Cape Girardeau County Commission to discuss holding budget meetings at night

When the Cape Girardeau County Commission discusses the 2010 budget it could do so in the evening hours.

During Monday's commission meeting, District 2 Commissioner Jay Purcell proposed placing on the Nov. 16 agenda the idea of holding meetings at night. Purcell, who has long advocated meetings during the evening hours, said the move would allow more constituents to attend the budget hearings.

"If a lot of citizens attend, we may go to permanent nighttime meetings," Purcell said. "If we get more citizen involvement and if it's an idea that makes county government more accessible, why wouldn't we want to do that?"

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones told Purcell he had no problem with placing the item on the agenda. Jones asked Purcell why Thursday wasn't a good day to discuss the item.

"I don't know why we have to wait another week to discuss it," Jones said.

Purcell said Thursday's meeting already had several items scheduled for discussion and that more time was needed to talk about the idea.

Earlier in the meeting Linda Garner asked the commissioners to consider help funding a future location for the Safe House For Women.

Normally, women in an abusive or dangerous relationship would stay about 30 days until they found employment and housing. But the stay at the Safe House, which remains anonymous because of safety concerns, has increased to as long as 90 days.

"That really puts a strain on us as far as capacity," Garner said. "Our beds are tied up for longer periods of time and we aren't able to accept any more women in our facility. At that point we have to either pay for a hotel room or send them to a nearby facility in Sikeston or Perryville."

Garner said that by 2010 she's hoping to secure enough funding to move into a facility that can house 35 to 40 clients. The current shelter has room for 22 women.

"Hopefully we'll see this come to fruition," Garner said. "But to find funding for bricks and mortar funding is difficult."

District 1 Commissioner Paul Koeper said the county has attempted to secure stimulus money for its juvenile detention center and roads but has been unsuccessful. Like the county's efforts, obtaining funding for the Safe House could prove to be a difficult task.

"You all do an excellent job," Koeper said. "It's like everything else.

"The timing might be good for the stimulus money, but we haven't been able to get our hands on it yet," he said. "It doesn't seem to hit this low on the totem poll."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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