Cape library to discuss redistricting

Cape Girardeau residents will receive letters next week inviting them to an April 6 meeting held by the board of trustees for the Cape Girardeau Public Library to discuss district boundaries. The letter will go out to approximately 800 households located both inside Cape Girardeau's city limits and outside the municipal library district.

These households pay a library tax of 8 cents per $100 assessed valuation to the Riverside District even though the homes are located inside city limits. If people in these areas want access to the Cape Girardeau library they must pay a $36 annual fee.

Library director Betty Martin said the meeting will educate people and gauge the level of public interest in redistricting. "We have heard from a number of these folks for years now and we understand how frustrating it is for people who live in that gray area," she said.

For people living in these areas who choose not to use the library, the situation is a bargain because the Cape Girardeau Public Library district tax is more than double that of Riverside. Homeowners are taxed regardless of library usage.

Redistricting will not be simple, said Martin. Due to legislation dating back to 1965, the boundaries of Missouri library districts are effectively frozen. This means a new bill in the Missouri state house of representatives would be needed to incorporate the Cape city residents.

"This was a law designed to protect county systems I believe," said Martin. "There is a misconception that the library is a division of the city, but in fact we are a separate tax district."

The 1965 city boundaries are roughly I-55 to the west, Sprigg Street to the south, and Lexington Avenue to the north. People living outside of these boundaries go to the Riverside district which has its nearest regional branch in Jackson.

Martin said this meeting is not designed to take funds away from the Riverside district, but rather to listen to the needs of residents. "They struggle to offer the services that they do, and we understand that they don't want to lose any of their revenue. ... We just want to educate people."

Martin also said designs are still being finalized with architects for the proposed Cape Girardeau library expansion. A Nebraska-based firm charged with the design will come to town March 29 to show board members the final design of a project set to double the size of the library on Clark Avenue to 38,000 square feet.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245