Provision would let cities share tax revenue

A provision tucked into an omnibus bill designed to help local governments could keep Jackson and Cape Girardeau from all-out competition over retailers when the East Main Street-LaSalle Avenue interchange is complete.

The new Interstate 55 interchange under construction north of Center Junction is expected to be a boon to development both in Jackson and Cape Girardeau. Most of the land immediately adjacent to the new interchange is owned by Southeast Missouri State University, which has a working plan to use a large portion for a residential and commercial zone, with an area set aside for retail development on the northeast corner.

That land is in Cape Girardeau city limits and is considered prime real estate for a large retail store such as Wal Mart or Home Depot. Jackson leaders are worried that if Wal Mart builds on the site, the company could close down the store on East Jackson Boulevard.

That store, Jackson city administrator Jim Roach said Thursday, provides about 25 percent of Jackson's $2.8 million in annual sales tax revenue.

A revenue-sharing provision was added to the pending bill by Rep. Nathan Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau. He said Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones approached him about the issue because no state law currently allows adjoining municipalities to create a district where they share tax revenue.

"If there is a line dividing the development, you could get into a potential conflict over which side of the highway certain businesses will be built," Cooper said. "To keep the peace between all the entities, this language was developed and brought to me."

The measure covers the tax revenue from properties and improvements that are within 3,000 feet of the common boundary. To take effect, a final bill including the provision must win approval from the Missouri Legislature by the time lawmakers adjourn their annual regular session at 6 p.m. today.

If the proposal becomes law, Roach said he's willing to talk about sharing revenue from the entire area within the designated distance from the common border or sharing revenue from any business within either city that relocates to the new interchange.

"We haven't had any kind of meeting or document drafted," Roach said. "Both scenarios have at least been mentioned as worthy of having the discussion with Cape Girardeau."

The new interchange was a painstaking work of negotiation and compromise, with the county, the university, Jackson and Cape Girardeau at one point agreeing to pay a portion of the costs. But during debate on the most recent federal highway bill, U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent earmarked $5 million each, and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson earmarked an additional $800,000 to pay the entire cost.

Now with construction underway, the issues of how to develop the area and what businesses it will attract are emerging. The Jackson Board of Aldermen, for example, will hold a public hearing Monday on zoning rules to give the East Main Street corridor a distinct, uncluttered look.

Without an agreement on sharing revenue, "we would go back to a scenario where we throw all four corners in and whatever is developed there would be in play," Roach said.

Cape Girardeau city manager Doug Leslie said the landscape at the interchange favors the northeast quarter for retail development. It is high ground with good visibility, he said. But he's reluctant to make any commitment for revenue sharing before any developer has a specific tenant in mind. And he's not ready to say he's willing to give away any potential city tax revenue.

"We certainly are willing to look at issues once there are specifics that could be evaluated," Leslie said.

Keeping peace with Jackson as the developments emerge will also be a factor, Leslie said. The negotiations that culminated in the interchange agreement were a high point in relations between the two cities, he said.

"If you look at one of the keys to success of this whole interchange development, it has all been based on a partnership of the university, Jackson, Cape Girardeau and Cape Girardeau County," he said. "I don't think anyone wants something as positive as that to be detrimental to either community."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126