OFFICIALS WANT TOURISM BUREAU TO STAY

(Last of a two-part series)

City officials generally view favorably a plan to consider various proposals for use of the city's tourism fund, but don't endorse elimination of the Convention and Visitors Bureau or its budget.

Robert Hendrix, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said the city should restrict new uses of the fund to those reserves beyond the CVB budget.

"I don't have any problem with the city council asking for the proposals," Hendricks said.

"The concern we have is that we don't get the baby thrown out with the bath water in the sense that we don't throw out funding for the CVB in looking for ways to spend the excess tourism funds."

The tourism fund is financed by the city's motel and restaurant gross receipts tax, approved by voters in 1983. Revenue from the tax is earmarked for retirement of bonds purchased to finance construction of the Show Me Center and for tourism and economic development efforts.

The Cape Girardeau City Council Oct. 21 voted to solicit proposals for use of the tourism funds, which total about $600,000 annually. The tourism fund also includes a reserve of about $485,000 accumulated since 1983.

Narvol Randol Jr., chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, said the tourism fund was established to finance a wide variety of economic development and tourism proposals.

The advisory board oversees bureau operations and makes recommendations to the city council concerning bureau funding requests.

"As far as soliciting these proposals now, I don't see anything wrong with it," Randol said. "We've always been interested in looking at alternative uses for that money.

"The only thing I see is that it might be giving the public a sense of false hope in terms of the amount of money that's available."

Randol said he fears that the public wrongly believes the tourism fund reserves are much larger than they are.

"Down the road, there could be a more significant amount available," he said. "But I get the idea that people right now feel there's all kinds of money available out there and there isn't."

City officials have estimated fund reserves could total about $1.2 million by 1997 when annual tax revenues are expected to exceed $750,000. The reserve fund, provided the city continues to fund the CVB, is expected to top $4 million by the time the bonds are retired in 2004.

The council tonight is expected to debate the merits of 28 separate proposals for the tourism fund's use, and some council members have suggested the CVB budget which this year is about $323,000 might be eliminated altogether.

But Hendrix said the bureau is doing an excellent job and shouldn't be abandoned.

"I think the CVB has really come into its own and is really making progress in terms of marketing the city of Cape Girardeau," he said.

Cape Girardeau City Manager J. Ronald Fischer also praised the work of the bureau.

"I think they're starting to show some results," he said. "I guess you have to create a base to work from, and they've done that.

"They've worked markets not only in this region, but in Missouri and other states. They've mostly been geared toward creating conventions and tourism, which in turn would generate dollars for the community."

The city manager said the bureau's director, Lyn Muzzy, travels throughout the nation to meet with convention planners and tour operators to try to bring the events to Cape Girardeau.

"I think some of the activity that's been brought to the city recently in terms of conventions and tours proves they've accomplished some things," he said.

Randol said it's difficult sometimes to assess tangible benefits of the CVB efforts.

"It's hard for the public to put their arms around it and hold it," he said. "You can't just measure it in dollars and cents."

Randol said that as the city's only marketing arm, the bureau is essential for attracting conventions and tourists.

"I think the CVB has gone a long way in improving our image in the state in terms of planner of conventions," he said.

"The bureau has been able to help put Cape Girardeau on the map tourism and convention-wise. I would not be in favor of seeing a cutback in the CVB budget."

But City Councilman David Barklage, who first suggested solicitation of the funding proposals, said the council should review all options including whether the CVB is the best use of the tourism tax revenue.

"I think it's wrong to pass a program in government and never review it," Barklage said. "That's where we get into fiscal problems.

"The purpose right now is to review the program to see if we're using it in the best way possible."

Barklage said the most effective way to review the Convention and Visitors Bureau and its use of the tourism funds is to compare its operations with other proposals.

"My job is to review project suggestions, specifically looking at the return and risk for our investment," he said. "That's what we ought to focus ourselves on in terms of the funds not only the reserves, but the projected interest and annual tax revenue."

Barklage said he was "pleasantly surprised" that the city received 28 proposals for use of the tourism fund. He said he will suggest that the proposals be turned over to the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, which would recommend certain proposals for the council's further consideration.

Barklage said that in order to be considered for funding, the proposals must first meet the requirements of city law and involve either tourism, economic development or retirement of the Show Me Center bonds.

"I think that will throw out many things," he said. "The second thing we need to look at is what's the fiscally responsible thing to do.

"I'm not so sure depleting all the reserves makes sense. Really, our focus is what we're spending now: Are we getting the best return, and if not, what proposals are out there that would be a more effective use of this money?"

Fischer said many of the proposals are for projects that would use only a small portion of the tourism fund, which the CVB Advisory Board likely will favor.

"I know that there are some ideas there that they'll be looking at and seriously considering directing some of the tourism funds be used for," he said. "There's some good ideas that are not going to take 100 percent of the money."

Barklage said most of the proposals submitted to the council have been circulated before. He said he's confident residents had sufficient time to make their proposals.

"The amount of proposals and the breadth of where they came from, I feel that clearly there's a high level of understanding about this issue and interest in this," Barklage said.

"I don't think anybody got pushed out, and I think it's wrong to drag this out any longer."