GROUP SETS GOALS FOR IMPROVING CITY

Several organizations are working to clean up or revitalize different neighborhoods in Cape Girardeau.

But the Cape Girardeau Community Pride Coalition has set five basic goals to help those different organizations work together to make the city a better place to live.

Those goals include cutting crime, beautification, economic revitalization and historic preservation.

Work on forming the coalition began last winter when members of the Haarig Area Development Corp. and the Downtown Neighborhood Association began discussions on how to work together, said Dr. Charles Kupchella, one of the organizers of the coalition and provost at Southeast Missouri State University.

"It just occurred to us that there's so many things we share as goals, and everyone's working on part of something to try to accomplish those goals," Kupchella said.

The coalition "isn't really another organization so much, with minutes and officers and dues, but would be a place for these organizations that are in some way addressing the quality of life in Cape Girardeau, but each looking at some part of that issue," he said.

By outlining goals and specific steps to accomplish those goals, Kupchella said, the coalition can make sure organizations are "covering all the bases" in their efforts.

"The idea is by forming this coalition, we'll fill in all the gaps and kind of make sure that we're not leaving something undone that needs to be done as part of the big picture," he said.

If, for example, eliminating rundown property is a goal, then steps also would need to be taken to make sure there is adequate quality housing in the community, he said.

Several actions have been outlined to achieve those five goals, and each member group within the coalition will adopt four to six of those actions, Kupchella said.

Some of the actions are already under way, he added.

The group's objectives are "no-brainer goals," Kupchella said, including:

-- Ensuring Cape Girardeau has a crime rate "among the lowest" in the United States for mid-sized cities.

Actions under the goal of reducing crime in the city include supporting Crime Stoppers, developing Neighborhood Watch programs, promoting community policing efforts, cleaning up run-down neighborhoods and properties, supporting participation in the Weed and Seed program and promoting safety for senior citizens.

-- Taking steps to make the city "among the most beautiful" for mid-sized cities.

Actions include strengthening the city's BOCA property maintenance code, reusing or eliminating the old St. Francis Hospital and Marquette Hotel buildings, establishing a system to identify property eyesores, establishing a Neighborhood Help program, making HUD "enforce its own rules" on property maintenance, and creating an annual pride award for community improvement efforts.

-- Making downtown, historic Cape Girardeau "a lively center of tourism and commerce."

Actions include developing a Main Street program, recruiting business, reusing the St. Vincent Seminary property, recruiting a full-service grocery and supporting establishment of a business incubator program.

-- Making sure the city's historic heritage is "well-preserved and serves as a tourist attraction and as a source of pride for the region."

Actions include establishing a historic district, supporting the development of an historic preservation master plan, developing "easy and attractive access" from the new Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, designating the area as a tourist destination, enhancing river access and promoting Forts C and D and the city's Civil War heritage.

-- Making Cape Girardeau "a community of vital neighborhoods -- numerous vibrant communities within the greater community."

Actions include finding sources of support for neighborhood rehabilitation and promoting youth activity programs in neighborhoods throughout the city.

Tom Neumeyer, a city councilman and organizer of the coalition, said organizers want the coalition to be a citywide effort.

"There's some emphasis on the historic part of town, as far as the direction's concerned, but the members are from all parts of the community," he said. "We want to emphasize it's citywide. No one is excluded."

Members so far include people representing the Cape Girardeau City Council, Historic Preservation Commission and police department; the Community Caring Council, Downtown Neighborhood Association, Haarig Area Development Corp., Historical Association of Greater Cape Girardeau Inc., NAACP, Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the Southside Neighborhood Investment Group; and Walt Wildman, a consultant to the city.

More organizations and people are invited to join the group. For more information, call Neumeyer at 334-0449.

Not all of the members have chosen what actions they will undertake, Kupchella said, and the coalition is still "a work in progress."

For information

If you would like to help, call Cape Girardeau Community Pride Coalition at 334-0449.