ROTARIANS LISTEN TO LAKE PROPOSAL

MAP (PROPOSED LAKE)

W.B. Sandlin and Greg Williams of RCGA talked to the Jackson Rotary on Tuesday about the lake proposal in Cape and Bollinger counties.

Proponents of the lake are seeing if people feel that the benefits are worth the effort to build the lake.

This step will take several months, according to Sandlin.

Sandlin said that the local initiative for the lake is trying to offer land owners in the affected area the fairest exchange for the land.

At the Rotary meeting, Sandlin and Williams presented the Southeast Missouri State economic impact study for the proposed lake.

"Jackson will be the gateway to this lake," Sandlin said.

The study done by Southeast was said to be very conservative by Sandlin.

Here are some highlights of the study:

-2000 new jobs created.

-The lake will cost $85 million to construct (this includes land acquisition).

-The operating expenses of the lake will be $28.9 million.

-$605.8 million in direct expenditures.

-605.8 million in indirect expenditures.

-Tourism will add $344.1 million to the region.

-New construction in the area will be $68.8 million.

-The service industry can expect $111.1 million more.

-Retail sales will grow by $81.8 million.

-Total area of the two lakes would be 7,680 acres with 133 miles of lake shore.

-The benefits to cost ratio for the lake would be 11 to 1.

-200-500 new residents added to the area with the new lake per year.

-Real estate and sales taxes would exceed $19 million.

-Bollinger county would stand to make $2.7 million in increased tax revenue.

-Cape Girardeau county would stand to make an additional $16.6 million in increased tax revenues.

-The monetary base of the region would be boosted by almost $350 million.

Still there are people in the affected area opposed to the lake. Many people don't want to pick up and move from their homes just so a lake can be placed there.

The obstacle for RCGA is to either convince these land owners that they will not be impacted by the lake negatively by offering the fair price for the land or by buying a similar farm or home for the land owner.

Sandlin said that he plans to work as hard for the land owners as he does for the lake initiative.

The lake initiative could fail if the land owners in the area don't want to give up their land.

"We want to offer the land owners no less than the fair appraised value. If the land owner doesn't like the price, he can get his own appraisal and appeal it," Sandlin said.

If everything went well, construction on the lake could begin in three years and engineers say that the lake would fill within six months of construction.

Should the lake become a reality, it won't be ready until 2002, according to Sandlin.

The lake if it is created would be a deep lake. The waters near the dam would be as deep as 100 feet and the depth of the lake could support walleye and white bass as well as native fish.

Also, Sandlin said that the lake could be used as a source of water for communities in the area.

"This particular lake could save communities money on water to 150,000 people without affecting the lake at all," Sandlin said.

The proposed lake would be about the size of Lake Wappapello and would look like Clearwater Lake, Sandlin said.

Sandlin is working with the RCGA because he worked building dams in Georgia. And he is experienced with the problem that exists here, getting the land owners to see the benefits of the lake.

"If you treat them fairly, a lot of opposition will go away."