Cape council agrees to limit proposed transportation tax extension to five years

Cape Girardeau City Council members agreed Monday to limit a proposed transportation sales tax extension to five years rather than seek a longer time period.

But during the study session, council members made no decision on the proposed extension of Veterans Memorial Drive or whether to reconstruct another section of South Sprigg Street.

City officials said they have plenty of time to iron out the details before an expected vote in April.

Mayor Bob Fox suggested last month the council might consider extending the tax for six or seven years rather than the normal five-year period in order to allow the city to complete more transportation projects.

But on Monday, Fox and fellow council members dismissed the idea.

The city’s transportation sales tax was approved by voters in 1995 and has been extended every five years since then to pay for specified projects.

Council members said they saw no need to tinker with a winning formula.

“In my mind, it has been very successful as a five-year renewal,” Fox said.

Ward 1 Councilman Daniel Presson said, “I think public trust is with the five-year timeframe.”

The measure would generate an estimated $25 million in revenue for road maintenance, sidewalks and major street projects.

An advisory committee has recommended eight to nine major projects, depending on how much money would be earmarked for the Veterans Memorial Drive project.

Committee members offered two proposals for extending Veterans Memorial Drive.

One option would be to spend $2.3 million on design, property acquisition and dirt work for future extension of the north-south street from Hopper Road to the Route K area. The second option calls for budgeting $200,000 for engineering work only.

If only engineering work is budgeted for the Veterans Memorial Drive extension, a second section of South Sprigg Street — from Shawnee Parkway to William Street — could be reconstructed at a cost of $2.1 million, the advisory committee said last month.

But city officials said budgeting for Veterans Memorial Drive would be impacted by whether the city receives a requested state grant to help fund the project.

“There are so many projects out there to do,” Fox said.

He and other council members said the Transportation Trust Fund 6 measure will focus largely on fixing existing streets, not building new ones.

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