Cape city council to discuss new police station

The Cape Girardeau City Council will get an in-depth look at the needs of the city's aging police station and hear recommendations for potential facility changes or upgrades during tonight's study session.

In February, the council authorized spending $100,000 on a space-design study of the station at 40 S. Sprigg St. The architecture firm FGM Architects Inc. was hired for the job. The study should result in giving the city an inventory of existing space and a proposal of space needs and recommendations about whether to remain in the existing station and build an addition, or to build a new station.

Among the problems at the station that already have been documented by city staff in recent years include leaks, offices so crowded many staff have to work in modular units adjacent to the main building and insufficient systems for laundry and other needed services for jail inmates. The station was built in 1975.

The city's capital-improvements plan includes starting a savings fund for a new $7.3 million police station, but no funding stream has been dedicated for that purpose, though several possible sources have been discussed by the council during the last year.

One way to fund a new station or addition would be to send sales tax revenue that previously has funded tourism and recreation projects to pay for public safety needs instead. A restaurant gross receipts tax that is now used for payments on bonds that helped build the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University is expected to be paid off soon, but the council would need to decide to redirect revenue from the tax and voters would have to approve a renewal of the tax for that to happen. The council voted unanimously in July not to place a renewal question before voters in a November general election this year, but Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger and other council members have said an April 2014 vote on the tax is not out of the question.

Another idea that has been floated to pay for a police station or new public safety center would be to save and use revenue the city receives from the operation of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. City officials have estimated the city will receive a little more than $3 million each year from 10 percent of the total state taxes paid by the casino and half of admission fees. Under a spending plan, the council also has dedicated a large portion of that revenue to capital improvements -- 40 percent to 60 percent of the total revenue each year could go toward a new public safety facility if the council were to determine the money would be spent on such a project.

"I am not prepared to commit yet to this initial design and its cost assumptions until I am convinced we have explored all the possibilities, including potential repurposing of existing buildings, including -- but not limited to -- the former federal courthouse," Councilman Wayne Bowen said in an email. "I also want to hear from the police chief and our police officers, as well as the public. Having toured the current station and accompanied our officers on several patrols, I agree we need not just a better facility for our officers, but more police and more efforts to retain the excellent officers we have. As we consider proposals for a new station, my hope is that we do not lose sight of those critical needs. Having said that, I am open to specific proposals from staff once the council provides direction."

Other business

Also on the study session agenda at 5 p.m. is a discussion of amendments to proposed nuisance ordinances. City manager Scott Meyer plans to present two draft ordinances to the city council, one of which, covering chronic nuisance properties, will have revisions. The revisions, according to city documents prepared for the meeting, include that the ordinance now has "a more limited and detailed enumeration of the offenses" that could cause someone to be cited with a violation, a requirement there be at least two to four violations depending on the type of offenses within a certain time period before someone had violated the ordinance and would not allow an owner to use a lack of knowledge on their part as a defense. The name of the proposal has also been changed from "criminal nuisance" to "chronic nuisance" because of the multiple offenses requirement.

The other ordinance, which does not have amended language, would cover abatement of nuisances such as graffiti, unlicensed vehicles, open storage of junk, general nuisance abatement procedures for issuing special tax bills to pay for abatement costs and increasing fines.

During the 7 p.m. regular session, a public hearing and first vote of the council will be held on a petition that requests the former DuShell's Furniture building and parking lot at 2103 William St. be added to the Town Plaza Community Improvement District.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

40 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2103 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.