CITY OKS MONEY FOR LOBBYING

The Cape Girardeau City Council voted to spend $5,000 to contract the services of Walt Wildman Monday as a lobbyist for the continuation of the I-66 Project. The contract would be for one year.

Wildman asked the council for a $10,000 donation at the last meeting.

When City Attorney Warren Wells cited a case in which a city in Missouri was indicted on criminal charges for allegedly violating a Constitution Article, however, Wildman amended his proposal in the form of a services contract for $10,000.

During the study session Mayor Al Spradling III questioned whether this would be money well spent.

"The last I heard the project wasn't going any further west than I-55," he said, adding that he would rather see someone lobby for money for the bridge to Illinois.

"We didn't get any money for that last year and that seems like a project we have to have completed," he said.

The city has never contracted anyone to lobby an issue on behalf of Cape Girardeau.

"I'm not saying it can't be done, but historically the city has never bought lobbyists," Spradling said.

Wildman said Congress is ready to renew interest in the I-66 Project and that the project would help spur more interest in funding the Missouri-Illinois bridge project.

"Key personnel from Illinois have told me that some people refer to the bridge as a bridge to nowhere," he said. "I-66 would work well with the bridge project."

City Councilman Richard Eggimann voted to spend money for the I-66 project to remain consistent with the action of past city councils.

"It was important in 1989 when the city council voted to give money for the project and it was important in 1991," he said during the study session. "I think it would be worth the money spent."

The city decided to contract with Wildman to avoid a problem that happened in Livingston County.

Over the years the Livingston County city government granted donations to various civic groups such as the YMCA, chamber of commerce and other groups. Recently the city government was indicted on criminal charges for allegedly violating Constitutional Article VI, Section 23, which prohibits local governments from using grants of public funds.

In an unrelated development, residents who live on Melody Lane arrived at Monday's regular session with a petition to have the same water and sewer services of the Lexington extension project.

"What we're really concerned about is not having enough water to put out a fire," spokesman Tom Wilcox said.

"We're getting a new 44-foot-wide street, but what we really need is water and sewer lines," he said. About 20 residents accompanied Wilcox to the meeting.

"If we were annexed to the city right now, we would get those services, but since we were annexed in 1956, it doesn't come automatically," he said.

Council members said they would look into the matter and expected to put it on the next agenda.

"You deserve what everyone else is getting," Spradling said. "But you must realize that we only took over the water and sewer system from Union Electric two years ago. We are trying to serve others just like you."

Council also passed a resolution changing the name of the airport to Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

The airport advisory board, at its Sept. 13 meeting, unanimously voted to recommend the change. The change is a marketing effort to show the airport is a regional transportation facility serving Southeast Missouri and Southwest Illinois.

The estimated cost of changing signs on the airport property and terminal is $2,400.

The airport board also recommended studying the possibility of installing a new highway sign on I-55 and to explore methods of funding the large sign. The matter is under evaluation by the city staff and will be presented at a later date.

Bob Bohansack, a member of the Housing Assistance Task Force, said after consulting with numerous housing authorities and private companies, public housing could be a way to serve the needs of low- to moderate-income families as well as the elderly.

Brenda Dohogne, in a written statement to council, said she is against public housing.

Dohogne said public housing would be permanent and not under the jurisdiction of the city council.

"Public housing also brings the threat of increased crime to the neighborhood where it is located," she wrote, adding that housing vouchers from the East Missouri Action Agency for qualified, low-income individuals and families would be a better alternative.

She also cited the block grant program and subsidized housing through HUD and the Community Sweat Equity Housing Corp. as alternatives to public housing.