CITY COALITION WILL TALK GOALS AT PUBLIC MEETING

The mew Cape Girardeau Community Pride Coalition, which includes representatives from 19 organizations, will hold a public meeting to discuss goals and objectives of the coalition.

Members of the coalition, which was formed this year, have been meeting monthly to discuss a number of items.

Appearing at the public meeting, to be held at the Show Me Center at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20, will be Mayor Al Spradling III; City Manager Mike Miller; Police Chief Rick Hetzel; Chamber of Commerce President John Mehner; Charles Kupchella, a member of the Downtown Neighborhood Association; and Ted Coalter, president of Haarig Area Development Corp.

Among items to be discussed will be exits off the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, location of a new federal building, the Main Street program, nomination of the downtown business district for historic recognition, and expansion and improvement of Riverfront Park.

The meeting is being sponsored by the Downtown Merchants Association. Other groups involved in the coalition include the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission, the Community Caring Council, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The meeting will give coalition members and others an opportunity to learn goals and objectives of the coalition.

Spradling will provide a state-of-the-city assessment and discuss the importance of civic pride in Cape Girardeau. Miller will provide a summary of key revitalization projects.

Hetzel will discuss law enforcement and community issues, and Mehner will discuss Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus proposal's potential impact on the city. Much of the meeting will focus on the university's plan to transform the old St. Vincent's Seminary into a river campus.

The purpose of the new organization is to benefit the entire city, said Judith Lang, who was president of the Downtown Merchants when the coalition was formed. Lang is still a member of the coalition.

The coalition's goals include crime reduction, beautification, increased tourism and economic development, historic preservation and neighborhood development.

Objectives of the coalition include:

-- Support of measures to prevent crime, including support of Crime Stoppers, Neighborhood Watch and community policing.

-- Support of programs to beautify, including a program for the identification of property eyesores, establishing neighborhood help programs, and support the reuse or elimination of old St. Francis Hospital and the Marquette Hotel.

-- Develop a Main Street program, recruit business for the downtown area, and support the establishment of a business incubator program.

-- Preserve historic heritage, including the establishment of a history district in Cape Girardeau, and enhance access to the river. Support and promote old Civil War forts C and D.

-- Find sources of support for rehabilitation of run-down properties, and promote youth activity programs in neighborhoods throughout the city.

COALITION MEMBERS

Organizations that make up the Cape Girardeau Community Pride Coalition:

-- Cape Girardeau City Council.

-- Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission.

-- Cape Girardeau Police Department.

-- Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

-- Community Caring Council.

-- Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

-- Downtown Development Corp.

-- Downtown Merchants Association.

-- Downtown Neighborhood Association.

-- Haarig Area Development Corp.

-- Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau.

-- The National Association for Advancement of Colored People.

-- Regional Commerce and Growth Association.

-- Southeast Missouri State University

-- Southside Neighborhood Investment Group.

-- Safe House for Women Inc.

-- Vision 2000.

-- Walt Wildman, consultant.