Council wants more details before fully funding Old Town Cape

From the start, by John Voss' recollection, the extra $20,000 the city would give Old Town Cape to help implement the DREAM Initiative and its downtown strategic plan would be for three years. Not four.

Now, with a request for a fourth year on the table, the Cape Girardeau City Council member wants to know exactly why that money is needed and how it would be spent. On Monday. council members postponed the allocation for two weeks until they get some answers.

"They do great work on a shoestring budget," Voss said. "We would not have made the progress we have without that organization and its volunteers. It's simply a matter of having limited funds for a limited number of requests."

As it has done for years, the council unanimously voted at its meeting Monday night to fund $20,000 for the not-for-profit organization that works toward revitalizing the city's downtown.

But on a 6-1 vote -- with Ward 1 council member Meg Davis Proffer the lone dissenter -- the council postponed giving Old Town Cape $20,000 for implementation of the downtown strategic plan. The plan, adopted in 2009 by the council and its partners, lists 71 tasks intended to improve the downtown area.

During the study session before the meeting, Voss raised questions about why the fourth year was needed.

"They were very clear from the beginning that this would be a three-year gig," Voss said. "My concern is that it becomes another government program and that it will become a line item year after year."

While Old Town Cape executive director Marla Mills was out of town, the organization's board president, Dennis Meyer, said that this is a crucial year for the organization, with the Isle of Capri casino in development in the downtown district.

Of the 71 tasks listed in the plan, 51 are either in progress, completed or ongoing, Meyer said, including development of a revenue-generating community improvement district, a facade improvement program and new design standards.

Now is not the time, Meyer said, to stymie the work of Old Town Cape. The organization operates on an annual budget of about $170,000, about 20 percent of which comes from the city. The rest comes largely from investors and fundraisers.

Getting people to pony up for the organization is increasingly difficult, Meyer said.

"The nature of today's economic conditions we're in, it's not easy," Meyer said. "If our funds get short, we're going to have to put some of the things we're working on on the back burner. It's an important time right now."

Proffer opposed the move, saying she believed the council should have just moved forward with the funding. But Voss said it wouldn't hurt to take two weeks to get some more definitive answers.

"We have a responsibility to the taxpayer to make sure we spend the money in the best way we can," Voss said. "There is so much competition from other requests, whether it's a skate park, employee raises or fixing potholes. We want to make sure we have all the information before we make a decision."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO