BOARD SUPPORTS PARTIAL FUNDING FOR RIVER WALL MURAL

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Partial funding for a 320-foot-long, 14-foot-tall mural for the downtown flood wall has been recommended by the Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board.

The board's recommendation came on an unanimous vote of the four members present at a special meeting Wednesday, held at City Hall.

The mural funding was one of three items dealt with at the meeting.

In other action, the board agreed to give $500 to the Southeast Missouri Restaurant Association to help finance a reception for legislators at Jefferson City next month. The board also agreed to appoint a representative to the city's Bicentennial Committee.

The mural proposal, which will be submitted to the City Council, calls for a $5,000 cash outlay for the $16,300 project, with a $2,000 contingency fund for repair and maintenance of the giant mural.

The board said the recommendation was contingent upon approval of the project by the Downtown Merchants Association.

The mural, a project of the River Heritage Mural Association, is planned for the river side of the flood wall, stretching between Mississippi River floodgates located at Broadway and Themis streets.

"I know some of the merchants are against the mural," said C & V Bureau board member David McKinney, who owns and operates a restaurant downtown. "I am voting for the recommendation, but would prefer to see the mural on the street side of the wall so it would be more visible in downtown Cape Girardeau."

All four members of the board present were in agreement that they would support the mural if it had the support of the downtown merchants.

Tim Blattner, spokesman for the mural association, told the board Wednesday that he had already received financial support from the Riverfest Committee ($1,500) and Vision 2000 ($1,400).

"I want to explain the mural's costs," he said. "This is a $16,000 project, but the mural itself will cost only about $11,000. Anytime the mural association does a mural, we set aside 20 percent or more for cost of repairs and maintenance of the mural.

In this case, however, it was a requirement of the Corps of Engineers that we set aside an extra $2,000 for sandblasting the wall once the mural reached a stage where it couldn't be repaired," said Blattner.

He also explained that the mural group had originally planned to put the mural on the west side of the flood wall.

"We ran into a lot of opposition on this because of the trees which were planted along the wall," said Blattner.

Artist Fred Lincoln, formerly of Cape Girardeau, now living in Memphis, has already designed the wall mural.

Among the buildings that will appear on the proposed flood wall mural are Lorimier's Red House, Old St. Vincent's Church, Common Please Courthouse, a small (generic) Protestant church, Academic Hall, Southeast Missouri Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, Cape Central High School, and the Show Me Center on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. Other items on the design include a steamboat, train, an Indian, and historic figures.

As to the Southeast Missouri Restaurant Association request, the board approved the funding on a 3-1 vote.

In making the request, Steve Bryant, president of the Southeast Missouri Restaurant Association, explained that each Missouri Restaurant Association district operates booths at the Jefferson City meeting, and individual members provide foods promoting specialties of the area.

"We'll be promoting Southeast Missouri," said Bryant. "We'll have a pamphlet display rack from our area."

He added that the funds would be used for travel expenses for 15 to 20 people.

When asked if the group had requested funding from other communities in Southeast Missouri, Bryant said no one else had been contacted.

"We feel that other areas within the district should share in this request," said C & V board member David Ross.