NOT MANY COUNTIES COULD PULL OFF NATURE CENTER DEAL CAPE COUNTY DID

Cape Girardeau County will issue $4.7 million in bonds to speed up construction of the Missouri Department of Conservation nature center in Cape Girardeau County Park North, and the department will pay back the county over 10 years.

The department can't enter into long-term financial agreements, and If the county were to wait until the agency had the money to build the nature center, the project could be delayed for years, says Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.

It is the first time a county government in Missouri has been involved in financing a Conservation Department nature center. Jones says if it is successful, the financing scheme could be used to build other nature centers around the state.

That could well happen, but it is doubtful many other counties in Missouri have the financial resources to make things happen the way Cape Girardeau County can.