Challenges loom for Jay Knudtson's successor as Cape mayor

When Cape Girardeau selects its 44th person to serve as mayor in April, he or she will find a city doing better financially than many in the region but with pressing issues requiring action over the four-year term.

So far, two candidates -- former councilman Matt Hopkins and two-time candidate Walter White -- have said they want the job and filed petitions with the 50 required signatures needed to be on the ballot. Two others who were considering the contest -- Ward 1 Councilman John Voss and businesswoman Kathy Swan -- have decided not to run.

Voss will instead seek re-election to his council seat. Swan is considering a run for the Ward 6 seat.

Filing for city offices opened Oct. 20 and closes Nov. 17. If more than two candidates file for any position, a primary election will be held Feb. 2 with the mayor being selected April 6 from the top two vote-getters.

Mayor Jay Knudtson is barred by the city charter from seeking a third term. The charter term limits will also oust Ward 6 Councilwoman Marcia Ritter and Ward 2 Councilman Charlie Herbst. In separate interviews, Knudtson and his immediate predecessor, Al Spradling III, agreed on some of the big issues that will face the incoming mayor and council, such as finding a site for a new wastewater treatment plant, and each had individual items they thought were going to come forward.

Under Cape Girardeau's charter, the mayor presides at council meetings with a vote on all issues. Day-to-day operations are in the hands of city manager Scott Meyer, with the council setting policy.

Along with wastewater treatment, Knudtson and Spradling said major agenda items for the next mayor include implementing the city Comprehensive Plan and DREAM Initiative Master Plan. The next round of street funding, up for a likely vote in August, includes money to rebuild sidewalks along Broadway. A major DREAM Initiative goal is to beautify Broadway.

"Broadway is a terrible eyesore right now," Spradling said. "And it has been brought to the forefront the more so with the university cleaning up from Pacific to the west."

Some buildings will have to be torn down, he said.

Zoning and annexation issues will continue to be at the forefront, Spradling said.

The city has annexed more land since 2000 than in the previous three decades and now is looking to extend its rules governing land use beyond its current boundaries. With what is known as peripheral zoning, the city can, with county commission permission, regulate land use for two miles beyond its borders.

Neither candidate disagreed with the two mayors' concerns, but White said the most pressing thing for the city to do is attract jobs. White, 52, is a real estate investor and owner of the Ole Country Store, 1007 S. Sprigg St. Along with two bids for mayor, White has run unsuccessfully for school board and Cape Girardeau County Commission.

"We have got the railroad, the airport and the river," White said. "We are the largest city between here and Memphis and we need to count on that to bring industries here."

Hopkins, meanwhile, said he agreed with Knudtson and Spradling's assessment of where some major concerns lie and said his response to White is that the city has focused major resources on attracting jobs. He noted the establishment of a NARS call center and the hundreds of jobs it provides as one example.

"Everybody has the same struggles as Cape Girardeau to keep and maintain jobs," Hopkins said. "From my personal involvement there are a lot of people working every day to make that happen in the Cape Girardeau area."

Solving the wastewater issue will likely require asking city voters for a bond issue and probably a rate increase to pay for the improvements. The current wastewater treatment plant must either go through upgrades or a new one constructed to meet modern pollution standards. The sinkhole problem along South Sprigg Street makes that area unsuitable for a new treatment plant, Knudtson said.

"That issue has been evolving really and truly for the last six years, and it became exacerbated with the whole sinkhole issue," Knudtson said.

While it doesn't have the appeal of new parks facilities -- approved by voters in April 2008 -- or the high visibility of police and fire protection -- also supported by a tax approved by voters during Knudtson's tenure -- a sewer issue can be sold to voters, Hopkins said.

"If it is something imposed on us, we have to do it," he said.

Everything the city needs money for will be made easier if jobs are the focus, White said. Additional jobs will mean additional tax revenue, he said.

White said he is also calling on city hall to turn its attention to residential areas south of Highway 74. If something should be beautified, he said, it should be the pedestrian bridge over that highway.

Despite anemic tax revenue, the city has avoided significant job cuts that other local governments elsewhere have made in the recession. Hopkins said one of his priorities if elected would be to maintain staffing levels.

"It is going to be a balancing act over the next several years to deliver the services the citizens want and meet the needs of the employees who want job security," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO