County may contribute to Town Plaza project

The Cape Girardeau County Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday morning on whether the county should contribute a portion of its sales-tax revenue to support renovations of the old Sears building in Town Plaza.

The 40-year-old former retail store on William Street in Cape Girardeau is now home to National Assets Recovery Service, or NARS, a call center that eventually will employ up to 400 people. But renovations to the building, owned by Greater Missouri Builders, will cost about $4 million more than NARS and other tenants will pay in rent.

The hearing Thursday will review the last piece of the tax financing puzzle that Cape Girardeau leaders have been developing to support the project. On Tuesday, Mayor Jay Knudtson, city manager Doug Leslie and city attorney Eric Cunningham explained what they hope will turn into a county commitment of tax revenue.

The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. in the commission chambers of the County Administration Building in Jackson.

The Cape Girardeau City Council has already approved a 100 percent property tax abatement for new building improvements and a 50 percent reduction for the existing building. In addition, the council approved a Community Improvement District for the Town Plaza Shopping Center that increased sales tax by 1 percent on goods sold at retailers.

The final piece, Knudtson and the other city officials told the commission, is to dedicate a portion of any increase in sales-tax revenue to repaying loans for the project. The city is committing about two-thirds of any increase in sales-tax receipts to the effort and asked the county to dedicate half of any increased revenue under the county's half-cent general revenue sales tax.

The tax financing will provide about $1.2 million over 20 years or until the debts are repaid, whichever is sooner. The final split would be about $1 million from the city and $171,000 from the county, Cunningham said.

The county has agreed to similar deals in the past to support efforts to attract the Kohl's store and to entice Sears to build a new store when it closed the previous location. "This deal, from a percentage standpoint, has the county participating at a much lower level," Knudtson told the commissioners. "We tried to structure something that allowed us to share the risks and the rewards."

Commissioners held a special meeting Tuesday to listen to Knudtson and the other city officials explain the deal. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said assisting the project "is a pretty big deal. It would help me if I understand it better."

Commissioner Jay Purcell insisted on the public hearing prior to voting to approve county participation. The hearing, he said, will help commissioners explain to the public that they are not including the recently enacted sales tax for roads and law enforcement in the deal. "I just want to make sure if anybody has any concerns, they can talk about it."

The hearing isn't required by law, but Knudtson said he welcomes a chance for city leaders to explain the deal and why it is good for the area's economic health.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126