County buys house at park to prepare for nature center

The Cape Girardeau County Commission -- to pave the way for road improvements for a new nature center -- plans to buy the home of its parks superintendent and allow him to live in the house at Cape Girardeau County Park North for as long as he remains in his current job.

Commissioners said the county will pay parks superintendent Bruce Watkins $250,000 for the one-story home on a two-acre site east of the war memorial in the park. Gerald Jones, presiding commissioner, said it's a fair price to pay for the house and wooded land.

The move will clear the way for the closing of the existing entrance road to the park and the construction of a new entrance road as part of the Missouri Conservation Department's plan to build a nature center, commissioners said.

A new entrance road is planned across from the Memorial Park Cemetery.

Safety concerns

For traffic safety reasons, state highway officials won't allow a new park entrance off U.S. 61 unless the old entrance is closed to the public.

Commissioners said that the Missouri Department of Transportation can't block access roads to private property.

Having the county buy Watkins' property eliminates that problem and clears the way for MoDOT to approve a new park entrance, commissioners said.

Jones said the commission hopes the existing road can be kept open for access to the war memorial and Watkins' house.

An electronic gate could limit access on the existing road, he suggested. Few people visit the memorial, so there wouldn't be a lot of traffic, he said.

But Scott Meyer, district engineer for MoDOT in Sikeston, Mo., said his agency won't allow the park to have two public entrances off the highway. But MoDOT will allow Watkins to continue to use the old road as a personal driveway as long as he continues to live in the house.

Even with that compromise, Jones said another road would have to be built to tie in with a new park entrance and provide access to the war memorial.

Two years ago, local veterans were divided on whether the county should relocate the war memorial, which could have cost about $200,000. In the end, the commission decided to leave the memorial in place.

Watkins can see the memorial from his front yard. He likes being close to his work.

"It is very convenient," said Watkins who has lived in the family home for 35 years and worked for the county park department for the past eight years. He's headed the park department since October 1995.

Conditions of purchase

Under the purchase agreement signed Thursday by the commission, Watkins can continue to live in the house for up to a year after he has retired as park superintendent.

As part of the deal, Watkins will continue to maintain the house and pay the utilities. The county will pay the insurance.

Watkins and county officials said the arrangement is good for everyone. He gets to continue living in the house and the county assures it will control future use of the land.

"I plan on working another seven or eight years," Watkins said.

The house was built in 1961 before surrounding land became a county park. "My grandmother lived there," said Watkins who acquired the house six years later. At one time, he operated a kennel on the property.

Jones said the county has long wanted the private property to prevent future unwanted development. If the county didn't buy it, the land could have been sold by Watkins or his heirs for commercial developments, Jones said.

"I don't want a a motel sitting there on two acres. I don't want a convenience store sitting there," he said.

Watkins said he wouldn't want such development either.

The new nature center will be built on a site that includes part of the existing road a short distance from the war memorial, marked by an American flag, and Watkins' house. The building could cost nearly $5 million. The entire project, including roads, parking lots, specialty gardens and trails, could cost more than $7 million.

The Conservation Department plans to bid the project this fall and break ground on the project in January. The nature center could be completed by summer or fall of 2004.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

Map of the nature center project

Southeast Missourian/Gabe Hartwig