COUNCIL DELAYS ANY DECISION ON PUBLIC HOUSING

The Cape Girardeau City Council Wednesday tabled any action to appoint a public housing commission, despite prompting from members of a citizens advisory committee.

The committee, the Cape Girardeau Housing Task Force, in December recommended that the council appoint a committee to set up a public housing authority in the city.

But some city councilmen Wednesday said they would not appoint a housing commission without first submitting the issue to Cape Girardeau voters.

"We've had two instances in the past when the public rejected public housing," said Councilman David Limbaugh. "We would be unwise to appoint a committee without a vote of the people."

Councilman Mary Wulfers agreed with Limbaugh.

But Councilman Melvin Gateley said: "We definitely have a need for low-income housing. Everybody knows that."

Gateley asked whether the city could foster the development of low-income housing in the city without a public housing authority.

Councilman Al Spradling III said he's been working with Jay Knudtson, a loan officer at Boatmen's Bank and a Ward 6 council candidate, to develop a program that would provide financing to private developers of low-income housing.

"We're talking about pooling the money from several banks to make money available to developers who want to construct low-income housing in Cape," Spradling said.

He said the developers would be entitled to interest subsidies and possible tax breaks provided they rent to low-income tenants.

"Hopefully, we can do this and provide the needs through private ownership as opposed to public ownership," Spradling added.

But Mayor Gene Rhodes said he doubted whether private development would meet the housing needs in the city.

"Even if the banks get involved with this, it's a drop in the bucket in taking care of the need," Rhodes said.

He cited last year's flood, which destroyed dozens of low-income housing units, and the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department's new Mississippi River bridge route in Cape Girardeau, which has affected dozens more homes, as proof that housing is scarce.

Housing Task Force members agreed.

"If you don't think there's a need for low-income housing, I would invite any one of you to spend a day at the Salvation Army," said Capt. Elmer Trapp of the Salvation Army and a member of the task force.

Spradling said public housing could be built in conjunction with private development, but he and Wulfers said it's an issue the council shouldn't decide recklessly.

"Ultimately, this is a decision the people should make," said Wulfers.

Stephen Williams, Cape Girardeau's housing assistance coordinator, said that regardless of what action the council takes, it's not likely to meet all the city's low-income housing needs.

The Housing Task Force had identified a need for up to 150 "scattered-site, single housing units" for low- to moderate-income residents.

If the council decides to proceed with public housing, Mayor Gene Rhodes would appoint five commissioners to a Cape Girardeau Housing Authority Board. The commissioners must be taxpayers and residents in the city for the past five years.

But the city's role in public housing essentially ends once commissioners are appointed to the housing authority board, an issue that also prompted caution among council members.

"My concern is we don't know how it would manifest itself," said Limbaugh. "We lose control over that if we delegate it to a housing authority."