Group wants funding from Cape to make Glenn House repairs

Cape Girardeau's most well-known Victorian home needs some fixing up, and the not-for-profit group that operates Glenn House wants the city to spend $31,117 in surplus motel and restaurant tax dollars for the repairs.

But Mayor Jay Knudtson worries that the council could be flooded with spending requests at a time when the city has no comprehensive plan on how more than $800,000 in surplus Convention and Visitors Bureau money should be spent.

"I believe we need to be very judicious with the handling of this money," said Knudtson. He said the surplus and how it would be spent also was a concern of Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury in discussions that led up to the settlement of a lawsuit against the city.

"I personally believe this request is premature," Knudtson said.

He said he would prefer that the CVB develop a comprehensive plan to spend the money on a number of tourism-related projects so the council won't have to dole out the money helter-skelter.

The city council is scheduled to discuss the Glenn House request at its meeting tonight, but it's uncertain if the council will take any action. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at city hall.

A divided board

The Convention and Visitors Bureau Task Force, which makes recommendations on how such tax money will be spent, is divided over just how much of the surplus tax money should be allocated to the project.

At a June 17 meeting, the advisory board was split over the funding request.

A majority of the task force members in attendance favored spending $12,000 on the project and paying for it out of the CVB operating budget rather than dipping into the surplus fund.

Five of the task force members voted to recommend a $12,000 allocation. Four task force members favored the $31,000 figure requested by the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau Inc., which operates the more-than-century-old Glenn House. One member abstained. Two other task force members -- who favored the $31,000 request -- were out of town and didn't get a chance to vote, according to documents submitted to the city council.

The board of directors of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, which operates the tourism bureau under a contract with the city, decided to submit both funding recommendations and let the council decide the issue.

John Mehner, chamber president, wrote to the council that it wouldn't have been fair for the chamber board to settle on a single recommendation when the task force was so divided over the issue.

But members of the historical association said $12,000 isn't enough to fix a porch damaged by dry rot, a chimney and a retaining wall on the property at 325 S. Spanish St., and make electrical and bathroom renovations to bring the carriage house on the grounds up to city code.

On-site intern

The association wants to provide living quarters in the carriage house for an intern who would work at the Glenn House in exchange for lodging. Such a move could allow for more expanded visiting hours and improve security, said Bill Port, a longtime historical association member and Glenn House supporter. The house currently is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and at other times for special tours.

"We need help to get the front of this thing back in shape again," he said. "There are columns that are rotted. There are railings that are rotted."

Association officials sought city help last August. Nearly a year later, they're still waiting for an answer.

"It seems like it is a political football that has bounced back and forth," Port said.

The association plans to hold more fund raisers and has already boosted its membership rolls, adding 60 new members this year to bring the total to 183. Within the last year, the association put a new roof on the house thanks to a $25,000 donation from a donor who wanted to remain anonymous.

Historic preservation efforts have long been ignored by Cape Girardeau city government, said Loretta Schneider, a former city councilwoman who serves on both the historical association board of directors and the CVB task force.

"The city has never seen the value in our history and culture for the sake of tourism," she said.

The historical association has owned and operated the historic home since 1969. The house -- completed in 1883 -- was the home of a wealthy Cape Girardeau merchant, David Glenn.

The house is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Mississippi River boat passengers routinely tour the house during stops in Cape Girardeau.

"We feel we should have been getting some help all along," Schneider said.

The city helps maintain the Red House museum honoring city founder Louis Lorimier and owns a former brick fire station that houses the River Heritage Museum, Schneider said. She said it's only fair the city give some assistance to the Glenn House.

Councilwoman Evelyn Boardman said the historical association can't make all the needed repairs to the Glenn House without adequate city funding.

"A half-finished project is really worthless," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123