as a “different way to partner with the city and to get our brand out to the public in a nontraditional way.”

The bank paid for the landscaping and has agreed to maintain it for the next five years under a “memorandum of understanding” agreement with the city, Limbaugh said.

Vehicles use the roundabout on Independence Street and Gordonville Road on Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Knockout roses, day lilies and boxwood and barberry shrubs have been in planted “to bring a little color to something that is usually boring and mundane,” Limbaugh said.

The flowers and shrubs are small right now, but will be even prettier as they grow, he said.

Deputy city manager Molly Hood said the Montgomery Bank signs stand higher than the city will allow. Both Hood and Limbaugh said the signs now will be placed closer to the ground.

City staff approved the overall landscaping plan, Hood said.

“At one point, they (Montgomery Bank) wanted a flagpole,” Hood said, adding that city staff rejected that idea. "Ameren has overhead electric lines crossing the roundabout and it was a safety concern," Hood said.

Vehicles use the roundabout on Independence Street and Gordonville Road on Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

She added, "The armory has a large flagpole on the northeast corner of the roundabout so we thought it would be somewhat redundant."

City engineer Casey Brunke said the final landscape design was submitted as a sketch.

Limbaugh said the city benefits from having a private entity bear the cost of landscaping and maintenance of the site. Montgomery Bank benefits from a marketing aspect, he said.

Limbaugh said roundabout “adoptions” are common in other areas of the nation. Limbaugh said he saw one in Colorado, which prompted him to consider such an effort here.

Montgomery Bank, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and Southeast Missouri State University’s agriculture department, plans to “adopt” a second Cape Girardeau roundabout, Limbaugh said.

That roundabout is located at Route W and Lexington Avenue.

“We’ve had a longtime relationship with the Ag department,” Limbaugh said, explaining the bank has a history of making agricultural loans in the area.

Montgomery Bank partnered with the university’s Ag department to sponsor several students who attended the National Collegiate Landscape Competition last month in Provo, Utah, school officials said.

The Southeast students developed plans for the roundabout and Montgomery Bank agreed to provide the funding for the materials, school officials said. The students are scheduled to install the landscaping during the last week of April, the university said in a written statement.

A sign, approved by MoDOT, will be installed in the middle of that roundabout advertising the three-way partnership, Limbaugh said.

The Lexington roundabout comes under the jurisdiction of MoDOT. The state agency has stricter regulations regarding signage than the city, he added, explaining why the signage will be different from what is in place on the Independence Street roundabout.

The cost to Montgomery Bank is about $10,000 per roundabout, Limbaugh said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Independence Street and Gordonville Road, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Lexington Avenue and Route W, Cape Girardeau, Mo.