SEMO TALKS UP PLAN TO CVB

Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau members got their chance Thursday to ask questions about Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus project.

Southeast executive vice president Dr. Ken Dobbins, City Manager Michael Miller and chamber president John Mehner met with advisory board members to outline the project and the $8.9 million bond issue on the November ballot.

The university wants to convert the old St. Vincent's Seminary property into a school for visual and performing arts. The new River Campus would house the university's dance, music, art and drama programs, the University Museum and a performing arts center.

Project cost is $35.6 million. The university wants to raise $8.9 million.

Cape Girardeau voters will be asked to increase the city's hotel-motel tax from 3 percent to 4 percent and to extend it from 2004 to 2030, and to extend, but not increase, the 1 percent restaurant tax from 2004 to 2030.

The tax increase and extensions would fund the $8.9 million bond issue to help pay for the project.

The university will also ask the Missouri Legislature to appropriate $17.8 million to fund half the cost of the project.

Dobbins said the River Campus will free up space used by the visual and performing arts programs for science labs and other academic programs.

In addition, he said, the River Campus will help attract more students to the university, and those students will spend money in Cape Girardeau.

The Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the project.

Mehner calls it a sound investment in redeveloping the downtown and South Cape areas.

"Number one, there's very few projects where somebody matches you $3 for $1," he said. "Number 2, very few things are as permanent as the university. This community has gotten all excited about river boats and other things that could pull up stakes and leave."

Mehner said the investment of public dollars might help spur private investment in the neighborhoods surrounding the seminary.

He also pointed out the city's 10-cent debt service levy on real estate, being used to pay off the Show Me Center bonds, will expire in 2004 and will not be reinstated with the River Campus funding package if voters approve it.

"If you live within the city of Cape Girardeau, what you will pay if you vote for this is a 1 percent restaurant tax, which you are paying right now, and you will pay less property tax," Mehner said.

Beverly Estes and Dennis "Doc" Cain, CVB board members, voiced their support for the project.

"We've been looking and looking for things to improve the downtown, then we find this has more or less fallen into our laps," Estes said.

Cain, who owns the Port Cape Girardeau restaurant downtown, said the River Campus will attract tourists and their dollars.

"They're going to shop, they're going to eat, the whole nine yards," Cain said. "I love the fact that it happens to be downtown, but it's going to help the whole community."

Terri Clark-Bauer, CVB director, said the River Campus could help turn day visitors into overnight visitors, spurring revenue for the city's hotels, restaurants and shops.

"That's where the extra economic impact comes from," she said.

The university will be responsible for paying for repairs, operations and maintenance of the River Campus once it is complete, Dobbins said, and a management board made up of city and university representatives will oversee the facility.