Cape City Council approves electrical substation on West Cape Rock, dissolves downtown fund

A special-use permit was approved Monday night by the Cape Girardeau City Council for construction of an electrical substation near the intersection of West Cape Rock Drive and Lexington Avenue.

According to construction plans presented to council members, Ameren Missouri’s new electrical power distribution substation at 1400 West Cape Rock Drive would cover a 76-by-88-foot area and contain electrical power distribution equipment, enclosed by an 8-foot fence.

Russell Burger spoke during the council meeting Monday on behalf of Ameren Missouri. Burger emphasized the substation’s “smart grid” technologies would improve reliability for its customers and allow service to future developments in the area.

Renderings presented to council members showed landscaping around the substation, and plans also included a 76-foot-wide concrete driveway to West Cape Rock Drive.

“It’s a pretty low-profile structure,” Ward 1 councilman Dan Presson said after seeing the rendering.

On Nov. 13, the city’s planning and zoning commission unanimously approved the request for a special-use permit to build at the undeveloped property, which is currently zoned R-4 (medium density multi-family residential).

Monday night, city council members unanimously approved an ordinance to grant a special-use permit to Union Electric Company d/b/a Ameren Missouri.

Ward 4 councilman Robbie Guard said he supports the project and believes it could alleviate drainage problems on the back of the property.

“This is in my ward; this is in my neighborhood,” Guard said. “I understand that this isn’t ideal for the neighborhood, but it’s something [that], from an infrastructure standpoint, is very important to do.”

Council members also unanimously approved a measure to repeal an ordinance allowing a special fund for a proposed downtown project to redevelop the former F.W. Woolworth store at 1 N. Main St. and another structure at 20 N. Main St.

By dissolving the special fund, any other future development in the same TIF district will be able to receive tax funding for the number of years remaining in the time period.

Presson said his heart sunk upon discovering the development was dropped, and Mayor Bob Fox said he hopes some other developer picks up the project.

“It’s a lot of square footage,” Presson said. “A good developer could come and take the tree out of the roof and get it back to where it needs to be.”