PORT OFFICIALS MISS MARK ACTING ON GAMBLING ISSUE

The governments of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties have painstakingly gone about developing the jointly sponsored Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority. From rustic beginnings, the port stands now on the threshold of grand things. Does riverboat gambling figure in the vision? We believe the port's board of commissioners misstepped in promoting such a plan. We also believe the Scott County Commission betrayed the spirit of the port partnership by putting this matter on the November ballot.

There would be no regional river facility, at least not one that resembles today's progressive port, if not for the cooperation of these two neighboring counties. Taxpayers showed their faith in the facility by approving a four-year tax (now expired) that funded $6 million in improvements at the facility. There were lean years when it looked like the port would remain only a dream, but patience and the resolution of countless conflicts, big and small, allowed the undertaking to progress.

But since creation of the authority in 1974, the counties have not faced a conflict of this nature or scope. A gambling enterprise approached the board of commissioners about the prospect of docking a riverboat on a Scott County parcel of the port authority property. (The port site encompasses land in both counties.) The board, including the assent of representatives from Cape Girardeau County, forwarded the matter to the Scott County Commission, which acted last week to put it on the Nov. 2 ballot. According to state law, the local governing entity (in this case, Scott County) receives $1 for each person that boards a gambling boat, plus a percentage of the casino's revenue.

Several port commissioners said last week they believe any proceeds from riverboat gambling at the port should go toward improving the facility. Cape Girardeau County's Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep, who doesn't believe the port facility is an appropriate venue for a riverboat, says the same thing. Despite these desires, there are no guarantees this will happen. Scott County Presiding Commissioner Durward Dover acknowledges only that the statutes are clear where fees go. This is a jarring clarity for Cape Girardeau County citizens who helped fund the development of this facility and stand to see Scott County reap some hefty benefits.

Of course, there are the jobs ... and 700 new jobs would provide benefits to the entire region. However, the vision of the port authority was establishment of an industrial complex, one dependent on intermodal (river, rail, road) shipping. When the port was created 19 years ago, no one envisioned a paddlewheeler as part of the intermodal scheme.

And there is the question of whether a tourism enterprise would find a proper home in what was designed as an industrial facility. Even if some deal is worked out to share the riverboat's fees with the port authority so that facility improvements can be made, will potential industries embrace the idea of locating alongside a high-traffic enterprise and sharing dock space with a floating casino? While the improvements at the port might lead the way to attract some industries, the gambling boat might dissuade others.

Above all, we feel the port commissioners' hasty decision to seek a Scott County ballot issue, coupled with the lack of communication with one partner in the port authority, was ill-advised. Unfortunately, the die is now cast; there is little reason to believe Scott County voters will view this unfavorably. We can only hope the focus at the port returns to its potential as an industrial complex and that the trust between these partners in an important venture hasn't been spoiled.