CITY COUNCIL IN RETREAT TODAY

Cape Girardeau City Council members will be at Black Forest for 10 hours today, participating in a marathon update session about city affairs.

The retreat is an annual event but with a new twist this year. Instead of two days of introductions to city departments and staff members, one long day of progress reports is planned.

Mayor Al Spradling and City Manager Mike Miller suggested a change in the format after Councilmen Melvin Gateley, Melvin Kasten and Jack Rickard were re-elected earlier this month.

"In the past, we used the retreat as kind of a `welcome to the city, this is how it works session,'" Spradling said. "Everybody has been together, and we don't need to acquaint people with what is going on. Instead, we'll be hitting some major areas coming up in the next year or so."

Those areas will include expansion of the city's water system, airport marketing and the budget, always a hot topic, Spradling said.

City solid-waste requirements will be discussed, too. According to state law, waste must be reduced by 40 percent by 1998, and the council must decide when to stop allowing residents three containers of waste a week and cut back to two.

The day-long retreat will allow all the time needed to answer questions about and develop ideas for different city departments, although no official votes may be taken.

"I think retreats have been very valuable for us," Spradling said. "This year especially, it's a more intensive, issue-oriented meeting."

CAPE GIRARDEAU CITY COUNCIL RETREAT

Friday, April 19, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Black Forest Village

Presentation Agenda

-- Moon Survival Test, by Mike Miller

-- Airport Enplanements and Marketing, by Greg Chenoweth

-- Plant Expansion, Water System and Enterprise Fund, by Doug Leslie, Tom Taggart, John Richbourg, Mark Lester and staff from Burns and McDonnell

-- 1996-97 Operating Budget, by John Richbourg

-- Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Tax, by Mary Miller

-- Status of Major Projects, by Doug Leslie, Mark Lester and Kent Bratton

-- Solid Waste Volume Based Pricing, by Doug Leslie, Steve Cook, Pam Sander and John Richbourg

-- City Manager's Overview, by Mike Miller

-- City Council open discussion