BE OUR GUEST

Barbara Rose Rust is president of the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation. She has been active in the Vision 2000. She and husband, Harry, have three sons.

At last Monday night's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting, a progressive move forward was made for this community. It may have seemed to some that the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation (CCGF) gave up their request for the funds available from the hotel/motel restaurant tax.

At some times in our lives, all of us have looked at a project and have zeroed in on what we thought was a logical solution. When we study the project further, we discover our original direction was too narrow and too short-lived. We then re-evaluate and look for a better way. The better way was the desire of the CCGF.

In our presentation to the City Council, we acknowledged that both projects were worthy. In our explanation, we used the story of the "Tortoise and the Hare."

The hare (the recreational theme) can get off to a fast start. It's much easier to create a soccer field than it is to remodel a 150-year-old building. A recreation project can generate a quick money return for the community. Let me explain.

In talking to people my son's age, I found that one of the most recent soccer tournaments was so large that all of the motel rooms in Cape Girardeau were sold out. People stayed in motels as far away as Perryville and Sikeston. How much money did Cape lose???

It is logical to assume that if the demand is that great, due to recreation, Cape needs to find a way to capture the market. Building more motels means more jobs. Feeding more people means more jobs. Both of the above will generate money for community use through the hotel/motel restaurant tax.

The St. Vincent's project is like the tortoise in the story. A preliminary look at the property indicates the structure is sound. To be absolutely sure of this a feasibility study is in order. Yes, the city took a general look at this with a committee once before, but they did not have a specific purpose in mind at the time and did not allocate the resources for a proper analysis. If it is determined the building is sound, it will take the architects time to do detailed plans and contracts to be let for the first phase of remodeling. We are looking at a two year or longer time frame. It will be slow, like the tortoise. It is not out of reason to believe it could take as long as five years to complete the entire remodeling process.

Now let's look at the funds available. The biggest problem is not in the dollar amount but that the source of those dollars dies in the year 2004. The St. Vincent's project needs to live beyond the year 2004.

The CCGF, after much study, felt we must look farther down the road than 2004. The funds available put blinders on us that narrowed our vision. Our request Monday night to the City Council was to help us look beyond the present funds and beyond the year 2004. We asked them to help us find another way, a better way, one that looks into the future long after the present interested parties have turned to dust.

We commend the City Council for taking action that will boost our project by forming a task force to preserve St. Vincent's not just up to the year 2004, but for all time.

If this project is done with care and foresight, it is possible our 150-year-old landmark can become the centerpiece of tourism in this community. Yes, a recreational theme can quickly jump and run momentarily like the hare. But, it is highly possible the St. Vincent's project, like the tortoise, can become a steady source of income for the city as well as a place of beauty and pride, and theoretically, could outlast the hare.

Again, we applaud the City Council for its unanimous decision to appoint a task force of interested citizens to study a method of continuous funding for this project. When the task force makes its recommendations, I am confident this community will rally behind the direction chosen.