Park maintenance, aquatic center among tax topics proposal meeting

More money for park maintenance and construction of an indoor aquatic center are two of the items mentioned by Cape Girardeau residents who turned out for a public meeting Tuesday regarding the proposed renewal of a parks and stormwater sales tax.

More than 30 people, including city staff and four council members, attended the meeting, held at the 4-H Exhibit Hall at Arena Park. The meeting was the first of three meetings scheduled by city officials to obtain public input on possible parks and stormwater projects that could be funded if voters extend the sales tax in April.

Elvis Dunn said he would like to see more money spent on maintenance of the city parks. He added that he favors improvements to the Arena Park grandstands and construction of permanent restrooms in parks citywide.

Dunn said he also supports upgrades to recreational fields and parks' facilities that can attract sports tournaments and other revenue-producing events.

Clay Hahs said he wants to see the city construct an indoor aquatic center to replace the community's aging swimming pool.

He suggested the aquatic center be built somewhere besides the current pool location, which has limited parking.

Hahs, whose son is a member of the Cape Girardeau Central High School state champion swim team, said an aquatic center could include an Olympic-size pool for swim competitions as well as a diving well and a recreational swimming pool.

Having an indoor recreational pool would generate revenue from swimming enthusiasts year round, he said.

Hahs said he swam on the high school's first swim team in 1990 and has been "involved in the sport of swimming since I was a kid."

The current pool operates in the winter under a fabric-inflated roof or "bubble." He said, "It has been patched two or three times."

"The air quality [inside the facility] is pretty poor," he said.

Bari Neff, who serves on the parks advisory board, said she was pleased with the turnout.

Neff said city parks have been improved greatly since voters approved the tax in 2008. She said she is "excited" about the possibility of more improvements, including the addition of permanent restrooms in various parks.

The proposed tax extension would fund improvements for the next 15 years, she said.

City manager Scott Meyer said the tax, coupled with issuance of bonds, could generate about $40 million for parks and stormwater improvements over the next 15 years.

The current sales tax includes a one-eighth-cent permanent sales tax and a three-eighth-cent tax that expires next year.

City officials propose to increase the permanent sales tax by another one-eighth cent to provide more money for operations and maintenance of parks and stormwater services and allocate the other quarter-cent to parks and stormwater capital-improvement projects.

The quarter-cent part of the tax would expire after 15 years unless voters extend it again.

The next public meeting will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Shawnee Park Center.

For more information on the projects, go here: http://www.cityofcapegirardeau.org/prs

mbliss@semissourian.com

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