Sikeston city council accepts CID petition

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Historic Downtown Sikeston took another step Monday toward establishing a steady source of income.

The Sikeston City Council accepted during their regular monthly meeting a petition calling for the creation of a Community Improvement District for downtown Sikeston.

As requested by Harry Sharp, Historic Downtown Sikeston's vice president, council members set a public hearing for the CID at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 24 during the council's special meeting.

Following the public hearing, Historic Downtown Sikeston officials will ask the council to adopt as an emergency ordinance the call for the CID election.

Historic Downtown Sikeston officials will notify the owners of properties within the proposed district of the public hearing, Sharp said.

If the ordinance calling for the election is approved, ballots will be mailed out to property owners, he said.

Sharp said they are hoping to see the election results accepted and certified by the county clerk by the end of the year. If approved by voters, the CID would go into effect April 1.

The CID would add a one-cent tax within the district with the revenue going to Historic Downtown Sikeston. Funds would be used for projects that benefit downtown as a whole, such as special events to attract customer traffic and additional beautification efforts.

Councilman Mike Bohannon asked how merchants in the proposed CID area are responding to the proposed CID.

A few merchants within the area have indicated they would prefer not to have a CID, Sharp said, but overall among merchants they are seeing a "very high acceptance rate. They appreciate what we do Downtown and know it has to be funded somehow."