GROUP WANTS `FRESH' STUDY ON SEMINARY

The Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation Task Force voted Monday to ask the city council for money to study the cost of renovating St. Vincent's Seminary.

Members of the task force agreed that having an up-to-date study is the necessary first step in the search for funding to buy and operate the seminary as a museum.

The Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation wants to transform the 150-year-old seminary into a museum and Civil War interpretive center.

Past studies by the city and by the architectural firm that designed the museum proposal were deemed too general or too preliminary.

In a 1989 study conducted by the city, renovation projections ranged from $165,000 to $2.5 million.

The latter projection was for the cost of turning the seminary into office space.

Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink and task force member Jim Grebing said seeking funding sources calls for fresh numbers.

"It's important that the cost estimate be generated on the specific proposed use," Stoverink told the task force.

David Murphy, executive director of the foundation, estimated the cost of the study at $8,000-10,000.

Because the Texas architectural firm that designed the museum plan is familiar with the property (and currently is doing work in town), the city council will be asked to show a preference for hiring the company to do the study.

If approved, Stoverink said the money would come from the city's fund for community development projects.

The task force also decided to ask Realtor Thomas L. Meyer, who represents the seminary owners, for an agreement granting the foundation first right of refusal on the property.

Some members of the task force are concerned that the property could be sold to another party while the study is being conducted.