City Council gets positive report on Cape street conditions

This story is updated.

Approximately 97% of Cape Girardeau's streets are either in good or fair condition, the City Council was told Monday.

City engineer Kelly Green and assistant Public Works director Casey Brunke told municipal lawmakers there are 226 miles of city-owned and maintained streets in Cape Girardeau, an estimated 33 million square feet of pavement.

"The distance in mileage is equivalent to driving to St. Louis and back," Green said.

Brunke, who is the city's former engineer, said about half of Cape Girardeau's streets are evaluated every year.

Mayor Bob Fox encouraged residents to contact the city through its website, cityofcape.org, to report a pothole or a road surface needing a patch.

Fox lauded the June 2 passage of TTF6 (Transportation Trust Fund 6), the latest renewal of the city's half-cent sales tax.

City residents again approved the initiative, which has been in place since 1995, by a 63.7% affirmative vote.

"Half of the money from (TTF6) will be going to street repair," Fox said.

Notes

• The new city budget will be presented to the council at its May 17 meeting with final passage anticipated June 1.
• The council gave its OK to an agreement with Reinhold Electric of St. Louis to install a fiber optic line at the new city hall, 44 N. Lorimier St., which remains under construction.

City offices are to move from their current location, 401 Independence St., no later than Oct. 1.

• The council heard a presentation from the city's Historic Preservation Commission by city planner Ryan Shrimplin and HPC chairwoman Brianna DeWitt.
• Tunes at Twilight, Old Town Cape's free downtown concert series, will be held for the first time this year May 14 in a new location.

Because of the building of the new City Hall, all of the 2021 events will be staged in River Campus Park, rather than its usual location of Ivers Square.

• Fox said he is hopeful the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band will be able to perform in the Dan Cotner Amphitheatre in Capaha Park for the start of its season June 2.

"There's been a lot of mud, and the weather conditions may possibly delay the concert or force its move to another venue," Fox said.