CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY ACQUIRES 25 ADDITIONAL ACRES OF PARK LAND

The Cape Girardeau County Commission has acquired 25 acres of land adjacent to the county's South Park that will be used for park development.

The land was purchased from Ralph and Frances Fuhrmann for $160,000 and was paid for from the county's capital trust account.

Under an agreement, as part of the terms of the sale, the Furhrmann's will be allowed to live in a house that is on the property and use three acres around the house for as long as they want. The rest of the property is heavily wooded.

Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep said he and Associate Commissioners E.C. Younghouse and Larry Bock believe the land will be a valuable addition to Cape County's park system, although there are no immediate plans for development.

"We are very happy that we were able to work the deal. It is ground that could have gotten into private-development hands and been lost to us," said Huckstep. "I think all three of us are very satisfied with the price we had to pay and being able to acquire this land.

"We are certainly happy, and I think the Fuhrmann's are happy about this deal. They wanted the county to have it, and we are satisfied with the arrangement."

Cape Girardeau County has about 225 acres of park land in three locations near the Interstate 55 and Highway 61 intersection.

The North Park has about 120 acres and also includes the regional headquarters for the Missouri Department of Conservation; the South Park, just across Highway 61, has about 75 acres; and there is Klaus Park on the west side of I-55 that has a little over 30 acres but has limited usage because of its isolated location.

The new land borders the South Park and runs along the interstate toward Hopper Road. The main access to the property is off Boulder Crest Lane.

"This offers a lot of potential as a park, and we are pleased to have it," Huckstep said. "It was a purchase for future development of our park system. Our position was if we didn't take this opportunity, it would be in private hands and gone forever."

Huckstep said he has no idea what the county might use the home for in the future, but the Fuhrmann's would live there as long as they wanted.

Huckstep said the commission has been looking at other tracts near the park that it might want to acquire, but this area had the best price and potential for future development.