BALLOU, RICKARD FACE OFF IN COUNCIL RACE

Regardless of who is chosen to fill the final Cape Girardeau City Council seat, the winner won't have to strain to hear the voice of the people from Ward 3.

"The ward system seems to give people confidence they can voice their concerns without feeling uneasy," said Jack Rickard, who will oppose Mike Ballou in Tuesday's election. The Ward 3 city council seat was vacated when Al Spradling III, who last held the seat, was elected mayor.

"Some people feel like it's hard dealing with the city staff, and I understand that because I have felt like that," said Rickard, a brick contractor for over 25 years. "But that's not why I'm running for the city council," he said. "The only way I would deal with matters concerning the city staff would be by going through the city manager."

Ballou, who is a promotions manager for Herrin, Ill., radio station WUEZ, has already heard concerns from citizens in Ward 3 during the campaign. "I'm hearing complaints from people who tell me there is a lack of responsiveness regarding flood control in their neighborhoods," said Ballou.

"I've been telling people that if I'm elected, I would be more than willing to investigate whatever problem they're having and try to get some results," said Ballou.

Ballou said he is against appointing special committees to investigate minimum property standards, trash fees and other issues.

"I would like to see fewer blue ribbon panels and more investigation by the city council," said Ballou. "Most of the background work on issues that the city council votes on are done by people who weren't even elected by the people. I don't like that at all."

Rickard said he would look into special taxes before they go into effect. "I would want everybody to know about a special tax before the bill arrives in the mail," he said. "If a decision is made for property owners to have to pay for pavement that leads to their house, they should be aware of it before it's too late to do anything about it."

When it comes to spending taxpayers' money, Rickard said he will be conservative. "I don't see any reason why we need to have a tax and then decide what we're going to do with the money later on," he said. "I really feel like the people should vote on all the taxes."

Ballou is also reluctant to spend money without the consent of the voters.

"We had a situation where voters turned down improvements at Shawnee Park twice," said Ballou. "But then when money is found elsewhere, it's decided that the improvements can be made for the very thing that was voted down twice by the people. I think we should have gone back to the people to ask them if they wanted this money spent on Shawnee Park."

Rickard doesn't believe the minimum property standards that have been studied by the review committee will be passed by the city council.

"I've looked at the BOCA code and just don't feel like it's going to fly when it goes before the city council," he said. "Every city that has a BOCA code has seen its population go down over the years. It's happened in St. Joseph, St. Louis, Carbondale, Ill., and Nevada, Mo. The only place it didn't happen was Columbia."

Rickard doesn't believe the BOCA code will pass is because it would put too great a strain on time and money. "I think it would be good for a property owner to have his building inspected each time there is a new tenant, but it would take so much time to do he would never be able to stay in business. I just don't see how you could make inspections quickly enough to make it cost efficient."

Ballou said he would use his experience in promotions to encourage new businesses to come to Cape Girardeau and help keep existing ones from leaving. "I've seen what happened to Anna, Ill., when Bunny Bread left and I don't want the same thing to happen here," he said. "I don't think we should be too dependent on one or two companies."

Added Ballou,"I operate a small side business, American International Marketing. In May I delivered a 2,000-pound shipment of rattlesnake meat into a European market. I would like to see exports from Missouri and Cape Girardeau increase. I support the port authority and a proposed foreign trade zone for the area."

Although Rickard was initially against bringing riverboat gambling into the area, he said he would rather have it in Cape Girardeau than 20 miles north or south of his home town. "If it is going to be in the area anyway, I'd rather have it where people from Cape can watch what's going on and have something to say about the overall operation," he said.

Ballou is interested in keeping the pay for police and firemen competitive with other cities of the same size. "It's important that we compensate our policemen and firemen," said Ballou. "I want to have people who can keep gangs and drugs out of our city. The only gangs I want to see in Cape are ones wearing Boy Scout and Girl Scout uniforms, ones playing soccer and T-Ball."

Rickard said he has a personal interest in helping decide issues that affect the city of Cape. "I've watched this city grow from 14,000 to 34,000," he said. "I've lived here all my life and care about Cape. I want this town to continue to be a good place to live and work. I think it will continue to grow."