BUSINESS BUILDING CEREMONY ON HOLD

There won't be a ground-breaking ceremony next month for Southeast Missouri State University's business building project.

The ceremony has been put on hold until Missouri voters decide the fate of Hancock II, a constitutional amendment that would limit state revenue growth.

Faced with the ballot measure, Gov. Mel Carnahan's administration has delayed plans for issuing state bonds for capital improvement projects, such as the College of Business building.

The Oct. 22 ground breaking had been scheduled with the understanding that the state would be able to issue some of the state bonds in January. But the ballot measure has put that timetable in jeopardy.

"The governor just said we can't start anything," Regent Lynn Dempster said Thursday. "It was the governor's decision."

The governor had been scheduled to attend the ground-breaking ceremony, which was slated to coincide with Family Weekend activities.

But the governor and school officials decided against holding the ceremony at this time.

"I don't think we had a choice," Dempster said.

Don Harrison, president of the Board of Regents, said it would have been in "bad taste" to proceed with the ceremony when funding for the project remains in doubt.

If the measure is defeated, the ground-breaking ceremony will be rescheduled.

Harrison opposes Hancock II, arguing that it could force drastic budget cuts for all state agencies, including higher education.

"It will be like pulling the rug out from under you," he said. "It may not kill you, but it will take some time for you to get back on your feet."

He said Hancock II won't mean the death of a new College of Business building for Southeast, but it could delay construction for years.

Voters in August had approved a $250 million bond issue to fund construction of prisons and higher education projects. The measure included $12.3 million for the business building project.

As part of the project, the university had been planning to raze three houses that currently serve as headquarters for the Army and Air Force ROTC units and the public safety department.

But university President Kala Stroup said those plans have also been put on hold.

For Lynn and her husband, Robert, a Sikeston lawyer, the cancellation of the ground-breaking ceremony is personally hard to take.

The building is to be named in honor of Robert Dempster, who donated $1 million to the project. For years, the Dempsters have been among the university's major contributors.

But Robert Dempster is in poor health. Having suffered several strokes, he is bedridden.

"He said he had hoped to live to see the building started," Lynn Dempster said.

Mark Ward, Missouri's deputy commissioner for budget and planning, discussed the potential impact of Hancock II in a Sept. 13 letter to Stroup.

Ward said no decision will be made on issuing the first installment of state bonds until after the Nov. 8 election.

Stroup said Hancock II could threaten the ability of the state to issue the bonds.

Funds to pay off the debt could be reduced, and state revenue growth is critical to the retirement of bonds, Stroup said.

St. Louis bond attorney Mark Grimm said Hancock II could cause the state to lose its Triple A credit rating.

Grimm, formerly of Cape Girardeau, said if the state loses its Triple A rating it could mean higher borrowing costs and a higher cost in financing projects.