JACKSON ALDERMEN FEND OFF LIBRARY CRISIS

JACKSON -- Reasoning that a small city library is better than none at all, the Jackson Board of Aldermen voted Monday to let the facility move with city offices to the new City Hall.

After a tax issue failed for a new, state-of-the-art library building, which would have housed both Jackson Public and Riverside Regional Libraries, Mayor Paul Sander and other officials hinted that closing the public library was a possibility.

Closure especially was an option because city offices will move to the old Boatmen's Bank building on the courthouse square later this month, leaving the library behind. The old building will be sold at a public auction at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5.

At first, it didn't look like the new City Hall was a good place for the library due to its architecture. Later, officials decided they could fit a library the same size as the current one on the first two floors of the building's west wing.

"This is Plan B," Sander said. "We are not trying to make it seem like this is a number one library, but we felt this was a better option than closing it. And this can be done with the current tax base and no load limit renovation."

Jackson's public library has been plagued with financial and space constraints due to a state law passed in 1965. The law, passed to encourage the growth of regional library systems, says the city limits of any city in 1965 would define the library district, no matter how much the city grows.

As the demand on the public library increased, the tax base didn't, leaving Jackson Public Library scrambling for cash to buy necessary equipment.

At the new location, library books will be on the first floor and reading space on the second floor, Sander said.

All city offices except the city collector's office will be closed Dec. 29 to move to the new City Hall. Every office, including the city collector's, will reopen at the new facility on Jan. 2, and the library will move there sometime in April.

In other action Monday, aldermen conducted a public hearing about rezoning the Mike and Joyce Baker property on the corner of West Jackson Boulevard and Donna Drive. The Bakers want it rezoned from residential to commercial.

They contend that the city rezoned all the lots along West Jackson Boulevard when it was made a four-lane highway. A branch of Boatmen's Bank is only a few feet from their back door and Wal-Mart is just across the street, making it impossible for them to sell their home as residential property, Mike Baker said.

Homeowners on Donna Drive packed the boardroom for the hearing and four spoke against rezoning. They said they were concerned about a commercial business or restaurant moving onto the lot, increasing traffic in the neighborhood.

"When Joyce bought her lot, she knew she was on a highway," homeowner Jim Johannes said. "She knew the restrictions."

Aldermen will decide the issue at their Dec. 18 meeting. It will take a two-thirds vote for the rezoning to pass.

Jackson Board of Aldermen

Monday, Dec. 4

A. Conducted a public hearing to consider a special use permit for 661 W. Independence St. to be used for a day-care center in a general commercial district.

B. Conducted a public hearing on a rezoning request for 977 Donna Dr. to be changed from residential to commercial property.

C. Authorized all city offices located at 225 S. High St. to close on Friday, Dec. 29, so these offices can move to the new Jackson City Hall.

D. Authorized the movement of Jackson Public Library to the two lower floors of the new City Hall West Annex.

E. Authorized the sale of the old City Hall at a public auction at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5.

F. Called for a general election to fill the offices of aldermen on April 2, 1996.

G. Reappointed Carl Talley to serve as city representative on the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association Board of Directors.

H. Set a public hearing for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 to consider the proposed 1996 budget.

I. Accepted the audit report for the year ended Dec. 31, 1994, prepared by the Hendrix CPA firm.

J. Appointed Lt. Steve Compas as city representative to the Cape Girardeau County 911 Committee.

K. Approved a special use permit for Ron Cook for the operation of a retail food establishment at 1931 West Jackson Blvd.

L. Prohibited parking on the east side of Colorado Street between Monroe Street and West Jackson Boulevard.

M. Authorized additional expenditure of $2,672.80 for the 1995 asphalt street improvement plan.