THE PUBLIC MIND: READERS QUESTION THE NATURAL, FINANCIAL WISDOM OF PROPOSED SPORTS COMPLEX PROJECT

Open Letter to Jim Drury:

We read with great interest your "Proposal for Expenditure of Excess Funds from Hotel and Restaurant Tax and Property Taxes Collected to Fund Cost of `Show Me Center.'" (Southeast Missourian advertisement, Oct. 18, 1992) We must protest.

We have lived in Cape Girardeau since 1974 and in our present location on Hilldale Circle since 1978. For the past 14 years, we have enjoyed the quiet beauty of our small, peaceful neighborhood and been amazed at the abundance of wildlife we are privileged to observe even though we live in the city. We have been fortunate to see squirrels, raccoons, ground hogs, beavers, muskrats, wild turkeys, deer, coyotes, and many, many varieties of birds in our backyard. These animals thrive in the wooded area behind our home, which is part of the area included in your proposed Osage/John T. Crowe Park. We spend countless hours enjoying the antics of these wonderful creatures. All this will be lost if your proposal is accepted and acted upon by the Cape Girardeau city council.

In order to build the facilities you propose, this heavily wooded area will have to be stripped of its present vegetation, which provides shelter for so many animals and birds. We don't want such a valuable woodland destroyed. One of your selling points seems to be "providing a safe walking, jogging, biking, and nature study" area. How much nature will be left to study after the bulldozers have destroyed the trees, shrubs, and grasses which now cover this piece of land?

The area you propose for development lies almost entirely in the flood plain of the Cape LaCroix Creek, which overflows its banks and inundates the area regularly. Even with the completion of the Corps of Engineers flood control project, the largest portion of this land will most likely still be subject to flooding periodically. No where in your proposal do I see any figures projected for the cost of clean-up to the proposed facilities after flooding. This is an on-going problem at Arena Park now.

Why disrupt our peaceful neighborhood with a six-field lighted softball complex, a lighted soccer field, four lighted basketball courts, four lighted tennis courts, four lighted sand volleyball courts, six lighted horseshoes courts, and four lighted shuffleboard courts? What's with all the lights? We are aware of the noise, traffic, and misbehavior which occur at the lighted ball fields in Arena Park. Why would you wish such disruption on our neighborhood? Would you like this complex in your back yard? I hardly think so. If all these lighted sports courts are really necessary, can't they be concentrated in Shawnee Park, which has open land and fewer residences nearby? Why disrupt another area of the city?

How many gymnasiums (multi-use buildings) does Cape Girardeau need? Have you counted lately how many already exist in this city? There are such facilities at the public schools, most private schools, the university, many churches, and in the business community. These facilities are located in all parts of the city and are readily accessible. Why build another such building when a little negotiating and rent would allow for any "community function" in an already existing structure? We find it very hard to believe another "multi-use" building is necessary only a short distance from a public school, several churches, and your own hotels.

We do not oppose the hiking, biking, nature trail along Cape LaCroix Creek. This could be a wonderful benefit to nature study and physical fitness. Picnic facilities and playgrounds in areas around the perimeter which don't flood frequently would also be acceptable and feasible. Park land seems to be the ideal use of such flood plain lands. But why can't we have a park which preserves the wooded environment providing homes to so much wildlife, preserves the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood, and is less expensive to develop and maintain? Much of the proposed development in your plan seems a tragic waste of wildlife, woodland, and funds.

This brings us to the financial aspects. You propose spending $3,650,000 for this project. You will take these funds from the excess funds generated from the Hotel/Restaurant Tax and from property taxes collected to fund the cost of the "Show Me Center" and to promote tourism. First of all, we citizens of Cape Girardeau were led down the garden path when we voted to build the "Show Me Center" before a site had been identified. But that is water under the bridge. Secondly, it was not our intention to fund additional multi-million dollar recreation facilities with these funds. Surplus funds should be spent to pay the debt intended and voted for by the taxpayers. When this debt is paid, stop collecting these taxes. Then let the citizens of Cape Girardeau decide if we want to fund more recreation complexes at an election where such a proposal is honestly presented. We seem to remember the citizens saying "NO" to a sports complex proposal a while back.

Finally, has a study been done to support your claim that this facility will "promote tourism and visitors to the city" and "bring national prominence to Cape Girardeau?" Just how often do people come to Cape Girardeau from other states to visit our city parks? It seems to us that a group of sports-minded people is trying to go by way of the back door to get the sports complex they were previously refused by the taxpayers. Please, not in our backyard!

In summary, we agree with the concept of using the land in question as a city park. Our quarrel comes with destroying a peaceful woodland to create more ball fields and building another expensive facility for taxpayers to maintain. Your site development plan needs major revisions. We can't afford to purchase a two-page spread in the newspaper to air our views; however, we sincerely hope the city council will think long and hard before accepting all the components of this plan.

~Larry D. & Linda M. Dillman

Cape Girardeau

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