Council to hear urban deer count

Monday's meeting of the Cape Girardeau City Council will feature new information about three issues that have at times been fodder for much public debate.

Though no action is expected, reports will be heard about the following:

* Urban deer hunting

* A rental inspection program

* Revised regulations about underage drinking.

The council's regular session at 7 p.m. will feature the results of a whitetail deer survey conducted within the city limits by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Faculty and graduate students from Southeast Missouri State University analyzed data collected during the count, which took place through several conservation department outings this winter. A citywide ballot issue on urban deer hunting will come before voters April 2.

Mayor Harry Rediger has said the city's part in requesting the survey was to provide the public with an idea of the number of deer within city limits. Voters will decide whether to repeal an ordinance that allows bow hunting for deer within city limits with certain restrictions.

The conservation department said its findings will provide a deer-density estimate for the surveyed area, which was randomly selected.

The ordinance was passed in July but suspended in September when the council did not vote to repeal the ordinance after a group opposed to urban hunting gathered sufficient petition signatures from registered voters. The resulting referendum will be the first in the city's history.

City manager Scott Meyer on Friday said the survey presentation is scheduled for the regular session because the city anticipates much interest in the results.

During the council's 5 p.m. study session, members will hear from the Cape Girardeau Police Department about whether stepped-up enforcement of alcohol-consumption laws by the department and Southeast Missouri State University have helped curb reports of underage drinking.

A partnership formed between the city's and university's law enforcement agencies after a debate about whether the council should enact an ordinance to prevent underage drinking. The council voted down the ordinance 5-2 in November, and city officials said it would be revisited by the council if enforcement of laws on the books was not an effective deterrent.

The ordinance would have disallowed individuals younger than 21 from being in a restaurant or bar after 10 p.m. -- if the establishment has 35 percent or more of its annual gross sales generated by alcohol. A November survey conducted by the city found most people do not want a new ordinance.

During the study session council members will hear a compliance update from staff about the city's rental-inspection program. Meyer said it will include numbers that indicate how many landlords have signed up for the program, which was created by passage of an ordinance in October.

"As we get closer to the time when it goes into full effect, we just want to update [the council] on how many landlords have registered, and kind of what we are doing to manage," Meyer said.

The ordinance requires landlords to purchase annual licenses to rent property, and it mandates maintenance of properties. Maintenance is up to property managers or owners, depending upon who is designated as a responsible party when a license is issued, although some upkeep responsibilities also fall upon tenants. If a complaint is received, city staff will inspect a property and issue a notice for a violation or violations. Three or more violations may lead to the suspension of a landlord's license, resulting in the landlord being unable to rent any new units until repairs or corrections are made to the offending property.

Penalties may include a fine of $500 per day and up to three months in the city jail.

A registration deadline is set for April 15; if landlords do not register, they will be in violation of the ordinance.

The Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors warned before the ordinance passed, the program would give too much access to private property for inspectors and hold too many parties responsible for a violation, all while creating too much chance of liability being placed on its members, who may act as property managers or who may sell rental property.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO