CAPE GIRARDEAU, JACKSON COUNCILS WILL HOLD JOINT MEETING

Three years after the mayors announced their desire to increase cooperation between the cities of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, the governing bodies are discussing ways of making their communities more compatible.

Stormwater management, annexation, planning and zoning, and handling emergencies are areas the cities are concentrating on at this point "so everybody's on the same wave length," Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III says.

The third annual joint meeting of the Jackson Board of Aldermen and the Cape Girardeau City Council will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Osage Community Center. Members of the Cape Girardeau County Commission, whose presiding commissioner Gerald Jones encouraged the mayors' alliance, have been invited to the meeting.

Stormwater management is the new item on the agenda. Jackson and the county both are developing ordinances to regulate stormwater management and want theirs and Cape Girardeau's to be in synch. Cape Girardeau already has a stormwater management ordinance in place.

"Hopefully, the ordinances will be close for all the cities and the county so developers will have a uniform standard," Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said. But, he cautioned, "It's a very debatable issue. It's very debatable on who's causing the problems going on."

Two of the recommendations of the Hubble Creek Watershed Improvement Plan are for the county and the city of Jackson to develop runoff control and stormwater detention ordinances for new development to help stabilize the stream system, which has become heavily eroded. Jackson already has an ordinance controlling erosion.

Beginning with the first joint meeting, the two cities have been talking about creating a physical link between their water supplies to be used in case of an emergency. An independent engineering company recently studied the concept and has pronounced it feasible, Spradling said. Information about costs and options is being developed.

Nothing new is going on with annexation, but Sander says knowing where each city expects to grow is a subject of long-term interest to both.

"If the cities continue to meet it will insure there are no surprises."

County Planning Commission Chairman John Dudley will make a presentation at the meeting on behalf of the Cape Girardeau County Commission's intention to put planning and zoning on the November ballot. Spradling said he expects the Cape Girardeau City Council will pass a resolution in favor of planning and zoning Monday.

"We are very much in favor of countywide planning and zoning. It affects us, especially when we go into annexation areas. We've got to make sure the property we're annexing is compatible with what's adjacent in the city."

Sander said the Jackson board probably will take a formal position on the issue at a later meeting.

He thinks cooperation between the cities and with the county can be most effective in promoting mutual transportation goals. He maintains that Southeast Missouri hasn't gotten its share of state transportation funds for improvements. "The only way we will will be for the county and the cities to lobby together," he said. "We have been very together on that. Even though we haven't seen immediate improvements, we have the state's attention."

Spradling said cooperation doesn't mean the cities are less competitive. "We are becoming less antagonistic. But we're both looking for people moving to our community.Jackson's got a lot of pride."