Two tales of Cape's condition presented by leaders

As five Cape Girardeau city leaders tell it, life here resembles a novel by Charles Dickens.

For the city's economy, it indeed is the best and worst of times, say Cape Girardeau's mayor, its police chief, the school superintendent, the region's industrial recruiter and the university's president. They were addressing several alumni of Leadership Cape, a program designed to develop leadership among Cape Girardeau's emerging business and civic leaders.

The five dignitaries all had stories of progress and vision. But woes from a sluggish economy exist too.

Police chief Steve Strong may have summed up local conditions best when he said the department's biggest accomplishment in the last few years is "the ability to do more with less."

Accentuate the positive

Mayor Jay Knudtson didn't even bring up the issue of the city's financial problems until the question-answer portion of the forum.

In his address, he mainly focused on the huge capital projects that are in the works in the city: the Marquette Hotel renovation, the new Federal Building that is being built on Independence Street, the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and the proposed River Campus project.

Knudtson said he is especially proud of the Marquette Hotel renovation project. The state will turn the blighted 74-year-old hotel into an office building.

"The beautiful part of this is that I played just a small part, and I get the credit for it," said Knudtson, drawing laughter from the crowd. "Your governor really came to bat for you on this issue. It will have as big an impact on downtown as anything."

Knudtson spent a great deal of his 10 minutes talking about the River Campus, a project that would transform the old St. Vincent's seminary into a performing arts center. The project would also include a museum and be the first thing visitors would see when they crossed the new bridge from Illinois.

He said he doesn't care much for the arts, but he said the issue is a good business decision that will develop a part of town that would not develop otherwise.

The city has promised $8.9 million to the project, while the university is trying to raise $10.2 million -- the figure was originally $8.9 million, but the university negotiated a $5 million tax credit. The state has said it will add $16.6 million to the project.

Mark Bowles, the Cape Girardeau school superintendent, discussed the many challenges that have been brought about by the many projects going on within the district.

Moving into a new high school and renovating the junior high were just a couple of things that he mentioned. In the last three years, all 10 schools saw significant restructuring, he said.

"In the end, the challenges were met," he said. "As our district settles, the potential is unbelievable."

Bowles spent a few minutes bragging about the staff and educators of the school district and touched only briefly on the district's budget. He mentioned that the school board had the option of raising the property tax by a few pennies to cover expenses but did not do so because of public perception.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department lost two officers in the past month because they were able to find better pay and benefits in smaller towns, Strong said. One went to Ste. Genevieve and the other to Dexter.

"They can go somewhere else and get a better salary and benefits and work less," Strong said.

Studies have shown that the Cape Girardeau Police Department is four officers short of the recommended size, the chief said. Another study has shown that the officers are underpaid.

The chief explained that the department is operating with just $20,000 more than it did in 1999 and that the average mileage on the department's cars is 101,000 miles.

Still, violent crimes have dropped by 37 percent, Strong said. That is the biggest one-year drop since 1994. The department has increased its drug-related arrests by nearly 40 percent, responded to 50,000 calls for service last year and is on track to pass that this year.

Lean times

The Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association is now 10 years old.

"It's been a good 10 years, a lot of fun," said executive director Mitch Robinson.

But the fun times are fewer these days. Last year was slow, Robinson said.

"And after 9-11 we saw a stop in activity. It has picked up a little bit, but it's going to be a couple of lean years."

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has been hit hard by state budget cutbacks, Robinson said, and that has made recruiting businesses more difficult.

However, Robinson pointed out some progress.

By landing Renaissance Aircraft, a small airplane manufacturer, Cape Girardeau was able to receive a $475,000 state grant to get potable water to Nash Road's industrial park located off Interstate 55.

This was a major accomplishment, he said, that will "give us the leg up" on recruiting more industry.

'Pots of money'

Dr. Kent Dobbins, Southeast Missouri State University president, spent much of his time explaining why certain money is spent the way it is, particularly concerning the River Campus.

Many have wondered, he said, why the university is saving money for the river campus, while major budget cuts, including the elimination of several positions, have been made.

Only certain money can be used for capital projects, while other funds can only be used for education programs, Dobbins said. Knudtson brought up the same issue during his speech, explaining that the money designated for the river campus -- paid for with hotel and restaurant taxes -- is earmarked specifically for tourism purposes.

Dobbins reinforced his "pots of money" explanation later when moderator Mike Smythe of KFVS-TV asked if the university should have put less emphasis on new buildings like the new residence hall and the proposed parking garage.

Dobbins also discussed the higher enrollment figures not only at the university, but in Southeast Missouri overall. Since 1994, enrollment at Southeast has increased from 7,925 to 9,534. Including Southeast, Three Rivers Community College and Mineral Area Community College, there has been a 21 percent increase in enrollment since 1995 in higher education.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127