PARK BOARD: TOURISM FUNDS CAN BUILD SOFTBALL COMPLEX

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday formally approved a motion to request city tourism funds to develop a sports complex at Shawnee Park.

Voters last year rejected a tax hike to fund the five-field softball facility at Shawnee Park, but members of the park board said Monday that the tourism funds would be an alternate way to fund the complex.

Board Chairman Jim Grebing said the complex would establish recreation and tourism as a flourishing industry in Cape Girardeau. He said many organizations and civic groups hold large softball tournaments annually.

"But they don't have them here," said board member Mike Kohlfeld.

Kohlfeld said the city lacks appropriate facilities to consistently attract regional, state or national tournaments.

Grebing said the Shawnee Sports Complex likely would change that. "There would be fairly instant results because, if we build it, people will come," he said.

The Cape Girardeau City Council Oct. 21 approved a motion to seek proposals for use of the city's convention and tourism funds.

A 3 percent gross-receipts tax on hotel and motel rooms and a 1 percent levy on restaurant sales is used to fund conventions and tourism in the city, in addition to other economic development activities.

Voters in 1983 approved the tax, which went into effect in January 1984.

Since the fund's inception, revenues have been used almost exclusively to fund the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau and retire the debt on a $5 million bond issue used to help build the Show Me Center multipurpose building.

The tax has generated about $600,000 annually, Grebing said, and the tourism fund now has a reserve of about $450,000 to $485,000.

Grebing said the complex would also benefit the city by boosting sales tax receipts.

"A large part of the city's budget is sales tax," he said. "That's been leveling off, and, if you were to get some of these large tournaments a facility like this would bring, it would boost that considerably."

Grebing said the complex could be funded with a combination of the tourism funds and private donations.

"We can do this without going to the people and asking for any type of tax increase," he added.

Kohlfeld said that despite the voters' rejection of the tax-funded complex, the facility still is needed.

"I've always supported this project regardless of the vote last year," he said. "I don't think people voted against the softball complex as much as they voted against the tax."

Board member Julia Kridelbaugh also said she thought the parks and recreation board should seek the tourism funds.

"We always knew this was a good idea," she said. "There was just a right way and a wrong way to go about it. A tax was the wrong way, and I think this is the right thing to do. I can't see why anybody would be opposed to it."

In other business, the board recommended that $10,000 from the parks and recreation department's $75,000 annual capital improvements budget be earmarked for field and other improvements for the Cape Girardeau Youth Baseball League.

Darrell Stewart, a member of the league's board of directors, told the board that the league plans to raise $40,000 next year for capital improvements at the various youth baseball fields.

The money will be used for improvements above and beyond annual maintenance and operating costs, Stewart said.

The board also recommended that the city council attempt to acquire potential park land near Cape Rock Park as part of its purchase of the city water system from Union Electric Co. The utility company owns the property, which is situated across Cape Rock Drive from the water plant.