Cape council delays decision on N. Sprigg convenience store citing public safety concerns

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously to table an ordinance granting a special-use permit to develop a convenience store and gas station at 2090 N. Sprigg St.

Council member Robbie Guard moved to defer the ordinance until the next meeting after concerns about public safety were voiced by audience and council members.

"I don't like to get in the way of business and capitalism, but I think this one, I think we need to slow down a bit," Guard said.

Planning and Zoning Commission members voted unanimously to recommend approval of the special permit.

Mary Beth Gunn, who lives in the area, spoke during the public hearing for the ordinance and said she is worried a convenience store will bring more crime to the neighborhood.

"My backyard hits Sprigg Street and is across from Legends apartment complex. Even with the slightly new addition of Legends to the neighborhood, we have seen gun violence, drug dealing and excessive noise at all hours of the night," Gunn said. "Adding a convenience store to the neighborhood could add to this problem with the additional noise and potential crime."

Cassidy Klein, a student at Southeast Missouri State University, concurred with Gunn's opinion. She said she has numerous friends who live in Legends and she and others won't go to the complex at night.

Issues with crime in and around Legends have been a pervasive one for the city. Cape Girardeau Police Department officers and Legends ownership held a forum to address crime issues in February following a January shooting at the apartments.

At the time, Legends management said they plan to have staff present during the day to deter crime.

Since April, 19 incidents including vehicle thefts, larceny and assault have been reported in the 2000 block of North Sprigg Street, where Legends is located. Cpl. Ryan Droege, Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer, said there have not been additional patrols dedicated to the area outside of normal operations. There have been two shots-fired calls in the area since January, but one was for a complex resident reporting shots fired at another location and another was wrongly input into records, Droege said. Legends has hired on-site security and adopted the department's Crime-Free Multi-Housing program. They will complete certification at the end of this year, he said.

The developer seeking the convenience store permit, SEMO Corner LLC, is registered to the same address in Dallas as the developers for Legends, Domus Development LLC. Concern about the developer not being local was brought up by audience members and reiterated by those on the council.

The consensus among council members was the desire for more information. They would like to speak with the developer and hear plans to ensure safety at the property, suggesting adding a security guard and limiting hours.

"I think what we're going to try to do is get a hold of the developer, in trying to ensure that they're here to speak to these issues and concerns. I think it's important that they're here, or else they're gonna have a hard time getting this passed," city manager Kenneth Haskin said.

Ryan Shrimplin, city planner, said dealings with the city for the permit have been done through the engineer for the property.

Public comment

At the end of the council meeting, numerous members of the Cape Girardeau chapter of We the People of Missouri — a self-proclaimed political "liberty watchdog" group — spoke in opposition to the Global Shapers Community, sponsored by the World Economic Forum, which recently established a presence in Cape Girardeau.

Speakers from the group alleged that the WEF — an international lobbying firm that often promotes climate change solutions — is trying to destroy residents' way of life in Cape Girardeau. They called on council members — and Mayor Stacy Kinder especially — to denounce Global Shapers and the WEF.

Marnie Mitchell, Republican committeewoman for precinct 5A in Cape Girardeau County, said she believes in climate change but not "climate catastrophe," pointing to an alleged 98% reduction in climate disaster deaths, without citing a source for the statistic or defining such deaths.

The World Meteorological Organization reported in 2021 that while deaths were down in the past 50 years because of advances in technology and extreme weather reporting, weather-related disasters increased by a factor of five during that span and the cost of damage had also significantly increased.

Mitchell said the WEF's goal to reduce nitrogen uses specifically in fertilizer would "decimate" Missouri corn production. Thus far, the federal and state governments have shied away from regulating fertilizer usage.

Other members of the group spoke about the local Global Shapers organization as a threat to democracy, quoting Founding Fathers and the Bible, while doing so, alleging that the group has ulterior motives other than climate protection.

Zack Strong, pastor for Christ Church of the Heartland, received a standing ovation from members of the group following his statement contending groups such as WEF promote "one-world government" and forecast the apocalypse from Revelation, which he said mirrors events of today. Strong also referred to climate change as "so-called global warming."

In an article in B Magazine — a publication of rustmedia, an agency of Rust Communications, which also publishes the Southeast Missourian — members of Global Shapers said after speaking with leaders in Cape Girardeau, they decided to focus their efforts on reskilling, education and health based on the needs of the area.