Cape city seeks sales tax extension to fund city hall, airport, street and water projects; vote is Aug. 6

Cape Girardeau city officials want to spend some $40 million over the next 15 years for a new city hall and an airport terminal and tower, as well as street repairs and upgrades to the water system.

For that to occur, voters Aug. 6 will have to extend a quarter-cent capital improvements sale tax that has been levied for 25 years. A simple majority is needed for passage.

The tax was originally approved by voters in 1994 for sewer projects. The tax is set to expire later this year unless voters renew it, officials said.

The ballot measure calls for the tax to be extended to 2034.

While public attention has focused on plans for a new city hall and a new terminal and tower at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, more than half of the tax dollars are proposed to fund water-system projects and street repairs.

Marlowe White, 3, of Cape Girardeau gets a drink from a water fountain Wednesday at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

Here’s where the money would go:

• Water projects: $18 million
• Street repairs: $7.5 million
• City hall: $6 million
• Airport projects:

$4.25 million

• Bond interest: $4.7 million
• Contingency: $50,000

The sales tax would fund only part of the cost of the city hall and airport projects, with the remainder of the cost coming from other sources, city officials said.

The city hall project involves renovating the historic Common Pleas Courthouse and Annex and constructing an addition tying the two buildings together.

When completed, it would serve as the new headquarters for city government, replacing the Independence Street building now serving as city hall.

The project would cost an estimated $12 million, with the sales tax funding half of the cost and casino revenue the other half.

Signs show where a portion of North West End Boulevard, between Wayne and Butler streets, is closed May 16 in Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

Airport improvements are estimated at $6.8 million, with $4.25 million provided by the sales tax and another $2.55 million expected to come from Federal Aviation Administration grants.

Deputy city manager Molly Mehner said officials want to issue bonds to allow work to proceed more quickly on the city hall and airport projects.

“We believe there is merit in paying that bond issue,” she said.

The city already is looking at having to spend $3.5 million “just to stabilize” the Common Pleas Courthouse and the Annex when circuit court vacates the structure and moves into new offices in Jackson next year, Mehner said.

Meanwhile, the city annually is faced with repairs at the airport terminal, particularly involving the heating and cooling system, she said.

Common Pleas Courthouse is seen June 17 in downtown Cape Girardeau.Jacob Wiegand

“We think it makes sense to go ahead and pay that interest and see those projects built as quickly as possible through bonds so that we can eliminate those ongoing maintenance costs,” she said.

Mehner and other city officials said the capital improvements tax and other sales taxes are paid by residents and nonresidents alike who shop in Cape Girardeau.

Mayor Bob Fox said, “About 60% of the tax is paid by people who don’t live here.”

Mehner pointed out Cape Girardeau is a regional hub.

“We have lots of visitors coming to our town, that use our streets, use our airport, use our water, and city hall obviously supports all of those functions. So it makes sense that they would pay a portion of those infrastructure improvements,” she said.

Proposed water-system improvements call for extending water mains, including providing a connection between the Cape Girardeau and Scott city water systems in case of an emergency.

Elizabeth Swan of Plattsburgh, New York, is helped by a TSA Agent, who did not give his name, while preparing to board a flight April 22 at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.Jacob Wiegand

Cape Girardeau already has a similar emergency connection with Jackson’s water system.

The city also plans to spend sales tax money on replacing all remaining 2-inch galvanized pipes with larger, PVC pipes. Mehner said.

PVC pipes last longer and don’t break as often, she said.

“It just will provide more resiliency in our system,” Mehner added.

The water-system upgrades will improve water pressure, flow rates and fire protection, officials said.

If Cape Girardeau voters don’t approve the tax-extension measure, city water users may be charged with higher rates to pay for improvements to the system, Fox said.

But none of the proposed projects resonates with Cape Girardeau like repairing city streets, according to the mayor.

“That seems to be the biggest burning issue,” he said.

If voters extend the capital improvements sales tax, the city intends to spend an additional $500,000 a year for 15 years on street repairs.

That, coupled with money from the city’s five-year transportation sales tax (assuming voters extend it next year), would allow the city to spend $3.2 million a year for the next five years on street repairs, Mehner said.

City officials repeatedly have said more money needs to be spent to repair crumbling streets.

“We want to fix the worst first,” she said.

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