LAND DEVELOPER, SCHOOLS EYE HOT PROPERTY

SIKESTON -- Can one man make a difference? Scott Matthews hopes so.

The issue at hand is property development on the south end of town which is located south of Plantation Boulevard behind Storey's Market Place. Until several years ago the area was in the New Madrid County School District.

And there lies the dilemma.

Matthews wants a boundary change that would make that area part of the Sikeston School District.

New Madrid County doesn't.

Matthews' argument is that the property didn't develop until the area was petitioned, voted out of the New Madrid School District, went to arbitration and brought into the Sikeston School District."And it was a little bit of a contentious issue if you can imagine New Madrid not wanting to give it up and Sikeston wanting to get it and so forth," Matthews said. "However, the arbitrators understood that when the Sikeston ridge on the east and west of Sikeston had no possibility for growth anywhere else for responsibly priced, nice homes other than on the Sikeston ridge, they said why don't we just go ahead and see what happens. So the arbitrators ruled in our favor."Since that time a new subdivision has been built in the area and Matthews and his sister, Elizabeth Brunt, owners of 4 Corners Development, have been working to continue what has been started. Now, he said, the first two phases of the project have been completed and the third, developing the northeast corner which backs up against Cambridge Drive, has been approved by the Sikeston City Council.

Involved in the venture is the future extension of Ingram Road, from Helen Street to the Plantation Acres subdivision. The future of the continued development will involve bringing Ingram Road toward the interstate and possibly having an interchange in the area and tying the road into the back end of Sikeston."As I see it, there's only so much future growth in this part of the world if we can't put responsible housing in our community," Matthew said. "My sister and I are very much committed to this and we are working as this thing develops to continue that.

Matthews said he appeared before the New Madrid School District in March and made an appeal. "On Nov. 1 they sent me a very timely letter that said even though they didn't vote on it they didn't think it was a very good idea. So I didn't get very far there," he remarked.

But Dr. Mike Barnes, superintendent of the New Madrid County R-1 School District, remembers Matthews stating that his purpose of appearing before the board was to familiarize members with his proposed plans. He did not, Barnes said, ask the board to take action on the proposed plans."In fact, he repeatedly made the point that his purpose that evening was to provide information, not to call for the question. I have not heard from Mr. Matthews since his presentation in March," Barnes said. The superintendent remarked that since the "secondhand" information was the first he'd heard that Matthews was expecting a response from either Barnes or the board, Barnes said he wanted Matthews to understand that no action was taken because none was requested. Had Matthews asked for a vote in March or at any later meeting, Barnes said he was certain the board would have responded to the request.

While Barnes admits the land currently generates only a small amount of tax revenue for the R-1 District, he said the board has estimated it would generate as much as $500,000 per year in property taxes and state and federal aid for the school district once the area is fully developed.

Matthews recently made an appearance before the Sikeston Public Schools Board of Education to explain to members what he was trying to do and ask them to consider his request. He pointed out to them a recent article he read which said while the population of the state has grown by 400,000, four counties in the southern part of the Missouri Bootheel Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and Dunklin are shrinking. And that, he said, was one of the points he was trying to get across to the New Madrid County School District."It disturbs me that when somebody is in a position to build homes, to try to build communities and try to build regions in the country, you have people standing in the way of that for whatever political reasons," said Matthews. Barnes said Matthews has stated that he would agree to leave the R-1 District a "commercial strip" along the property's border with Highways 60 and 61. "While at face value this might appear to be a magnanimous offer, the fact is that any such agreement would be non-binding," Barnes said.

For the concept to even have a chance, though, residents of both counties must sign a petition in favor of the boundary change. In 1997 the law was changed to require that potential boundary changes be placed before the citizens and the outcome can only be initiated by a petition.