CHANGES IN LAKE LAW WILL BE SUGGESTED; SURVEY, IMPACT STUDY TO BE DONE

The Regional Lake Landowners Association for a 7,680-acre recreational lake in Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties will recommend changes in legislation that provides for establishment of the lake.

Establishment of a planning and zoning board, private pedestrian access to the lake for adjacent landowners and more limited powers over the lake are among recommended changes that will be submitted to the Missouri General Assembly in January.

The changes are in response to landowner concerns expressed during two recent landowner meetings since efforts to try to get the lake were revived.

Don Thomasson, chairman of the steering committee of the association, said Friday his group has been working during the past two months to determine recommendations to amend Senate Bill 776.

Thomasson and Greg Williams, executive of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association, a major supporter of the project, announced a number of recent developments concerning the lake during a press conference Friday.

"We have commissioned two projects by Southeast Missouri State University," said Williams. The department of economics will conduct an economic impact study and the department of marketing will conduct a random telephone survey.

"We feel the lake will make our area more attractive to companies that may want to locate here and will be a major economic boost to the area," said Williams.

"Results from two recent surveys have indicated heavy support for the lake," said Williams. Respondents to a Cash-Book Journal coupon survey voted 232 to 114 in support of the lake.

The steering committee conducted a telephone survey of about 80 landowners, with the same 2-to-1 results.

"We realize that the coupon vote is not a viable survey," said Williams. "That's the reason we commissioned the random telephone poll by the university."

Dr. Peter Gordon, a professor in the university's marketing department, which conducts surveys, said the coupon survey is "worth about absolutely nothing."

Gordon said coupon surveys make it easy to stuff the balloting and have very low creditability.

"In fact, they can be a disservice and can sway public opinion," said Gordon. "I'd be happier with a random telephone survey of 50 people than with a coupon survey that attracted 200 or 300 responses."

The survey was conducted by the Cash-Book Journal during September.

"The surveys are not being conducted to influence any government body or other organizations," said David Bloom. "They are simply being conducted to obtain the public's viewpoints on a variety of issues and create reader interest in our newspaper."

The lake survey question asked: "Do You Support the Proposed Recreational Lake Project?"

Responses were received from several parts of both counties, said Bloom. "But most of the votes for the lake came in during the final two to three days."

At one point late in the balloting the vote was 78 to 8 against.

Bloom and Cash-Book Journal publisher Gerald Jones said that a number of the papers containing the ballots were sold a few days before the vote deadline and was followed by a heavy input of votes for supporting the lake.

"Someone stuffed the ballots," he said. "I think they thought that I would throw my support to the lake as a result of the vote."

Jones is presiding commissioner of the Cape Girardeau County Commission.

The County Commission has never been asked to support the lake project, said Jones and Commissioner Joseph Gambill.

"There are a lot of problems to be solved before it can become a reality," said Gambill. "People right now are not in the mood for a sales-tax increase to finance the lake."

A 1-cent sales tax has been discussed as a means of financing the lake.