RIVER CAMPUS PROPOSAL FAILS

Cape Girardeau voters split on a two-part ballot measure needed to launch a proposed River Campus project on the site of the old St. Vincent Seminary in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Voters approved a measure that increases the city's hotel-motel tax and extends the restaurant tax but rejected the accompanying measure that would have permitted issuance of $8.9 million in bonds.

The extension and increase of the taxes needed a simple majority to pass and got 53 percent approval.

Authorization of the revenue bonds to finance the project also got 53 percent approval from voters. But it needed 57.2 percent or four-sevenths majority for approval. Despite some broadcast reports Tuesday night, the bond issue failed.

The joint city-university project proposed to redevelop the old St. Vincent's Seminary property into a campus for Southeast Missouri State University's art, music, theater and dance programs, a performing arts center, theater and 22,000-square-foot university museum.

In addition, the project would preserve historic structures of the seminary.

"The majority of people wanted the project," said John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president. "We have the tax extension. Now we will have to start looking for options."

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast Missouri State University president agreed. "Voters approved the tax, and in other words support the project, but not enough to kick the funding mechanism into action," he said.

"It's back to the drawing board. We have to rethink the whole thing and see what the options are," he said. "This presents a real challenge."

Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III said additional discussion is needed before any new plan is developed.

The measure received the least support in southern and eastern Cape Girardeau precincts, areas closest to the river campus site.

"I was surprised to see that," Spradling said. "The areas I thought would have benefited most from this project voted against it."

The city's share represented a fourth of the proposed $35.6 million project.

In addition to the city bond issue and tax measure, the university was raising $8.9 million in private donations and gifts, and university officials were to ask the Missouri Legislature to appropriate $17.8 million for the project.

The vote means an increase in the city's hotel-motel tax from 3 percent to 4 percent and an extension of it from 2004 to 2030. In addition, voters extended the city's 1 percent restaurant tax until 2030.

The tax funds operation of the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"The tax continues to fund the CVB," Mehner said. "And additional money will be available. We just have to decide what to do next."