Garrard named to Cape city engineer post

After 10 years working with the City of Cape Girardeau as a civil engineer, Jake Garrard was appointed city engineer in April.

The Missouri University of Science and Technology graduate and Charleston, Missouri, native Garrard joined the municipal government in 2012. With his appointment to city engineer, he takes the place of former engineer Amy Farris.

Garrard said his duties as a civil engineer involved project management and getting contractors for different projects.

"I was in charge of getting that project designed. I was in charge of getting a contractor ready to do the project. And then I've been overseeing the construction with the help of the rest of the engineering team and our inspectors making sure that the construction is moving along," Garrard said.

He said the difference with being city engineer is that he focuses on his team and other external details of a project.

The detention basin right beside the Capaha Park pond nears completion on Friday, July 7. The detention basin spans around 17,000 cubic feet and is supposed to store stormwater overflow from the Capaha Park pond.Nathan Gladden ~ ngladden@semissourian.com

The detention basin right beside the Capaha Park pond nears completion on Friday, July 7. The detention basin spans around 17,000 cubic feet and is supposed to store stormwater overflow from the Capaha Park pond.Nathan Gladden ~ ngladden@semissourian.com

"I get to focus on the budgets and everything else that goes along with it. So what I used to do was a more compact version of what I do now," Garrard said.

In his time as civil engineer, Garrard worked on projects such as the West End Boulevard improvement project, and he worked with the Parks and Recreation Department on upgrades to the Capaha baseball fields and the Capaha master plan.

Garrard said a project he worked on involved a detention basin for the Capaha Park pond. He said the new addition of the detention basin should ease flooding around the pond.

"Sometimes the pond will jump out of its boundaries. So to try and mitigate some of that water leaving Capaha Park, we're installing about 17,000 cubic feet of underground storage," Garrard said.

He said a large portion of the work on the basin is already done and the project should be finished "within the next month."

While Garrard described himself as in a transition phase from Civil to City engineer, a project he looks forward to working with the airport manager on the new airport terminal project.

"I will probably stay in that role of the engineering liaison down there to help keep that project moving along," Garrard said.

He said a favorite part of his job is being able to see the through completion.

"When you get to see that brand new completed project and you get to talk with the residents and the citizens that use and they enjoy what the city did. Especially if they weren't quite sure about it," Garrard said.

Garrard said that the City of Cape Girardeau staff also are "neighbors", too, and they also want to see the neighborhood in better shape.

"I'm Jake, that's your neighbor I live, you know, a couple blocks away. I live right across town, too. Let's make it better, right, so we can't fix it all immediately. We do have budgets that we have to stay in. But we hear you, and we're working on it," Garrard said.