JACKSON TO HELP PAY FOR CHAMBER DIRECTOR

JACKSON -- The city will contribute $50,000 per year to help pay the salary of a new executive director for the Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved the agreement Monday night.

The new executive will be charged with attracting retail business to the city as well as helping maintain the strength of the businesses already operating. Attracting new industry will be another part of the job.

Chamber President Brent Wills said Mitch Robinson at the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association does a good job on behalf of the city. But, he said, "We want somebody that can be directly responsible for furthering the Jackson area. We're trying to get more geographically specific."

Howard Alexander, chairman of the chamber's Future Directions Committee, said the new person will not compete with Robinson but will work with him. "In no way are we trying to compete with Mitch Robinson," he said. "It's going to be a cooperative thing."

Marilyn Foster has been running the chamber on an interim basis since the resignation last December of longtime executive secretary Patty Reisenbichler. Foster will remain in the role of secretary when the new executive is hired. She will manage the office and the volunteers.

The chamber surveyed members earlier in the year to see whether they favored an expansion of its role in promoting the city. More than 92 percent of those who responded said the chamber would benefit from hiring a professional executive and advocated asking the city to help pay for the position.

The payoff for the city would come in the form of new jobs and increased sales tax revenues.

In the survey, members were asked whether they would support an increase in membership fees to help pay the salary of an economic developer.

Wills said dues have been increased but remain well below those of most other cities in the area. "We hadn't changed the dues structure since 1985," he said.

Wills said the organization hopes to have someone on the job by Sept. 1.

The contract with the city will be reviewed yearly, but the chamber has received a commitment of five years from the city.

Alexander said the chamber will be seeking someone with good communication skills. He said the job will be advertised in Missouri, Southern Illinois, western Kentucky and through university placement offices.

In other business, the board:

-- Issued a special-use permit to Mr. and Mrs. David Miller for the operation of a nursery or greenhouse in an R-2 district at 1517 W. Jackson Blvd. Miller previously had requested having the property rezoned commercial. The board approved it, but the vote was vetoed by Mayor Paul Sander. Sander said he favored issuing a special-use permit until the Missouri Department of Transportation decides on its plans for West Jackson Boulevard.

The meeting was conducted by Mayor Pro Tem Jack Piepenbrok. Mayor Paul Sander did not attend the meeting because his father, Leonard, suffered a heart attack early Monday morning.