Cape Council votes to reappoint Guard to economic development board

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously to reappoint Councilman Robbie Guard to the not-for-profit Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development Inc. — SE MO REDI — Board of Directors at their meeting Monday, Dec. 19.

Mayor Stacy Kinder was absent from the meeting; mayor pro-tem Dan Presson presided in her absence.

The appointment is for a one-year term; Guard has served five terms previously for the organization

SE MO REDI recently "redeveloped" from its previous iteration Cape Girardeau Area Magnet. The organization provided a B Magazine article — a publication from rustmedia, an agency of Rust Communications, parent company to the Southeast Missourian — in October detailing its new strategic plan.

The group said a consulting team hired to help with the rebrand said the old Magnet model would not have the capacity to carry out a comprehensive economic plan to address what the article characterized as "sluggish" economic growth from 1990 to 2020.

SE MO REDI said it would provide an update to the plans and investment needs in the next edition of the magazine, slated to be released this month.

The executive director post has lacked a permanent leader since John Mehner vacated the position in 2021. In the B Magazine article, the organization said plans to hire a director were postponed, focusing instead on hiring a consultant to help analyze the study of the local economy over the past 30 years.

For most of its history, SE MO REDI was entirely publicly led, founded and comprised of both city and county funds and leadership. In 2021, the organization decided to open the door for private businesses to be involved in the process.

The Board of Directors has seven slots and the City Council is responsible for filling two seats with its own members. Presson is in the midst of a partial term for the organization.

Under the most recent agreement approved by council members in 2020, the city contributes $66,978 per year to the organization. The contract expires in 2024.

The city periodically sends deposits to the organization's marketing fund. SE MO REDI received $50,000 — the maximum deposit amount — for marketing Dec. 9. The group has received more than $320,000 from the city since March 2020.

Guard was at the center of some controversy last December stemming from a proposed $50,000 deposit to the organization. Some council members said they were left in the dark about the proposed allocation by Guard. Ward 4's representative was in the midst of his term as chairman for then-Magnet's Board of Directors. He has served five terms on the board.

Councilwomen Shannon Truxel and Stacy Kinder said at the time that they were not approached by Guard about the possible allocation. Kinder said it wasn't illegal or immoral to not discuss matters with all council members, but that it lacked transparency.

"On the other hand, it does this city and its citizens a disservice when one, two or three members of our council are not informed or included in funding projects," Truxel wrote in an email to the Southeast Missourian last year. "What does that mean exactly? It means that Council has failed to communicate with each other."

Guard defended his action saying he talked to enough council members to secure the four votes needed to approve the allocation.

"I live by the City Charter," Guard said at the 2021 meeting. "I think there are side discussions, and I've heard about side discussions I haven't been included in, and that's fine. Were decisions made? No. Were votes asked for? Absolutely not."

The Monday reappointment of Guard was absent of controversy, however. Truxel made the motion to approve the appointment after which she and Guard shared a laugh before Guard jokingly said he opposed the appointment. The official record still showed the vote was unanimous in his favor.