Working together

Several years ago the Cape Girardeau City Council and the Jackson Board of Aldermen agreed to have joint meetings to deal with issues of mutual concern. In the process, both cities have benefited, thanks to a willingness to tackle problems before they became disputes. Both communities are better off for this effort, which was championed by the mayors at the time, Al Spradling and Paul Sander.

Both cities have different mayors now, and the spirit of cooperation continues to be strong. There is a major issue that is crucial to both of them that provides an opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of mutual cooperation.

The new Interstate 55 interchange that is under construction was, for years, called the East Main Street interchange because it will accommodate the extension of Jackson's East Main Street and provide another access route for that city. Jackson officials worked long and hard with the Missouri Department of Transportation on the project, resulting in a cost-share plan that was unprecedented.

During those negotiations, Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau became deeply involved too, along with the Cape Girardeau County Commission.

The university's interests were spurred by the fact that the interchange location uses a big chunk of property that has been the university's research farm. With the new interchange, the university saw significant opportunities for the development of a research park.

Cape Girardeau saw opportunities for expanding its city limits to the north, involving infrastructure that would be attractive to residential and commercial developers. In particular, the city has focused on the proposed retail development planned next to the new interchange.

That development is being put together by a consulting firm hired by the university. To make the proposed research park financially feasible, the consulting firm is proposing the development of a major retail and recreation plan -- all on the east side of I-55 in Cape Girardeau. The research park would, under this plan, be on the west side in Jackson.

Looking into the future, it's easy to see that the increased tax base from the new interchange would be in Cape Girardeau. If, as has been suggested, a retailer like Wal-Mart chose to build a new supercenter near the new interchange, it's likely the Wal-Mart in Jackson would close. That store provides a large portion of Jackson's sales-tax revenue.

Knowing that the future of the proposed development at the interchange could well hinge on continued cooperation between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, the cities successfully sought legislative approval of way to share tax revenue in situations like this. Prior to this year's legislative session, such sharing wasn't allowed.

There are countless details to be worked out regarding the plans for the property around the new interchange. Just as Jackson and Cape Girardeau have, over the years, found creative ways to benefit both cities, this is another opportunity for the benefits that will derive from a close working relationship.