FOUNDATION SEEKS ENERGY AND IDEAS FOR SEMINARY PLAN

The Colonial Cape Foundation is looking for new ideas and energy to revive the foundation's St. Vincent's Seminary project.

The foundation will host a public meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the seminary at Morgan Oak and Lorimier.

"We're trying to get the word out that we are open for business," said Mary Robertson, president of the foundation's board of directors. "We're ready to utilize the building. There's plenty of room."

The first order of business, Robertson said, will be expanding the foundation's board of directors and getting ideas on using the property and raising money.

Robertson said many people have come forward to voice their support for the project, which calls for establishing a cultural arts center and historic exhibits on the property.

"We've found a lot of people who find value in what we do," she said.

The foundation bought the property last April from the Provincial Administration of Vincentian Fathers of St. Louis.

The Vincentians loaned the foundation $600,000 for the land, and the foundation has been having trouble raising the money to repay that loan.

Robertson said she thinks the foundation's finances are getting straightened out.

"We've pretty much gotten our financial planning in line," she said, adding that private sources of funding also have been found.

"It seems like people were waiting to hear that this was really going to happen," Robertson said. "We're now at a point where we can make plans."

The foundation also has been able to recruit a number of business people with expertise in budgeting and fund raising to add to the board of directors.

Earlier this month the Cape Girardeau City Council voted to apply for $440,000 in federal funds through the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department to purchase 16 acres of the old seminary property.

The city would have to provide a match of $110,000 if the grant is approved.

Under the arrangement, the Colonial Cape Foundation would keep 2.5 acres, including the seminary buildings and a one-acre tract south of the new bridge right of way.

Joann Ruess, chairman of the foundation's board of directors, said she hopes the seminary can become a focal point for arts in the area.

"I personally see this as a cultural center," Ruess said, with classes offered for youngsters and adults in dance, art, music and theater, as well as performances and exhibits by regional artists.

Ruess, who owns Academy of Dance Arts in Cape Girardeau, said she would be willing to turn the studio over to the foundation as a revenue source.

"I just have a dream for this," she said.