Parks and storm-water tax gets nod from city council

Voters will get to decide whether shoppers in the city of Cape Girar-deau should pay an additional half-cent tax.

Members of the city council agreed to put the measure on the April 8 ballot. The 10-year, half-cent sales tax proposal is intended to fund $25 million in improvements. The tax will provide $20 million in parks improvements, $2 million for vehicle replacement and $3 million for state-mandated upgrades of storm-water abatement projects. It is the last sales tax the city is allowed to add to its revenue stream. If the tax is approved, the total sales tax rate charged would rise to 7.975 percent. Those shopping at the Town Plaza would pay 8.975 percent.

A 2002 effort to put the half-cent parks and storm-water tax on the ballot failed after council members decided voters would not be willing to approve it.

For nearly a year, members of the city's parks and recreation advisory board have been evaluating what needs are critical and what can wait. Dan Muser, the city's parks and recreation director, told the city council that most items from the 2002 bid are still waiting to be addressed.

In June, the council rejected a parks board request for a $36.7 million initiative and an permanent half-cent sales tax.

City officials told parks board members to scale back the capital improvement plan and look for partnerships for ongoing maintenance needs.

By September, the board had trimmed its wish list and agreed to limit most of the sales tax to 10 years. One-eighth of a cent would remain in effect indefinitely to cover the cost of maintenance and operations. Working with Tim Gramling, director of public works, the storm-water abatement portion was reduced from $5 million to $3 million. In a combination of special and regular public parks board meetings, each proposed parks project was whittled down. One project, a southside community center, was added to the list. Other projects were eliminated completely.

The $4 million in suggested upgrades to the Osage Community Centre, for example, was reduced to less than $2.7 million by scratching a wooden basketball floor and courts for basketball and volleyball. Plans to add a restroom at Dennis Scivally Park were scuttled, as were emergency call phones for the city's trail system.

The council suggested the board rethink a longtime request to fund a water feature, which some call a water park and others call a family aquatic center, in favor of revamping existing facilities.

Parks board member Danny Essner told council members talks were underway with Cape Girardeau's school board on sharing the cost of fixing the Central Municipal Pool's temporary roof (called the "bubble") and coordinating long-term improvement plans. On Sept. 17, the pool's motor and pump failed; repairs will cost an estimated $20,000.

Pools, indoor and out, have been a major issue. After the "bubble pool" closed, Mayor Jay Knudtson said he was besieged with calls from swimmers and their parents.

Rather than replacing Capaha Municipal Pool with a water fountain spray area, Essner told the council the pool would remain open "until such time that it's impractical."

He said over the next decade, plans for a family aquatic center -- with a permanently enclosed pool -- can be explored, but no funding would be available unless the parks and storm-water tax was renewed for a second term.

"We have invested a lot of time and answered all the questions at this time," Essner told council members. "We just want to give the voters an opportunity. If they choose not to support it, we'll have to abide by that."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335.6611, extension 127

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