Judge- River Campus suit is dismissed

A judge dismissed Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury's latest River Campus lawsuit on Friday, but he left the door open for Drury to mount another legal challenge to the city's plan to partner with Southeast Missouri State University in building a new arts school.

Judge Robert Crist, a retired judge from Shelbina, Mo., granted the city's motion to dismiss after a 33-minute hearing in a small courtroom in the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

Within 10 minutes after the hearing, Crist returned to the courtroom to issue his ruling in the presence of attorneys for both sides.

The judge indicated that Drury's claims were addressed in two previous lawsuits the city won.

The judge also ruled that Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon should have been served notice of the lawsuit since he, along with the city, was named a defendant. The suit was filed on March 4 in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court.

Crist gave Drury's attorney, Walter S. Drusch, 30 days to file an amended petition in the case, provided that the petition is served on the attorney general and not just the city.

Drusch said a new petition won't be a new lawsuit, but rather a continuation of the existing case before the same judge.

Drusch said he ultimately expects to ask the Missouri Court of Appeals to rule on the issues.

Still, Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson was thrilled by the ruling.

"I think it is another dagger in Jim Drury's claim," he said. "Hopefully, it will move us one step closer to a resolution."

The mayor, who met earlier this week with Drury, said he wants to reach an agreement with Drury that would bring a permanent end to the debate.

Drury was out of town on Friday and couldn't be reached for comment.

Disappointed Drusch

Drusch said he was disappointed by Crist's ruling, which came even as the city and university continue to move ahead with the River Campus development.

The university broke ground on the project in May and plans to have it completed by the summer of 2006.

Drusch insisted his lawsuit raised a new issue that wasn't addressed by the Missouri Supreme Court in earlier litigation. The city council on Dec. 2, 2002, passed an ordinance that both obligates the city to pay its share of funding for the River Campus project while at the same time states that the council doesn't have to appropriate any money for bond payments, Drusch said.

"That is just so confusing," he told the judge.

Drusch said the central issue is whether the city is incurring debt illegally. Voters in November 1998 approved spending motel and restaurant tax money on the River Campus project. The measure passed with a simple majority. But a companion bond issue didn't secure the super majority -- fourth-sevenths of the vote -- needed to pass.

The university, which is directing development of the River Campus arts school along the Mississippi River, then decided to seek issuance of bonds through a state board.

This June, the Missouri Development Finance Board authorized the sale of $31.6 million in bonds to construct the River Campus on the site of a former Catholic seminary. School officials said the board action would allow bonds to be issued by the fall.

Under the plan, the city will pay back $8.9 million of the bonds through proceeds from the motel and restaurant tax. The university will retire the remaining $22.7 million in bonds with funding from the Missouri Legislature and private donations.

But in court on Friday, Jeffery McPherson of St. Louis, the lawyer representing the city, said the December ordinance doesn't require the city to appropriate "one thin dime" for the project.

Drusch argued the simple majority approval of the motel and restaurant tax issue in November 1998 wasn't enough to meet the constitutional requirement, Drusch said.

Both city and university officials, however, have said the financing arrangement is legal and has been upheld by the courts throughout the repeated litigation.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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