Mid-America Hotels adds $10,000 to county park land price

Cape Girardeau County commissioners voted 2 to 1 to accept an amendment to the sale price of a 1.24-acre strip of county park land.

The amendment adds $10,000 to the agreed upon sale price of $350,000, to be used for landscaping. In the original agreement, the purchaser, Mid-America Hotels, had agreed to plant a tree screen. The amendment moves the landscaping to the county's responsibility. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones and 1st District Commissioner Larry Bock, who voted to approved the change, said they were not sure what the landscaping would actually cost.

Bock said the deal might make "$4,000 or $5,000" for the county. Jones said if landscaping cost more than $10,000, the excess could be paid for from the $350,000.

Second District Commissioner Jay Purcell voted against the measure and did not sign the contract with Mid-America, saying later he did not want to argue with Jones and Bock.

The commissioners approved a request from Dave Hitt of American Legion Post 158 to use the Jackson courthouse lawn during the 2009 Homecomers.

Commissioners also accepted the annual county audit report by Van de Ven, LLC and reports from Eric McGowen, information technology director, and discussed whether or not to replace Bock's county vehicle, a Jeep, with a four-door pickup truck worth $32,000.

For more on this story, revisit semissourian.com or read Tuesday's paper.