A proposal to permanently eliminate the unfilled park superintendent position at Cape Girardeau County Park will be presented to the Cape Girardeau County Commission today. If approved, it is projected to save Cape Girardeau County residents more than $40,000 a year.

Second District Commissioner Jay Purcell, who serves as commissioner in charge of parks, adopted and will present the proposal to the other commissioners.

He said this proposal should not come as a surprise, as a trial period of the proposal has been conducted since mid-February when park superintendent Bruce Watkins left the position.

The proposal would eliminate the superintendent position, which is stated to be a total savings of $57,582.68, including the $42,031.15 salary and estimated 37 percent added for benefits. The proposal also says the county commissioner in charge of parks must operate his or her office from the existing county park office. The commissioner would maintain county work and additional park responsibilities, reworking the contracts of current park employees -- giving promotions and adjusting salaries to meet additional responsibilities and shifting park office responsibilities such as payroll and purchase orders to Pat Leech in the county road and bridge office.

Purcell said after subtracting the pay raises for park employees from the $57,528.68 of proposed savings, residents will still be saving more than $40,000 a year.

"There's not a lot of downside to this," he said. "The last three months we've been doing everything we were supposed to be and [then] some."

He said the money saved will go toward improvement projects in the park, like the shelter being built in the Cape County Park North.

"We're trying to put things in place that make the park more friendly, more approachable," he said.

rrolwing@semissourian.com

388-3654

Pertinent address:

2400 County Park Drive

Cape Girardeau, MO