Civic leader: Ballot measure would fund parks, stormwater projects without tax increase

A measure on the April 3 ballot would fund parks and stormwater improvements in Cape Girardeau without a tax increase, former city council member Mark Lanzotti said Friday.

�It is not a new tax,� he told a crowd of several hundred people at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce First Friday Coffee.

Lanzotti, one of several community leaders promoting the ballot issue, said voter approval of the measure would extend a three-eighth-cent sales tax for 15 years.

Voters in 2008 passed a half-cent sales tax of which one-eighth cent was permanent. The remainder would expire this year without voter approval.

The tax has funded major improvements over the past decade, including construction of Cape Splash and the Shawnee Park Center, Lanzotti said. It also has financed numerous stormwater improvements that have significantly reduced flooding, he said.

Without such improvements, heavy rains last weekend would have resulted in much more severe flooding, he told the crowd. Hundreds of homes would have had flooded basements, he said.

According to city staff, about 40 homes had flooding issues last week, Lanzotti said.

The tax-extension measure would fund numerous parks and stormwater projects. Heading the list is construction of a new, indoor aquatic center.

Lanzotti said a new aquatic center is needed to replace the aging, municipal pool.

Other projects on the list include replacing eight ballfields at Arena Park with a new youth ballfield complex, which could host local leagues and regional and statewide tournaments, and further improvements to Cape Splash.

City officials want to increase shallow areas, restrooms, concessions and deck space at Cape Splash. The water park often is filled to capacity during the summer, he said.

Replacing portable toilets with permanent restrooms at various parks is also among the list of projects, Lanzotti said.

Stormwater improvements also are an important part of the tax package, he said.

�It is not nearly as much fun to talk about,� he acknowledged.

But he said projects to address stormwater issues in a number of watersheds are important, particularly for those who live in areas affected by flooding.

Those projects include improving Capaha Park lagoon.

He said the lagoon serves as a �detention basin� for stormwater. The �pond� needs to be dredged, he said. The project also would enhance the walkway around it.

The culvert north of Broadway at Penny Avenue and North Sunset Boulevard would be upgraded. Drainage also would be improved along a section of Good Hope Street, Lanzotti said.

The sales tax also would fund proposed drainage improvements at Hopper Road and Kingshighway and in Arena Park, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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