County votes to sell strip of park land for $350,000

The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted Thursday to sell 1.24 acres of Cape County Park North to Mid-America Hotels for $350,000.

The price is $50,000 more than what was offered in April for the same 70-foot-wide strip of land. The increase came after the county obtained an independent appraisal that put the base value of the land at $250,000 but also took account of the added value the property would impart to the adjacent land already owned by Mid-America. Under that method, known as "assemblage value," the appraiser pegged the value at $370,000 to $430,000.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones and District 1 Commissioner Larry Bock voted in favor of the sale. District 2 Commissioner Jay Purcell voted against it, noting that he did not feel the deal had been discussed thoroughly by the county's Board of Park Commissioners.

Purcell said the sale should have been the subject of public hearings to answer the questions of whether any land should be sold and whether any restrictions should be imposed on the use of the property. "That is why I am a little troubled by this whole thing," Purcell said. "I don't know what the big hurry is."

The park board reached a consensus that the land sale was satisfactory during a series of telephone calls Wednesday, board chairman Joe Sherinski told the commission. He said he called each member of the board and reported that they were in favor of the sale by a 6-1 margin.

For more information, check back at semissourian.com or read Friday's Southeast Missourian.