Tax extension would be used for aquatic center, stormwater projects, officials say

A new aquatic center is chief among planned improvements to the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department offerings, if a tax extension on the April 3 ballot passes, officials said.

Cape Girardeau School District superintendent Neil Glass said he hopes the city and the school district can partner on the aquatic center project, and he is advocating for a 17-acre site near Jefferson Elementary School on South Minnesota Avenue. That land, owned by both the district and the city, would place the center adjacent to Highway 74 and convenient to the existing Shawnee sports complex.

Glass said a new solution is needed because the existing municipal pool, known as the Bubble, is nearly 40 years old and will need to be replaced.

Adding stopgap measures to keep that pool operating isn't a long-term solution, said Cape Girardeau City Council member Danny Essner, representing the Parks & Recreation Stormwater Tax Committee at the district's school board regular meeting Monday.

The existing pool is maintained through a partnership between the city and the school district, formed by a contract signed in 1977, Glass said.

Board member Kyle McDonald said an aquatic center would have an "immeasurable" benefit to the community, bringing hundreds of swimmers and their families into Cape Girardeau from across the state for weekend-long competitions.

Beyond the advantage to competitive swimmers, McDonald added, older swimmers and several other different groups would benefit from the proposed center.

Essner said the city's website will have details on each potential project, including maintenance and upgrades to existing parks and buildings.

Stormwater system upgrades also are planned if the tax renewal passes, Essner said.

Board president Jeff Glenn said this weekend's heavy rain and flooding events were a somber reminder of the necessity of stormwater control.

"The key is to get the tax renewed," Essner said.

First passed in 2008, the one-half cent tax was broken into portions. One-eighth of a percent of the tax was permanent, and the other three-eighths percent would sunset after 10 years -- in part to hold the city accountable, Essner said.

In those 10 years, Cape Girardeau has built and expanded Cape Splash water park on Kingshighway, added to and improved the trail system, improved and added amenities to existing parks and improved the stormwater control system, among other delivered promises, Essner said.

The proposed 15-year extension would allow for maintenance and improvement of the added facilities, Essner said, and would allow for some new projects, including the aquatic center, a youth sports complex and three new neighborhood parks -- two on Cape Girardeau's south side, and one in the Red Star neighborhood.

The projects were chosen to appeal to a wide range of people, Essner said, after community meetings designed to gather input from the people who would be using -- and paying for -- these projects.

Essner said he hopes supporters will reach out to others and educate them.

"This makes sense for the community," Essner said of the tax. "If we don't renew it, this will be a major setback for the community."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Jefferson Elementary School, Cape Girardeau, Mo.