CITY BOARDS POISED TO REACH ACCORD ON RECREATION PLAN

After a three-hour meeting Tuesday, members of two city advisory boards seem poised to work out a compromise on a $4 million proposal to expand recreation and convention facilities in Cape Girardeau.

The Parks and Recreation and Convention and Visitors Bureau advisory boards previously had clashed over plans for a multiuse building at the city's new Osage Park and a concessions building at a Shawnee Park softball complex.

At Tuesday's meeting, both sides agreed that middle ground must be reached.

Tony Sebek, who with Dave Alberson is the project's architect, told board members they will have to scale back their plans.

"Right now, if we take the present program and work everything you're talking about, we're talking a $5 million bill, and that's not going to cut it," Sebek said.

"Everybody's just not going to get what they want in this program. There's going to have to be compromise."

The boards agreed to come up with needed features and to present them to the architects as soon as possible. "That's what we're waiting for," said Alberson.

At issue are details of a city council plan to spend $4 million in excess tourism tax dollars on the recreation project in the two parks.

The Shawnee Park complex includes a concessions building, complete with showers and restaurant facilities.

CVB board members decried a "full-blown" restaurant at the complex that would be run by the city in competition with other restaurants.

"The biggest mistake you can make is to go into competition with other businesses when they're paying for this project," said CVB board member Dan Drury.

The tourism tax is funded by a quarter-cent sales tax on restaurant and motel receipts.

CVB board member Dennis "Doc" Cain said he fears the softball complex would be a "one-stop" destination for softball and soccer players, who would have little need to spend money in the community.

"The whole idea of this project was to promote tourism and get people into this community to spend money," he said. "But they ought to spend money with businesses, not with the city."

But park board members said the concessions building would be an important draw to attract large tournaments into the city.

Those athletes would bring their families along, which would benefit Cape Girardeau businesses.

"Anybody can build five ball fields," said park board member Jay Crosnoe. "But you've got to have some type of a drawing card for them besides just saying we've got five fields."

Robert Hoppmann, chairman of the CVB board, suggested that the concessions building remain as planned, but that the restaurant be abandoned in favor of vending machines and prepared sandwiches.

"I say, Let's try it first without a full-blown restaurant," he said. "The seating, terraces, overhang, landscaping -- that's going to be the draw."

"That is exactly what we want," said Cain. "I want a nice facility, but let's not make it so nice that they drop 15 bucks at the ball field and say, `Gosh, I'm broke. Let's head back to the motel and hit it tomorrow.'"

The CVB board also expressed concerns about the preliminary design of the 39,000-square-foot multiuse building at Osage Park.

Board members argued over the placement of CVB offices in the building, the size of a proposed weight-training room, the lack of adequate food-preparation areas, and the need for an outer hall connecting the various meeting rooms in the building.

The plan includes a large arena with room for two basketball or four volleyball courts and convention seating for up to 1,500 people.

The building also would house the offices of the CVB and the city's parks and recreation department. Other areas are designated for meeting rooms, a concessions area, showers and locker rooms, and bathrooms.

CVB board members again argued that some of the recreation facilities would compete with private enterprise.

Jim Grebing, park board chairman, disagreed.

"The die-hard person about fitness is not going to go to the city facilities any more than the die-hard golfer's going to go to the (city-run) Jaycee Golf Course," he said.

Grebing said the recreation areas are designed for classes that would cater to various activities for all ages.