JACKSON SEEKS SUGGESTIONS ON CENTER FOR CITY

JACKSON -- The Jackson Multipurpose Building Feasibility Study Committee wants to find out if residents want a community center and, if so, what it should include.

An enthusiastic group of volunteers met for the first time Thursday to study the possibility of building a multipurpose community building in Jackson.

"The first thing we need to do is some kind of survey to determine exactly what the community feels the need is," said Dale Rauh, chairman of the new committee. "We can take the contents of that survey and formulate a game plan."

About 45 of the 66 members on the committee attended the meeting at City Hall.

Mayor Paul Sander organized the committee and selected Rauh, a corporate planner at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau, to lead it. David Moll will serve as vice chairman.

"I told them the general task in front of them is to study the feasibility and to make a recommendation to the council and myself on whether to move ahead on construction of this facility," Sander said.

Sander hopes the committee can finish its work within nine to 12 months.

Rauh said he was excited at the number of Jackson residents who have volunteered to serve. He said the group represents a good cross-section, including people of all ages and backgrounds.

"I'm very charged up at the number of young people interested in the future progress of the Jackson community," Rauh said.

The group, which will meet monthly, will split into four subcommittees. The subcommittees will meet more frequently and will examine public opinion, finances, building design and site selection.

If the group decides to proceed with the project, another subcommittee on education and public awareness will be formed.

"I think the most important committee to get off the ground immediately is public opinion," Sander said. "I think we'll get a broad section of opinions to review."

Committee members will pick the subcommittees on which they wish to serve at the group's next meeting Feb. 6.

Representatives from a group involved with passage of a bond issue to build a community center in Perryville will be at the next meeting to share their experiences.

"They can tell us how they got from square one -- where we are -- to passing a bond issue," Sander said.

While the city will support the study committee by lending resources and providing information, Sander doesn't want city staff or elected officials to spearhead the effort.

"I feel very strongly that this needs to be driven by the people of Jackson," Sander said. "I think we'll get a clearer view of what the public wants if we handle it that way."

Sander said people in the community had privately pondered the possibility of a community center for years, but no one ever made an effort to seriously study the issue.

Even if it is determined the project is not feasible, Sander said the community will be better educated from the process and know what would need to be done. "We'll start the ball rolling and see where it rolls," Sander said.