SALVATION ARMY PLAN TO PROCEED

The Salvation Army restores people, not buildings, said Capt. Elmer Trapp with the Cape Girardeau agency.

Despite protests by the city's Historic Preservation Commission and the Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau, Trapp said the Salvation Army plans to proceed with plans to build a new facility and raze the former Farmers and Merchants Bank building the army now uses.

Trapp said historical commission members have toured the building and talked with Trapp about their concerns.

"We know we are looking at the same piece of property from different perspectives," Trapp said. "We're in the business of restoring people, not restoring buildings.

"We are proceeding as planned, and they are well aware of that," Trapp said. "We are going to build a new facility. We need more room."

The Salvation Army is holding an open house Monday, inviting people to look at the building and learn about the programs the Salvation Army offers and those it hopes to offer in a new facility.

Trapp said, "We want people to come down to our building and understand why we are doing what we are doing and the process we have taken."

Fred R. and Judith Wilferth are chairmen of the capital fund drive to raise $1 million for the new building.

"Once people are in the building, they will see the need," Judith Wilferth said. "The need is just so great, we must move forward. And we feel it is a step forward to proceed with the building plan."

Trapp added that the building is for sale.

"If anybody would want to purchase this building they could. We would build in an alternative location."

The current building has more than 6,000 square feet. But only about 4,200 square feet is usable space for the Salvation Army, said Trapp.

"We are really restricted as to what we can do because of the building," Trapp said. "If we had more room, we would do more programs. Now we must do one thing at a time."

He said, "It would cost $300,000 to bring this building up to code ... not to refurbish it, just to bring it up to code," Trapp said. "It needs all new wiring, all new plumbing. Another stairwell needs to be built from upstairs to downstairs and the upstairs need all new fireproof materials and doors."

Even if the upstairs were brought up to code, it would not meet the needs of the Salvation Army.

"We need larger areas for our programs," Trapp said. "A lot of those walls upstairs are load-supporting walls. We couldn't take them out.

"To take this building and renovate it and then build an addition so we would have the same amount of room as the new building would take $1.3 million," Trapp said. "But when you renovate buildings, every 20 years you have to repair them just because of the nature of old buildings."

The new building is expected to cost $1 million. "We hope to break ground at the end of 1992 or early 1993. It will take about eight months to construct the new building," Trapp said.

The planned 17,200-square-foot building will be constructed near the site of the current Salvation Army building. When that building is finished, the current building would be razed.

The new facility consists of a large, multipurpose room, kitchen, nursery, chapel, library, classroom, fellowship room and administrative offices. It will be called the Salvation Army Worship and Community Center.

Trapp said he believes the new building on the corner of Good Hope and Sprigg could breath life into the neighborhood.

"What will happen is that our new facility will raise the value of the property and will cause the other property owners to fix their properties up."

Judith Wilferth said the fund-raising campaign is just getting under way. She said preliminary donation figures may be announced at Monday's open house. "We've been very fortunate so far," she said.

Going into the campaign, the army had already raised about $400,000.

The Salvation Army has received notification from the Missouri Department of Economic Development that its "Reaching Out to Neighbors" building project has been approved for the Neighborhood Assistance Program. This program provides tax credits for individuals, firms or corporations making contributions to the building project.

Qualifying donors can take tax credit toward their Missouri income tax of up to 50 percent of the contribution. The credit can be carried forward for up to five years.

"For example," Trapp said, "if someone would make a pledge for $30,000 and were eligible for NAP, it would only cost them $10,000."

Wilferth said: "The NAP credit is a wonderful way for people to give and it doesn't cost them as much.

"We can't just wait forever," Wilferth said. "We have to move ahead."