FACILITY ADDITION BOOSTED

The Show Me Center's Board of Managers Wednesday endorsed a proposal to expand the center, despite strong objections from one board member over how such a project might be funded.

Charles C. Leming submitted a letter to fellow board members objecting to a proposal to use surplus money in the city tourism fund to partially fund construction of an addition for convention and meeting room space.

The Cape Girardeau City Council has solicited proposals on what to do with the tourism fund money. The Show Me Center proposal was one of 28 given the council.

Center Director David Ross has suggested that a 30,000-square-foot addition could be constructed, with the city and Southeast Missouri State University sharing in the cost.

But Leming said it would be wrong to fund the city's share of such a project with an "unjustified accumulation of tax money."

However, board Chairman Cord Dombrowski, and board members Anne Bradshaw, Alton Bray, university Executive Vice President Robert Foster and City Manager J. Ronald Fischer voiced support for the expansion project.

Dombrowski, Bradshaw and Foster said it had always been envisioned that the Show Me Center might be expanded in the future.

It was suggested that the proposed addition could help attract more convention and meeting business to the center. "I think we have an obligation to assure that this thing succeeds," said Dombrowski.

He said the board should consider the expansion project itself and not the tax-surplus issue.

But Leming cited objections raised by former Mayor Howard C. Tooke in a Nov. 18 letter to the city council regarding the tourism fund.

In that letter, Tooke said the council has a "moral obligation" to reduce a 10-cent property tax levy that is going to help retire a $5 million bond issue used to pay the city's share of the cost of constructing the Show Me Center.

The 10-cent tax levy generates about $250,000 a year, according to city officials.

"At the time the $5 million bond issue was submitted to the voters, it was proposed to be retired by a 1 percent tax on restaurant gross receipts, a 3 percent tax on motel gross receipts and a 10 cents per $100 valuation property tax; the proposal was approved by the voters, and the bonds were sold," wrote Tooke.

The bond issue was approved by voters in April 1983.

Following the sale of the bonds, litigation in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court led to issuance of a court order prohibiting the levying of the tax.

"This created quite a problem for the city, which barely had funds from which to make the initial payment on the bonds," recalled Tooke. The court ruling was appealed and in 1986 was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court.

In the interim between the bond issue vote and the Supreme Court decision, reassessment in Missouri resulted in "much higher property valuations" coupled with a mandated rollback of tax rates, Tooke said.

"Had the original levy been made at the time it was authorized, it would have been rolled back to a lesser rate because of reassessment," the former mayor said.

But since the tax was not levied until after reassessment, the city was not legally required to reduce the tax levy, he said.

Since the city had lost a full year of tax revenue because of the litigation, "it was decided to leave the levy at 10 cents until the lost year's revenue could be made up, and then adjust the rate downward so as to produce the same annual amount of revenue as was originally planned," explained Tooke.

"The lost year's tax having been recovered by this time, I respectfully suggest that the council should reduce the property tax levy to a rate sufficient to produce the same amount of money that was originally intended, and probably somewhat lower because of advance refunding of the bond issue.

"I sincerely believe this to be a moral obligation of the council to maintain credibility in local government," Tooke wrote.

In an interview Wednesday, Tooke said the tax levy was supposed to pay half the cost of retiring the bonds, with motel and restaurant taxes paying the other half.

"They are collecting way more property tax than ever was intended to be authorized by voters," said Tooke.

The refinancing of the bond issue to get a lower interest rate should also be taken into account, insisted Tooke. "They shouldn't get a windfall from advance refunding of their bonds. That ought to go to the taxpayers."

The city's tourism fund now has a surplus of funds because of "over collection of the property tax," Tooke said.

As to the funding, Tooke said, "It was a joint proposition that was made up in order to finance the building and everybody understood it at the time. But I think a great many taxpayers have just forgotten what reassessment did to them."

At Wednesday's Board of Managers meeting, Leming said he agrees with Tooke, who is his business partner, and his call for reducing the tax levy. "I agree completely with this stand and have no desire to have the Board of Managers pursue any plans that would include using this unjustified accumulation of tax money now, or in the future."

Leming said city officials had not responded to Tooke's letter. But Fischer said council members believe the issue of whether to reduce the tax levy or even pay off the bonds early is something to seriously consider. Currently, the bonds are scheduled to be paid off by 2004.

Leming said he and other taxpayers are tired of government spending money simply because it is there.

"There is only one suggestion that a majority of the people in town won't object to (and that's to) give it back to the taxpayers," he said.

But other board members said they believe that as long as there is tourism fund revenue available, expansion of the Show Me Center is a project that should be considered, and one that would benefit both the city and university.

Ross has proposed constructing an addition on the south side of the Show Me Center. But he suggested Wednesday that two other sites might be considered one on the northeast side of the complex and the other on the northwest side.

Ross said he envisioned the addition being a one-story building that would blend in with the architectural design of the complex.

The city council has asked the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board to look over the proposals for use of the tourism fund money.

Fischer said Tooke's letter will be forwarded to the advisory board along with all the funding proposals.