Cape council OKs two planning projects that involve consultants

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved two planning projects Tuesday with widely different price tags.

Both planning projects will be by out-of-town consultants, but only one will cost the city.

Council members agreed to hire St. Louis-based Arcturis Inc. to update the downtown strategic plan at a cost of $66,800.

The city will use $50,000 in casino revenue to help pay the bill. A National Association of Realtors grant will cover the remaining $16,800 cost. The grant will fund a downtown residential housing study as part of the planning work, according to city officials.

City staff said the planning will take about six months, with a final downtown plan expected to be adopted by February.

The second project involves urban planning for the Red Star neighborhood.

Benchmark Planning of Charlotte, North Carolina, will provide 100 hours of planning for neighborhood improvements at no cost to the city.

The Red Star Neighborhood Revival organization also will be involved with the effort. The not-for-profit organization is comprised of residents of the Red Star neighborhood.

Brian Allerding, president of the Red Star organization, said his group was looking forward to meeting with Benchmark representatives next month.

"We are anxious for the meeting on Oct. 10," he told the council.

The planning effort, among other things, could help turn vacant ground from flood buyouts into usable, public space, according to officials with the city and Red Star Neighborhood Revival.

Ward 6 Councilman Wayne Bowen said there are times when Cape Girardeau's city government needs to bring in consultants to provide professional advice and planning.

"In some cases, our city does not have the expertise," he said.

City staff has other duties that don't allow time for such planning work, Bowen said. If the city staff had to do the planning, other tasks would have to be dropped, he said.

"Who are we going to not service?" he said.

Bowen said the city still needs to watch its spending when it comes to hiring consultants. But he said "they are helpful to us."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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