Knudtson to ask for greater commitment from future 'adopt-an-interchange' sponsors

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson says he will ask for a greater commitment from future sponsors in his "adopt-an-interchange" program.

"It's still early at this point, but there's a tremendous amount of excitement and some serious discussion between two other groups who would like to get involved," he said.

Knudtson said he will ask future partners to commit to spending $25,000 over five years to qualify to sponsor a landscaped section of highway interchange.

He pointed to the three remaining quadrants at the Interstate 55/Route K location as ideal for sponsorship. He would also like to see locations at Center Junction and LaSalle Avenue on the city's north side see a similar transformation.

Cape Girardeau's first landscaped interchange was unveiled May 16 at the northwest corner of the I-55/Route K exit at mile marker 96. Sears Grand paid $10,000 toward the project as part of the original agreement to build a store in Cape Girardeau, and the blue sign bears the Sears logo.

Foeste Nursery won the bid with a proposal of $76,080. The only other bidder, Mueller Brother Irrigation, offered $85,460 for the work.

Knudtson initially estimated the cost of the project at between $30,000 and $40,000. In order to defer some of that cost, city workers did the dirt work, transporting 3,600 cubic tons of earth and contouring it on location. This helped trim approximately $30,000 off the price paid to Foeste, said officials.

The entrance will cost about $5,000 each year to maintain, principally for mowing and trimming. Knudtson believes the money is well spent.

"All you have to do is go look at Caruthersville. They spent a tremendous money to landscape an entrance there and it actually looks worse now than it did before the work. They didn't irrigate it, and it has just deteriorated," he said.

He believes the next one will not be as costly. "We've learned a number of things and now we have the template in place. I wouldn't expect on the next that we won't have to bring water out, and we won't have some of the same rock issues and the same dirt issues," he said. "But we want to hold a very high standard because if it's not up to the standard, you see out there right now, it's not good for us or our sponsors."

Knudtson has said one of his goals when he became mayor was to mend relationships between the city and the business community. He points to the "adopt-a-siren" program where corporate or group sponsors have donated an average of $15,000 each toward the installation of three sirens.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245