No need to spend $80k on plan

Regarding the City of Cape Girardeau to spend $80,000 to update the Comprehensive Plan:

A comprehensive plan is good to have. Vision and planning must have a starting point. I cannot see why we need to employ outside companies to tell us what we should do, especially after we tell them what we want! Eighty thousand dollars, not to establish a plan but simply for an update?

I have said it before, and I will continue to say it: Cape Girardeau has many very smart people. Why can't we do it ourselves? Establish a committee of 10 or 12 intelligent folks from various backgrounds such as bankers, civil engineers, developers, etc.

The consulting companies will hold public hearings to collect input from residents, realtors, bankers, etc., to establish goals, vision and planning from what we tell them? Eighty thousand dollars? Why do we have a city manager, a mayor, council members, planning and zoning? To go outside the city and especially to spend so much money to do so is irresponsible.

Cape Girardeau has too much money! It should instead put the $80,000 into fixing streets and cleaning up the drug problem.

DAN PHELPS, Cape Girardeau