FOSTER WON'T BACK LAKE BILL

MARBLE HILL -- State Rep. Bill Foster says a proposed Cape Girardeau-Bollinger counties lake measure won't get through the Missouri House while he is there.

"This bill is not going any place this year or next year," the Poplar Bluff Republican told a group of about 50 lake opponents Thursday night in Marble Hill. "It's not going any place until you tell us you want a lake," Foster said.

Foster said he had discussed the lake with state Reps. David Schwab, R-Jackson, and Jim Graham, R-Fredericktown, and all three decided they would "stand on the House floor and say no way" if it came to that.

The 7,700-acre lake, which would be formed by damming the Whitewater rivers near Millersville, has been a political issue since the late 1980s. A bill introduced this year would have allowed the issue to go on election ballots if proponents could raise enough signatures on petitions.

The bill has been declared dead in the Senate by its sponsor, Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau. Kinder said he hasn't decided whether he will resubmit the bill next year.

A group of Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties landowners who oppose the lake waged a furious letter-writing campaign when the issue was introduced. They met this week to decide if they will continue writing letters or wait for the next lake bill to surface.

Foster said it wouldn't be beneficial for opponents to continue writing their representatives if the issue is dead. He said letters are more effective than people realize, but only when lawmakers are dealing with an issue. "Once it's dead it's dead," he said.

Foster proposed an alternate site for a recreational lake that is already owned by the state and would not cost taxpayers any money to build. He said he told representatives from the Regional Commercial and Growth Association, which is pushing for the lake, about the alternate site.

"The first thing they said was we can't put up lots and houses around this property," he said of the proponents.

Lake opponent Joan Sebaugh, who spearheaded the letter-writing efforts, said she was not going to write more letters unless another measure is introduced. She said the only correspondence she will consider at this point is thank-you letters to senators.

Her husband, Ed Sebaugh, presented a comparison between proponent and opponent estimates of the benefits and cost of the lake. He said proponents estimate the lake could benefit the area by about $1.3 billion in tourism, development and retail sales.

Sebaugh said that figure is based on gross revenue and does not reflect the basic costs of doing business. He said the county would see more like $96 million in net profit.

That would not cover the $115 million price tag on the lake -- which Sebaugh said is only the base cost. The lake would be financed by 20-year bonds, which, even with a 6 percent interest rate, would still put the total cost at more than $250 million, he said.

Jim Roche, president of the lake opposition group, said the group must be prepared for further efforts. Lake proponents have tried to bring the lake project to the voters on three occasions in 10 years.