ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER IN DEVELOPMENT VENTURE

Cape Girardeau's assistant city manager, Al Stoverink, doesn't view his residential-development venture with his brother in Jackson as a conflict of interest.

The business experience, he maintained Thursday, would actually help him in his dealings with building codes and developers in Cape Girardeau.

Stoverink said the business venture has taught him "what contractors and developers deal with out there."

In addition to the residential-development business, Stoverink is looking to obtain a real estate license.

Stoverink said all of this could provide him with a source of income should he decide at some point to leave city government.

Over the past year, Stoverink bought four lots in Rosewood Estates, a subdivision being developed by his brother, Gerald Stoverink of Jackson. The subdivision, with about 35 lots, is situated on the north end of Jackson off Route D.

"I have bought some lots from him and, in turn, he has managed construction of some spec houses on those lots," explained Al Stoverink.

Two houses were completed and sold last year, one in September and the other in December. A third is under construction and slated to be completed in 35 to 40 days, Stoverink said. Construction has yet to start on the fourth lot.

As to the financial viability of such a venture, Stoverink said, "We didn't lose money on the first two houses."

But he described it as more of a hobby at this point than an investment.

In addition to the housing development, Gerald Stoverink operates Stoverink Carpet & Interiors in Jackson. He's also a real estate agent for Heartland Realty in Jackson.

"My dad was a carpenter and Jerry has been in construction for years," Al Stoverink said.

"It's strictly a family deal," he said of the business venture.

Stoverink said he expects to continue his involvement in the venture "as long as I don't lose my shirt at it."

He called the business venture "an innocent activity."

He said people often criticize those who work in government as bureaucrats who don't know about the "real world" because they have not been involved in private business.

"That image is out there," said Stoverink. "This is one very little way for Al Stoverink to be an entrepreneur and to have at least a touch of that experience. I think it rounds out what I bring to this job for the citizens of Cape Girardeau."

This past fall, Stoverink attended a real estate school and took the state licensing test. He said he intends to apply for a state license.

"It's something that I have wanted to do for years," he explained. There are a lot of interconnections between city government and real estate, he said.

City staff, for example, must deal with such things as zoning and the purchase of real estate for various projects. "In my 15 years in city government, I have been involved in a lot of real estate transactions," Stoverink said.

Stoverink has enjoyed his career in municipal government. But he said recent political disputes in Cape Girardeau city government had concerned him and prompted him to consider moving to the private sector.

"We have had more than our share of political strife in city government in recent years.

"Part of my decision to do this was also to look at the future, to have some contingency, something to fall back on if at some point I felt the need to leave city government," he said.

"Quite frankly, with all the upheaval this past year over the ward elections, I was getting a little concerned," he added.

Stoverink said his involvement with a business venture in Jackson in no way makes him less of an advocate for Cape Girardeau.

"I am not looking at moving to another city," he insisted.

"As long as I am working for the city of Cape Girardeau in this office, I am going to be living in Cape Girardeau and I will be giving 100 percent to this job.

"I don't think that should prohibit me from being able to work with my brother or anyone else for that matter," he said.

He said, however, that his business venture would probably be perceived as more of a conflict of interest were it occurring in Cape Girardeau.

Stoverink said he has no intention of becoming involved in any activity that would be a conflict of interest.

"I suspect you would be hard pressed to find anybody that is more sensitive to the concerns over perceived conflicts of interest than I am."

Stoverink, who previously applied for the job of Cape Girardeau city manager, said he still hopes to occupy that position some day.

He stressed that he's not looking to leave city government at this point. But he added, "I am a person who has always tried to keep my options open."