DANGEROUS BUILDINGS: COUNCIL CONSIDERS LEVY FOR DEMOLITION COSTS

The Cape Girardeau City Council tonight will consider a measure that would allow the city to charge property owners for demolition costs of dilapidated and dangerous buildings.

The council also will revisit a much-maligned and often-amended construction trades licensing law.

The council Sept. 16 asked the city staff to prepare an amendment to the city's dangerous property law and research whether civil action can be taken against such properties' owners.

The council action came after discussion of the condition of the former St. Francis Hospital building at Good Hope and Pacific.

At the Sept. 16 council meeting, Councilman Al Spradling III said that by taking steps to secure the former hospital building, the city is now liable for maintaining the vacant structure's safety.

Other council members said they would rather incur the expense of condemning the poorly secured, often-vandalized building than risk perhaps a costlier lawsuit from someone injured at the site.

But in a letter to the council, City Attorney Warren Wells said the ordinance the council will consider tonight would allow the city to charge demolition costs directly to the property owner involved.

"In addition, staff is investigating the possibility of bringing other civil actions against the owner of the structure for injunctive relief for the purpose of protecting the public health and safety," Wells said.

City officials have said the old hospital site has been a security problem for years. The property's owner, Peter Kern of Denton, Texas, has refused to maintain the site, which prompted city officials to attempt to secure the building.

The trades licensing law the council will consider tonight is basically a scaled down version of earlier measures that were freely debated during the past several months.

The new law would be limited to requiring licenses for all contractors for a $35 annual fee and would include penalties against contractors caught operating without a license.

Also, the new ordinance has eliminated all reference to a repair and remodeling, or "handyman's" license. According to a council letter from Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink, "This seemed to be an unnecessary category since the electrician and construction contractor license can be obtained by anyone by merely registering."

Under the measure, contractors would be required upon registration to record whether or not they have insurance coverage, although there is no minimum insurance requirement.

"This provision will provide a means for the public to have information relative to whether licensed contractors are insured," Stoverink's letter said.

The city previously proposed a $5 licensing fee, but Stoverink said the $35 fee would allow the city to recoup some of the additional staff requirements of the simplified licensing procedures, which likely will encompass more contractors.

If the council approves the revised licensing ordinance, it would end five months of debate on the issue. At its last meeting Sept. 16, the council voted 5-2 to remand the measure to the city staff for further amendments. The proposed ordinance already has been altered no less than four times.

In other business, the council will consider acceptance of a general warranty deed for right of way from the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce for property it owns on North Main Street.

The deed would allow the city to complete a realignment project at the site of the old Florsheim shoe factory, which was demolished last year.

At the corner of Main and Mill, there now is an "S-curve" that city officials say is a traffic hazard. The realignment project would provide a gradual curve through the site of the former shoe factory.

The council also will consider:

A resolution supporting regulation and competition in cable television. At its last meeting Sept. 26, the Citizens Cable Television Committee recommended the council adopt a resolution calling for telephone competition in the cable TV industry, or for municipal regulation of cable television rates.

Approval of a lease agreement with WEB Aero Inc., an aircraft repair and refurbishing station that wants to rent a building at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. The business will occupy the building where Mid States Aeromotive operated previously.

The three-year lease, with a two-year extension option, would carry a monthly rental charge of $345.

20Authorization of an $80,118 contract with Apex Paving Co. of Sikeston for the 1991 street overlay program. Apex submitted the sole bid on the project, a bid that was slightly higher than the city engineer's estimate of $76,567 for the work.

Approval of a liquor license application by Merriwether Investments for the Casbah at 629 rear Good Hope Street. A split council voted against the application last month.