CAPE GIRARDEAU MOVING FORWARD, MAYOR TELLS LIONS CLUB

Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III has no trouble touting his city -- whether it is street and sewer improvements or commercial growth.

Spradling spoke of these things at Wednesday's noon meeting of the Lions Club at the Holiday Inn. Keith Tolliver was honored at the meeting for his 55 years of membership in Lions clubs.

Spradling said new businesses and industries have opened in Cape Girardeau over the past 10 months, including a number in the ever-growing commercial area west of Interstate 55 and south of Route K.

"You can see Cape Girardeau from an industrial and commercial standpoint is flourishing right now," he said.

There also has been residential growth.

Spradling said city council has approved plans for three more additions to the Northfield Subdivision. Other subdivisions on the city's north side also are expanding.

Spradling said the city plans to proceed with construction of the last phase of the Lexington project, as well as extend Sprigg Street to connect with Lexington.

"I'm looking forward to putting an end to Lexington," he said.

The Lexington extension should be done this year, while the Sprigg Street extension should be completed next year, opening up a whole new area for development, he said.

Spradling said the Lexington route will be particularly important in funneling traffic to and from the downtown area, once the riverboat casino opens here.

The city plans to spend $10 million on the first phase of sewer improvements, slated to get under way this year.

The project involves the separation of storm and sanitary sewers in the older parts of the city. Currently, those areas have a single sewer system. In heavy rains, raw sewage ends up flowing down the creek through Shawnee Park.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said streets will be torn up in many places during the sewer construction. "It is going to really inconvenience citizens, but that is part of growth," he said.

Spradling said the city is looking at expanding its water system in the next few years. The system, which can provide 7.5 million gallons of water daily, is nearing capacity.

The mayor hopes Cape Girardeau voters will approve a half-cent sales tax measure in August to fund street and bridge improvements.

Spradling said the tax would allow the city to proceed with needed street projects, such as reconstruction of a segment of Perryville Road.

It also would fund the paving of gravel roads in the southeast and northeast sections of the city where low-income property owners can't afford to pay special assessments.

"Around May Greene School, we still have some gravel roads," he said.