Cape County Commission approves first step for speed limit changes

The Cape Girardeau County Commission approved numerous decisions on Thursday, May 23 including allocating money to purchase vehicles, sending a representative to a national conference and setting a public hearing for speed limit changes on two county roads.

Southeast Missourian file

At their Thursday, May 23 meeting, the Cape Girardeau County Commission set the first public meeting for a requested lower speed limit on County Roads 330 and 335 southwest of Jackson.

Prior to the commission meeting on Thursday, May 16, every resident on County Road 330 sent the commissioners a collective letter asking for the speed limit there to be lowered from 60 miles per hour to 40 miles per hour.

“Then 335 came up and we told a gal she could get some signatures from people interested. She came up with, I don’t know if she got everybody, but it was a lot of signatures,” Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said.

County Road 335 is hard-surfaced, and Koeper said County Road 330 would likely be as well in the next few years. The residents said they were concerned about drivers speeding down the roads as both county roads have some significant curves.

“Some people will come out and say it’s just a fundraiser for the county [through speeding tickets]. That’s not the case,” Koeper said. “In fact, I don’t even think the county gets any of those funds, if there is anything. Something tells me it goes to the school districts. So that’s not the point of why were doing this. It’s for the safety of the people, and as we pave more roads people have the tendency to go a little faster and the roads just aren’t straight enough to do that.”

In order to change the speed limit, first class counties in Missouri like Cape Girardeau County need to complete several steps. The commissioners must hold a minimum of three public hearings on the issue and publish the date and hearing of the hearings in at least two newspapers 15 or more days beforehand. They are also required to post at least four public notices about the hearings in conspicuous places at least 15 days before they begin.

Koeper, Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst and Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy set the first public hearing about the speed limit change for their Thursday, June 13 meeting at 9 a.m. at the Cape Girardeau County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square in Jackson.

Additional asphalt

Koeper presented the Cape County Highway Department’s recommendation for adding asphalt to County Roads 450 and 465 northwest of Jackson. He said they recommended extending County Road 450’s paved section by 0.97 miles and County Road 465’s paved section by 0.67 miles.

This would cost an estimated $143,725, though Koeper said it could vary by a few thousand dollars up or down.

The commissioners decided to increase the county’s Prop 1 Fund budget by the Highway Department’s estimate to accommodate the cost.

New vehicles

The commissioners approved having the Highway Department pursue the purchase of a new skid-steer loader. Their current loader, a 2020 model, is underpowered for

the jobs it has had to perform recently, and the Highway Department would be able to acquire a new John Deere loader for $103,200.

If they trade in their current loader, they could get $50,000 in buyback money for a cost of just $53,200. The commissioners would not have to make the decision to trade their current loader in or not until later; the new model would not arrive until August or September, Koeper said.

Tracy, Herbst and Koeper also approved the $23,000 purchase of a 2021 Dodge Charger for the State of Missouri’s 32d Judicial District Juvenile Office. This vehicle would replace one totaled in an accident in November 2023.

The Charger would be purchased from the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s surplus property.

NACo representative

The commissioners approved County Auditor Pete Frazier as Cape Girardeau County’s representative to the National Association of Counties Annual (NACo) Conference and Exposition in Tampa, Florida.