State high court won't get to River Campus case this year

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court will not hear oral arguments in the River Campus case by the end of the year but is expected to do so in January.

The court last month agreed to hear the city of Cape Girardeau's appeal of lower court rulings that invalidated a voter-approved tax intended to help fund construction of Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.

At that time, court sources said arguments could be held in December. But on Monday, the court released its docket for the rest of the year, and the River Campus matter was not included. A January date now appears likely.

A ruling from the court probably would come in early spring.

Cape Girardeau businessman James L. Drury and his MidAmerica Hotels initiated the lawsuit, which argued that the ordinance the Cape Girardeau City Council passed to put the tax issue before voters in November 1998 was flawed. Most recently, the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District agreed, invalidating the tax, which 53 percent of city voters supported.

Unless the state high court reverses that decision, the long-delayed project cannot go forward without the city calling for a second election and the issue gaining voter approval.

The River Campus would create a visual and performing arts center at the site of the former St. Vincent's Seminary on Morgan Oak Street in Cape Girardeau.

St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., and the Missouri Municipal League all filed legal briefs urging review of the eastern district court's decision. Those parties claim that decision could expose city ordinances throughout the state to technical legal challenges. Drury's attorney has dismissed such claims.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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