CITY GETS READY FOR PROJECT IMPACT

Cape Girardeau city officials already have a list of projects that could be paid for through a federal initiative to help communities prepare for disasters.

The city, designated the first Disaster Resistant Community in the state, has been invited to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Project Impact, which could make Cape Girardeau eligible for up to $500,000 in federal funding.

"It's very nice nationwide recognition," said Mayor Al Spradling III. "It also recognizes the accomplishments that we have made to date and that we are presently involved in. Going forward, it also allows us to tap into some funding sources to do some more work that we would like to do."

Among those projects are providing seismic protection for the city's water storage tanks and installation of emergency runway generators at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

The airport would be a staging area in the event of a natural disaster, Spradling said, and if electricity goes out, runway lighting will be needed to get rescue workers, supplies and equipment in and out during nighttime operations.

Funds could also be used for educational efforts, said planning coordinator Ken Eftink, "or just any project that would help minimize the number of casualties and the number of injuries and to reduce the loss of business to the area."

Participation in Project Impact will require the City Council to approve a memorandum of agreement, and the city will have to provide a 25 percent match of any funds awarded.

The city has been involved in several projects to lessen the impact of flood and other natural disasters. The projects:

-- Emergency generators at the city water plant.

-- Improvements to prevent flood damage at the city's water treatment and wastewater treatment plants and to industries in the Smelterville area.

-- The Cape La Croix Creek-Walker Branch flood-control project in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers.

-- The $2.5 million flood buyout program and demolition of 30 flood-damaged homes after the 1993 flood.

-- The combined sewer overflow project to separate sewer and stormwater lines in the older parts of the city.

-- City building codes and seismic standards.

-- A resolution and establishment of a communitywide steering committee to involve residents and business owners in disaster prevention efforts.

Cape Girardeau is one of the first communities in the nation to participate in Project Impact, which was established in 1997.

Pilot communities are Allegany County, Md.; Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Oakland, Calif.; Pascagoula, Miss.; Seattle, Wash.; Tucker and Randolph counties, W.Va.; and Wilmington/New Hanover County, N.C.