The Cape Girardeau County Commission agreed Thursday to advertise for bids to begin rebuilding Shelter 8 in Cape County Park North.

Contractors that will provide the shelter's structural steel frame will be invited to bid. Shelter 8 was demolished along with Shelter 7 to create space for Melaina's Magical Playland, an all-accessible playground that broke ground this month.

Shelter 8 will be one of the park's largest shelters and will seat 120 to 140 people, according to Commissioner Jay Purcell.

County workers will complete the construction apart from the structural frame. Purcell estimated the finished cost to be $35,000 to $40,000. The parks department is working with Melaina's Magical Playland officials to secure grant funding to rebuild Shelter 7.

In other business, the commission denied a request from Old Town Cape to allow access to the Common Pleas Courthouse bathrooms during Tunes for Twilight concerts, which are held Friday evenings during the spring and summer at the courthouse gazebo.

Opening the building would create a staffing burden for the county, commissioners said, because it would require a monitor for each event.

The commission also approved the appointment of Lt. Barry Hovis to the 911 Advisory Board to replace retiree Kim Conway. The seven-person board makes recommendations to the commission on how 911 telephone tax revenue should be spent.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Sq., Jackson, MO

2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO

44 N. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, MO