GROUP FORMS TO PROMOTE ROAD SALES TAX

The Transportation Trust Committee is official now.

James Wente, Southeast Missouri Hospital administrator, was named chairman of the new committee during an organizational meeting Thursday morning.

The new citizen committee is comprised of business leaders who will work to promote the transportation sales tax proposal on the Aug. 8 ballot.

"What we'll be promoting is improved roads and bridges so people can get to Cape Girardeau and residents can enjoy living here," said John Fidler, St. Francis Medical Center administrator and a member of the committee. "Streets are important for the city's economy and safety."

The sales tax proposal will raise more than $16 million for road and bridge projects.

"A lot of study has been involved in the compiling of a priority list of improvements," said Larry Payne, a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Surface Transportation Committee, who helped organize the group. "We're an official committee now, and we'll be educating and informing citizens of what needs to be done here."

The new committee is important to continuing the participation of citizen assessments in the city's streets and bridges, noted Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney at West Park Mall and a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Rediger added that many citizens have worked with Vision 2000, the Chamber of Commerce and the planning board in compiling a 20-project priority list.

"This committee is another step in the process," Rediger said.

One of the goals of the new committee is "a trust fund," to assure citizens that all the money designated for roads is actually being spent on roads. The trust fund will include all money for roads and bridges that comes to the city, including state funds and special assessments.

The city has given assurance that a trust fund will be established at the July 24 Council meeting.

The committee will file its community campaign status with the Missouri Election Commission today.

In the past, the chamber provided the organization and leadership for community improvement campaigns, but the change in election laws, which have become stricter concerning the accountability of community campaigns, has resulted in the new committee, not connected with the chamber.

Several chamber members will serve on the committee, including Chamber of Commerce President John Mehner.

"We're open to new members and we welcome comments and input from anyone," Payne said. "This is an important issue and we need all the help we can get."

The new committee will hold its next meeting July 26 at 7:30 a.m.

Wente had to leave the meeting early due to a prior commitment and was not available for comment.

More than three weeks remain before the election.

The committee is in the process of establishing a speaker's bureau.

"We want to gather all the facts and figures," Rediger said. "We want to be able to answer every question a taxpayer can ask."

Members of the committee at present are Ernie Beussink, Joe Buerkle, Virgil Chirnside, Jim Erlacher, Mike Kohlfeld, Jim Limbaugh, Dennis Marchi, Howard Meagle, Max Stovall, Al Stoverink, Paul Ebaugh, Wente, Mehner; Payne, Fidler and Rediger.