Revenue from Cape Splash may pay to demolish Capaha Park pool

The Capaha Park pool was rendered obsolete in part by the opening of the hugely popular Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center last summer. Now, the water park has one more role in the pool's demise: It will pay to tear the old pool down.

The Cape Girardeau City Council has given first-round approval to the allocation of as much as $90,000 to demolish the deteriorating 54-year-old pool this spring. That money will come from the $320,000 in net revenue from the $6.1 million water park. The council is expected to give final approval to the ordinance that makes the allocation at its Feb. 21 meeting.

Dan Muser, director of the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said it made sense to use proceeds from the water park to remove the pool, especially in light of the fact that the city was expecting to barely break even after Cape Splash's first season.

"The goal will be to try to fast-track it and get it removed," Muser said. "We don't want the old pool sitting around for months and months. It could be a hazard."

The pool has long been a maintenance headache for the department. After the water park opened, city officials decided it only made sense to close it for good. Bids are going out this month to do the demolition work, and Muser said he hopes the pool will be removed by late spring. He also said $90,000 was likely a high estimate and that removal could cost less than that.

The pool area will be converted to a landscaped area while parks and other city officials determine what, if anything, should replace the pool. But Muser, who retires March 11, said there's no money left over from the $20 million that was generated by the storm-water and parks sales tax, which was used for trail improvements and recreational facilities. The tax expires in 2018, and if voters approve an extension, money from that could pay for an elaborate replacement, such as the popular suggestion of a so-called splash pad.

"There's no money for a big-ticket item," Muser said.

City finance director John Richbourg said using the net revenue from Cape Splash to pay off the bonds issued to fund the water park wasn't considered. The next bond payment of $2.1 million on the overall $20 million in bonds isn't due until April 1, he said.

"The water park made money that wasn't anticipated in the budget," Richbourg said. "You could have saved the money and paid it toward the bonds, but it's just a matter of you're always making choices what to do with your revenue. We could say that with any extra revenue, it makes sense to hold it back to make payments in the future."

Muser said it made sense to use the money from the water park to pay to take the pool out.

"It was funding that we had that meant we didn't have to take away funding from anything else," Muser said.

Another thing Muser would like to see is a percentage of future water park revenue set aside for unforeseen maintenance issues at Cape Splash. He has had discussions with city manager Scott Meyer and Richbourg to suggest the idea, which he said they're open to.

"It's my opinion, but I just think it would be smart," Muser said.

The council would be brought in on the discussion at some point, but Richbourg said he thought it could be done at the staff level as a policy.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

410 Kiwanis Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO