City manager: Improvements program should lead to more planning

A proposed $221.1 million capital improvements program for Cape Girardeau should culminate in master plans being developed for area's such as facilities, the vehicle fleet and information technology, city manager Scott Meyer said Tuesday.

Additionally, he said, a strategic funding plan should be developed to pay for some of the program's projects -- and additional taxes shouldn't be the only source considered.

"Taxes are not the only solution out there," Meyer told the Cape Girardeau City Council during a special study session Tuesday to review the program.

Maybe, Meyer said, the list of about 180 or so funded and unfunded projects can be reduced. Operational savings should be looked at as well that could free up additional money to help pay for some of the projects.

For example, a fleet master plan would consider whether every vehicle is essential, Meyer said.

"Do we need every single piece?" he asked. "The more you can take off the books, the less you have to capitalize."

A new information technology director is also talking to department heads about their needs as it relates to computers, printers and phones, Meyer said.

"But we're not just looking at what we can buy," he said. "We also have to consider what it takes to sustain these purchases. That's just good planning."

The council got revised packets that shifted some of the figures around from the draft that was released to the media last week. The five-year plan -- compiled by the city's staff -- includes $140 million in funded projects, including the $66 million wastewater treatment plant, the $3.8 million Broadway corridor, the next phase of Veterans Memorial Drive and a lengthy list of others.

But the program also includes a list of $80 million in unfunded projects that are considered immediate needs and another $20 million in long-term needs.

Council members discussed the proposal for about 30 minutes following a staff presentation at the Osage Centre.

Council member John Voss, for example, wanted to know more about how the priorities were established -- a point he said he first made two or three years ago.

Comparing it to a previous Transportation Trust Fund list, Voss said "it appeared in a vacuum to the council."

The list was made with input from department heads, but Voss said he'd like to know the staff's logic and why some projects were listed above others. Voss and others agreed that they'd like to see support documents in the future that explain why certain projects were on the list and why others perennially appear each year and never get funded.

A separate discussion centered on whether a list of projects should be revisited that were to be paid for with $1 million of the money Isle of Capri paid for the 11 acres of city-owned property. Before voters approved a casino, council members allocated $400,000 to bolster city reserves and for seven other projects, including a community garden, parking renovation at the River Heritage Museum, recreational trail lighting, sidewalks for Kingsway Drive and a dog park.

But the council used the money instead toward paying off bonds on the former Commander facility at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

The city has been setting aside money it had been paying on the bonds, about $200,000 annually, to replenish that fund to get these projects done.

But several council members said they would be reluctant to change the plan or to choose to spend that money on other projects.

"We made those promises to the voters," council member Mark Lanzotti said. "I would be reluctant to move off those promises."

Meyer pointed out that the projects were still in the capital improvements program.

The charter mandates that the council hold a public hearing and adopt the program before April 1.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO