CAPE PARK BOARD URGES FEE FOR ARENA RECREATION

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday recommended that a $1 fee be charged to residents using the A.C. Brase Arena Building for recreation programs.

The board also recommended that the Southeast Missouri Scorpion Rugby Club be allowed to use a field in Arena Park for practices and weekend rugby matches.

The fee was recommended by the city staff to help defray utility, maintenance and staffing costs at the Arena Building.

The city's recreation programs that were previously offered at City Hall recently were moved to the Arena Building due to City Hall renovations.

Dan Muser, acting Parks and Recreation Department director, said: "The idea behind this is we have a different facility than what we had at City Hall with more participation.

"Along with that, there's considerable more expense. Our idea there is to recoup our costs."

Scott Williams, recreation programmer, said the fee would only be charged to adults. Children under the age of 12 or 15 could be admitted free.

Williams said he expects the facility will get more use than City Hall did and will require more staff to supervise the recreation programs.

"We averaged about 43 people daily at City Hall," he said. "The maximum use at one time for the gym was about 20 and 15 for the weight room. We should have over 100 a day (at the Arena).

"I think the need is there and being out on this end of town, there will be better use."

Williams said the facility will include three full-size courts for volleyball and basketball, while the City Hall gymnasium had only one full-size court.

"I think it's a smart thing to do," board member Mike Kohlfeld said of the fee. "If you use the facility, you should have to pay."

The board recommended unanimously that the fee be adopted by the City Council.

Mike Todt, president of the SEMO Scorpion Rugby Club, asked that an unused field at the west end of Arena Park be designated as the city's rugby field.

Todt said that since becoming a "club-side team," the Scorpions want to secure a site for practices and league games.

"This fall was our first season as a club and we used the area we're requesting for the first annual Bootheel Rugby Tournament," Todt said. "The field was just big enough and we had more than enough parking without interfering with the ball fields in the area.

"As a club, we'd like to secure this field as our home field."

Todt said the team's season runs from August to December in the fall and January through May in the spring. He said the schedule will prevent any conflicts with the softball and baseball facilities at the park.

Todt said the club hopes to eventually upgrade the field by leveling the ground and erecting permanent goal posts.

Muser said the club has been "very cooperative" during the past year when using park facilities. "We've had no problems or complaints," he added.

But board member Larry Essner said the city likely will lose one of its Arena Park ball fields when the Cape LaCroix\Walker Creek flood-control project is built. He questioned whether the rugby field site could be used for another ball diamond.

"Where I think the ball fields would be better located for little league baseball will not interfere with them at all," said Muser.

Board member Jay Crosnoe said he thought there was adequate room north and east of the planned rugby field for an additional ball field.

In other business, Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink discussed a list of parks projects that will be included in the city's five-year capital improvements plan this year. The board last month prioritized a list of 11 projects to be included in the plan.

Stoverink said that the board's top priority projects, renovation of city ball fields and the Capaha Pool, will be done over several years with general operating funds.

He said several projects are included in next year's capital improvements plans including:

Construction of a storage building at Arena Park.

Installation of additional seating and landscaping at the Capaha Park band shell. Both projects are expected to be funded partially through donations.

Construction of a new shelter and a basketball court at Capaha Park.

Other priorities include construction of additional softball and soccer fields at Shawnee Park. Stoverink said all of the $75,000 allocated each year for parks improvements would be allocated for the fields in the last four years of the five-year improvements plan.