RUST COMMENTARY: RIVER CAMPUS HAS POTENTIAL TO SPARK DOWNTOWN

In the next couple of weeks before the election on Nov. 3, the SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN will be discussing the proposed amendments to the Missouri Constitution and will try to put them into simple, understandable (non-legalese) language. We will also be giving more information on some of the candidates.

Although it's too late to register for the next election ... please check your calendar. If you are going to be out of town on Election Day, vote absentee at either the Cape or Jackson County offices of the county clerk. In Cape you vote at the Courthouse Annex (old public library), 44 N. Lorimier, during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday. In Jackson you can go to the top floor of 1 Barton Square Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (no lunch break in the schedule). Mailed requests for ballots to be sent to your home will be accepted until Oct. 31, and both offices will extend their hours on the Monday before the election until 5 p.m. and will be open from 9 a.m. until noon on the Saturday before the election.

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Two local-interest issues that are generating the most questions are Amendment 9 on the boats-in-moats question (which I will discuss next week) and the River Campus plan for Southeast Missouri State University's arts campus and museum, with its accompanying downtown economic development.

I describe it that way because that's the broad perspective to consider. You've heard a lot ... with more information to come ... on utilizing the 60,000 square feet of ST. VINCENT'S SEMINARY buildings and adding 115,000 gross square feet of new space.

The 16.6 acres of the best riverfront property between St. Louis and Memphis cannot be duplicated and is irreplaceable. This facility will also free up 50,000 square feet of existing campus space currently being used by the departments of art and music, as well as the facilities of dance and theater, and permit the university museum to develop a regional history museum in conjunction with the university museum (which now can only display about 25 percent of its collection.)

I would anticipate many additional art donors will select this Cape facility for display of their art pieces when they know the space is available for full-time display.

Like they said in the baseball movie "FIELD OF DREAMS" ... "Build it and they will come." ... It is easy to envision the RIVER CAMPUS becoming the tourist attraction (with its wonderful view of the Mississippi River) that Cape has sought for years. What an ideal site to view the new (to be display lit at night) EMERSON BRIDGE.

And the project is to be funded by a three-way partnership of private and public money.

The university' foundation will raise $8.9 million as part of its campaign. The Cape Girardeau City Council has submitted to the voters at the Nov. 3 general election a bond-issue proposal which would generate another $8.9 million. And the governor and General Assembly will be asked for a $17.8 million capital appropriation to complete the financing -- a proposal that Governor Carnahan spoke favorably about while in Cape last week ... but which first requires passage of the local vote. Note: Passage requires two votes. One is the authorization of the sale of the bonds and the other is the passage of the tax.

To fund the local bond issue, the hotel-motel tax would be raised one percentage point, from 3 percent to 4 percent, and extended to the year 2030. Visitors to Cape would pay most of this tax. The present 1 percent restaurant tax would not increase but would be extended to 2030. The existing property tax will sunset in 2004 as presently scheduled.

The hotel and motel tax will cost visitors less than 75 cents additional on a $75 motel room bill.

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I've come to full support of the proposal only after weighing the benefits and value added to our community and university versus the costs.

I've long felt the community must not lose the historical significance and site of the seminary property ... but felt it a hard economic decision to fund the use and maintenance of the building without a bigger vision.

This proposal has that VISION.

The final key has been the broad efforts and enthusiasm of so many people in our community for the project ... AND, my recent trip to LITTLE ROCK, ARK., where (along with San Antonio, Indianapolis, Chicago, Richmond, Chattanooga etc.) the downtown RIVERFRONT AREA has been revitalized, bringing excitement, tourism and economic development to those communities.

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I was in Little Rock last week and share with you this article from the October 1998 TRAVELHOST magazine of Little Rock which spotlights that city's downtown with the headline: DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK AWAKENS:

Only three short years ago the East Markham area of Little Rock consisted of abandoned warehouses, untidy store fronts, cracked sidewalks and few people. Now with the River Market District is rising in popularity, the area is one of the most celebrated tourist attractions in the mid-South.

Featuring scenic views of the Arkansas River and the Riverfront Amphitheater, the River Market was born out of a public/private partnership. This section of Little Rock, located just east of Statehouse Convention Center and the Old State House, was a neighborhood full of saloons and businesses in the mid-1800s. The businesses there catered to the local citizens and to travelers who came to Little Rock on the Arkansas River. Now, over a century later, people of all ages enjoy shopping, dining and enjoying the fun in downtown Little Rock. The city has come full circle in recapturing the past with quaint shops, night clubs, restaurants and attractions lining the riverfront.

"Five years ago, no one could have dreamed that East Markham would be what it is today," said Barry Travis, executive director of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. "All this activity has been, and will be more so in the future, a catalyst for more restaurants, shops and attractions in the heart of the city."

In November 1997, Little Rock was revealed as the site for the Presidential Center. The announcement came during a year of activity which included the opening of the Central High Museum, improvements to the Arkansas Territorial Restoration, the opening of the Downtown Library in the River Market District and the debut of the Museum of Discovery. The Presidential Center will occupy a riverfront site on East Markham Street, which in 2000 will be renamed Clinton Avenue.

Other projects in development include a marina near the River Market, a pedestrian walkway across the Arkansas River, improvements to the Little Rock Zoo, the Old State House and Curran Hall, the future Visitors Center off Interstate 30. The former Museum of Science and History will soon be transformed into the MacArthur Museum of Military History.

An expansion of Statehouse Convention Center is under way, which will allow Little Rock to host more conventions. Also, the 18,000-seat Alltel Arena in Downtown North Little Rock will be the home of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojan basketball and an ice hockey team when it opens in 1999. It will also have the space to hold large conventions, concerts and events.

Travis added, "Our city is proud to welcome visitors as they witness the growth and excitement in our area. This is truly one of the most exciting times in our city's history."

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.