Match maker: Anonymous donor pledges funding for aquatic center project, money contingent upon bond issue, other fundraising

An anonymous donor has pledged $1.5 million in matching funds toward construction of an indoor aquatic center, two former Cape Girardeau mayors announced Thursday.

Former mayors Harry Rediger and Jay Knudtson revealed the private donation at a breezy, outdoor news conference at the Shawnee Park Center attended by city, school and community leaders.

The park center is located along Highway 74, a short distance from the Jefferson Elementary School campus where the proposed aquatic center would be built.

Rediger and Knudtson recently formed a committee to raise $5 million in private funds to help construct a $15 million aquatic center.

Some of that funding could come from federal grants, Knudtson said.

The City of Cape Girardeau and the local school district have pledged to provide $10 million toward the project.

The city has committed $6 million to the project. The Cape Girardeau School District would provide $4 million for the project if voters approve a $12 million, no-tax-increase bond issue April 2.

"We are on our way," Rediger said of the major donation. "We are chasing donors as we speak."

He described the donor as a person who "believes in education, believes in our kids."

The money is contingent upon passage of the school bond issue and the raising of additional funds, he said.

"It will not be there if the bond issue doesn't pass," Rediger said. "We cannot let this opportunity for our city and our kids and our school system go by us."

The donor would provide $1 million if the committee raises another $2 million, according to Rediger. The donor would contribute another $500,000 if the committee raises an identical amount.

"That will get us up to $4 million. We are in search of $5 million," Rediger said.

The additional funding is vital to the project, according to Rediger.

He said $10 million in city tax dollars and school bond funds won't provide sufficient funding to build the desired facility.

The school bond issue would fund a number of school projects besides the aquatic center. Those improvements include upgrades to Jefferson and Alma Schrader elementary school and construction of an early learning center.

If the bond issue passes, school officials have said they will not issue the $4 million for the aquatic center "until we can do it right," Rediger said.

He said that decision prompted establishment of the fundraising committee to "go chase some dollars."

The committee continues to work to secure funding, he said. "We have another commitment," Rediger said, suggesting there could be a future funding announcement.

Knudtson said locating the aquatic center next to Jefferson School on the city's economically depressed south side could open the door to federal grants.

"They don't give federal grants to nice neighborhoods," he said. Such grants are given to communities to redevelop neighborhoods, he said.

Knudtson said a public-private partnership is essential for constructing the aquatic center.

"Quite frankly, it is not a perfect plan. In complete honesty, if you don't trust your city leaders and your school leaders, it is far from perfect," Knudtson said.

But he said both he and Rediger trust Cape Girardeau city and school officials. "They have demonstrated when they lay out a plan, they follow through on the plan," he said.

Knudtson and Rediger expressed confidence in the voters, too.

Rediger said voters historically have backed school ballot issues. "Looking back over the last more than a quarter century, every school district vote has been yes," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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