Cape Splash admission increase gets first-round approval from council

Fee adjustments were among the top issues considered by the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday night at its first meeting of the year.

The council unanimously granted first-round approval for an admissions increase at Cape Splash Aquatic Center, increasing the cost of daily admissions and group pricing packages by $1 per person. Prices for season passes also will increase.

For the 2014 season, daily admission for children 13 and younger was $5. Adult prices were $6, except for those 60 and older who paid $5 for admission.

Those prices have remained unchanged since the park's opening in 2010, an achievement that drew praise from Mayor Harry Rediger.

"I commend staff for going from 2010 to 2015 ... without an increase, while maintaining those services," he said.

He also pointed out staff studies show the park's admission fees would still fall roughly in the middle, compared to prices for similar parks.

Once the council gives final approval to the fee increase, it will take effect when the water park opens in May. The upcoming season also is scheduled to be the premiere of a new five-lane drop speed slide and mat racer. The estimated cost for the new attraction, which was funded by a 1 percent restaurant tax, is $730,000.

Staff reports cited park improvements and anticipated maintenance costs as primary reasons behind the need for a fee increase. Recent pool repainting cost nearly $30,000 and repainting of the lazy river is expected to cost roughly as much.

"It's four or five years old now so there's some maintenance there that has to happen, too, that we didn't need in our first few years," Rediger said.

The increase is expected to generate an additional $60,000 to $90,000 in annual revenue.

The council also approved a change in the fuel surcharge calculation for residential solid waste collection fees. Currently, the monthly collection fee increases when the previous month's average per gallon of diesel fuel price exceeds $2.75. The measure given initial approval by the council calls for the fee to increase when the per-gallon price exceeds $3.75. The change represents a savings for customers, explained city manager Scott Meyer.

"We could have left [the same surcharge calculation] in place and just collected the money, but we didn't want to do that," he said.

City staff present at the meeting said the cost amounts to about .25 cents on customer bills. Once the new calculation is officially approved by the council, that charge will go away until average per gallon diesel fuel price exceeds $3.75.

Other business

The council also voted to amend sections of the rental licensing ordinance. Amendments proposed by city staff include a revision to the definition of "code official" to allow a deputy or designee to assist with administration and enforcement of the ordinance. It also revises the definition of "violation" as "failure to meet any requirement set forth in any section or subsection of this chapter as determined by the code official or his deputy or designee." Staff expects the revisions to make enforcement of the ordinance simpler and more efficient.

"We continue to find ways to be more efficient and effective," Meyer said.

The goal is to keep landlords accountable, he added, and while most are, Meyer said the ordinance gives the city tools to intervene when the need arises.

The council's next meeting will be Jan. 20, delayed from its usual Monday schedule in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.