COUNCIL DECIDES NOT TO SEEK GRANT FOR HIKING-BIKING TRAIL

After wrestling with his conscience, Cape Girardeau City Councilman Richard Eggimann decided he had to reverse his endorsement of a planned hiking-biking trail along Bloomfield Road.

Three other councilmen -- Tom Neumeyer, Melvin Gateley and J.J. Williamson -- followed suit and Eggimann's motion to kill an application for a grant through the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department to fund it passed 4-2 Tuesday night.

"After thinking about this during the two-week period after we voted to apply for the funding, I realize that I am opposed to this kind of project when there are so many other needs that must be taken care of," said Eggimann. "I realize that I was asleep when this came up at the last city council meeting."

Mayor Al Spradling III was against killing the application as was Councilman Melvin Kasten, both of whom voted against Eggimann's proposal. "I must say I'm surprised by this," said Spradling. "We are already developing a hiking and biking trail through the city that will cost some $400,000. To me, recreation is a very important aspect of the city."

Spradling said the application, which was submitted July 1, has not been approved. "We don't even know if matching funds are available," said Spradling. "Most of the funding would be coming from the residents along Bloomfield Road."

The project would have involved acquisition of rights-of-ways and, or easements along Bloomfield Road and along an undetermined alignment. The trail was to span one mile from Siemers Drive to County Road 206, known as Benton Hill Road.

One of the conditions of the proposal was for residents involved in an annexation of property along Bloomfield to provide a 20 percent match through donations of rights-of-ways and cash. That would have amounted to $36,000.

However, there was no guarantee that the match would be available if the state approved the application. The city would also have been responsible for maintenance estimated to cost $25,000 a year. Total cost of the project was estimated at $180,000.

Eggimann cited maintenance costs as one of the main reasons he was unable to stick with his original endorsement. "A quarter-million dollars over a 10-year period for maintaining a hiking and biking trail for a small group of individuals is too high a price to pay when there are so many other projects that need to be taken care of," said Eggimann.

"I was elected to take care of the basic needs of the city of Cape Girardeau," said Eggimann. "I'm sorry but this is a little bit too much."

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer instructed City Planner Kent Bratton to notify the highway department that the city wished to withdraw the application.

In other action:

-- The council voted to put a 5 percent cap on fee increases. Any increases that would surpass 5 percent would have to be approved by a vote of the people.

-- Boyd Gaming requested a six-month extension on a special use permit it had sought for support facilities and parking to its planned riverboat casino. Said Michael Brady, project manager for Boyd Gaming: "We just need more time to respond to the Corps of Engineers and other agencies. This in no way slows down our plans to open a casino in Cape Girardeau the first week in April. We plan to begin construction in September." The council approved first reading of an ordinance calling for a six-month extension.