Cape council approves road plaques honoring Central boys swim team state championships

Cape Girardeau Central High School�s 2016 and 2017 boys swimming state championships will be celebrated on five city- and Cape Girardeau County-limit signs on four major roads leading to the city.

City engineer Casey Brunke said the �accomplishment� plaques will be posted in five locations: along northbound and southbound Interstate 55, U.S. 61, Route K eastbound and Highway 74 westbound.

The Cape Girardeau School District will pay the estimated $4,440 cost to install the plaques on existing city- and county-limit signs, Brunke said in an agenda letter to the Cape Girardeau City Council.

The council voted Monday to execute a sign-program agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.

�Congratulations to the Cape Central Tigers. Two years in a row. Quite an accomplishment,� Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard said.

Before the meeting, Josh Crowell, assistant superintendent of support services for the Cape Girardeau public schools, said some of the funding will come from donations to the district.

�It is a 10-year agreement,� Crowell said, but the expense is a one-time cost.

If the signs are damaged, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will pay to replace them, Crowell said.

School officials sought the signage to celebrate the accomplishments of the swim team and the district, he said.

In a letter last fall to Brunke, superintendent Neil Glass voiced appreciation for the city�s cooperation.

�The achievements of our students are something in which the whole community can take great pride,� he wrote.

Crowell said the plaques will be the first ones to be installed to celebrate any state championship by a Cape Girardeau Central High School team. The high school has had past state championships in other sports, but those occurred decades ago before MoDOT implemented the accomplishment-signage program, he said.

Crowell said future state championships would be celebrated in the same way.

�This is going to be our practice going forward,� he said.

Brunke said city-council approval was required in order for MoDOT to enter into the agreement.

the city engineer said MoDOT will manufacture the plaques once the council gives final reading to an ordinance later this month and the ordinance takes effect in early February.

The signs could go up as soon as the end of February or early March, Brunke said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641