CHAFFEE VOTERS MAY DECIDE ON PARK TAX

CHAFFEE -- A 20-cent park tax increase proposal appears headed for the April municipal ballot here.

Council members agreed Monday at their regular meeting to hold a special meeting Friday at 6 p.m. to move toward getting the measure on the ballot.

The deadline for getting issues on the April 7 ballot is Feb. 11.

Four council seats are also up for election. They are the seats held by Jerry Wolsey of Ward 1, Irmgard Chronister of Ward 2, Ron Eskew of Ward 3, and Brad Bader of Ward 4, all of whom have filed.

Today is the last day to file for the seats. The only race at this time is a three-way contest for Wolsey's seat. Edward N. "Cotton" Sadler, of 126 Cook, and John E. Nordin, of 429 Helen, are challenging Wolsey.

The council's liaison to the park board, Ward 2 Councilman Ed Gauthier, said that a 20-cent park tax increase per $100 assessed valuation would raise roughly $20,000 a year. The city's park tax now stands at 11 cents per $100 valuation and the city's overall tax rate is 92 cents, he said.

The money is needed, Gauthier said, because the city's general revenue has subsidized the city parks, which have a $30,000 a year deficit. Mayor Ron Moyers said the money is being put toward the city pool and operating expenses for the parks.

Gauthier had mentioned the possibility of a park tax increase in December, but City Attorney David Summers said Monday he didn't recall the subject being mentioned. Because the necessary paperwork for the proposal is not ready, the city must hold the special meeting.

Gauthier touted what he sees as an advantage in putting the proposal on the upcoming ballot.

"It will come up in April and that's when the baseball season's getting started and we'll have a lot of parents to help us get it passed," he told the council.

Some city officials, including Park Board Chairman Bob Sullivan, said they thought that the replacement of the lights at Harmon Field should be tied to the tax increase. The support of youth league parents is needed, said Sullivan.

"If we don't have their support, we don't have a chance, and these people, particularly, that's the first question they're going to ask."

Wolsey said no night games should be played at the park because they are dangerous. At nighttime, he said, a player is "nearly in the dark out there."

Following the meeting, Gauthier said the lights at Harmon field are old. Plus, he said, the lights are inside the fence and new lights should be on the outside.

The light fixtures would run about $24,000, Sullivan said, and installation would run $10,000 to $12,000.

On an unrelated topic, Chronister threatened to step down from being in charge of the city's animal shelter if action was taken to kill a female dog and six puppies it bore over the weekend.

"I would not allow it," Chronister said, "nor would I stand for it."

She issued her threat after Moyers said city ordinance directed that any stray dogs that were not picked up after seven days be killed. Chronister had asked what would become of the dogs.

Chronister seemed to back off on her threat for the time being after Councilman Danny Finley said he would take the dog to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri at Cape Girardeau. Chronister said the shelter's manager said she would be willing to take the dogs.

When asked later by Moyers if she still planned to step down from her position, Chronister said she would think about it and get back with him.