PROPOSALS FOR TOURISM FUNDS SENT TO BOARD

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday voted to forward proposals for use of the city's tourism fund revenue to the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board for recommendations.

The council voted Oct. 21 to solicit proposals for use of the convention and tourism funds, which now are 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.

The tax has generated about $600,000 annually, and reserves now total $450,000 to $485,000.

Last week, various groups and individuals submitted 28 proposals for use of the funds.

At Monday's meeting, the only debate focused on how soon the board should report back to the council with its recommendations for use of the funds.

"This needs to go to the tourism board, and I'd like for them to have the better part of the next six months to study this," said Mayor Gene Rhodes during Monday's study session.

But other councilmen said they'd prefer the board report back to the council sooner, to allow the council time to study the recommendations prior to consideration next spring of the 1992-1993 city budget.

Councilman Al Spradling III said he'd prefer to have the advisory board's recommendations no later than March 1.

"I think it's appropriate to give them three months to study these proposals," he said.

Councilman David Barklage said many of the 28 proposals already have been discussed and the board likely is familiar with them.

"The convention and tourism board has looked at a great number of these previously," Barklage said.

He said he thought 60 days was ample time for the board to report back to the city.

"The biggest mistake we can make is to let this drag on forever," he added. "Then you'd begin to see people jump on sides and begin to lobby.

"You'd have groups trading off to see how we can divide this up, and I think you can lose your focus pretty quickly."

Barklage said he wanted the advisory board to consider the various proposals in light of "risk, investment and return."

"The key factor is that we have a program that we implemented several years ago, and the greatest problem we have in government at any level is we implement a program and then don't review it with a real perspective of whether we can do it better," Barklage said.

Council member Mary Wulfers also said she thought the council would need the additional time prior to adoption of next year's budget to consider the board's recommendations.

Narvol Randol Jr., chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, told the council that he didn't think there would be a problem with a March deadline.

The council eventually decided to give the board until March 1 to make its recommendations.

But Randol questioned the scope of the board's task with regard to projected, future tourism revenue. The fund is financed by gross receipts taxes levied against Cape Girardeau's motels and restaurants.

"A couple of the projects that have been proposed are long term in nature, and we don't want to turn the spigot on (and) then have a future council end the project," he said.

But City Attorney Warren Wells said there are ways the city council can assure that such projects, once started, are concluded.

Barklage said the board should consider the best use of current funds and projected revenues that likely will be generated until the tax is repealed in 2004.

"There are certain matters that will spur economic development that may necessarily take more than the funds we can generate in one year's time," said Councilman David Limbaugh. "So I think you need to look at these types of projects in terms of all the funds, current and future."

Barklage also said he wanted the advisory board to explain in detail the reasons for its recommendations.

In other business, the council approved a six-month operating budget for the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The city's Chamber of Commerce operates the bureau and submitted a six-month budget this year to align the bureau's former calender budget with the city's fiscal budget that runs from July 1 through June 30. The budget totals just over $150,000 for the six-month period.

Spradling questioned whether the council should approve only a three-month budget since it's about to consider various uses of tourism funds.

"We need to have a budget for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, but I don't know whether we need to go six months or three months when we might have changes with that money," Spradling said.

But Barklage said he thought it would take at least six months for the council to fully consider the various funding proposals and make a decision. He also said he doubted the city would implement any new uses of the tourism fund until the beginning of the fiscal year in July.

Rhodes also said he thought the six-month budget was appropriate. "Otherwise, we'd have to make hasty decisions with a lot of holidays coming up and we should take some time on this."