LICENSE LAW HITS A HURDLE; COUNCIL WAITS FOR FURTHER REFINEMENT

A construction trades licensing law again dominated discussion at Monday's Cape Girardeau City Council meeting.

The council took no action on the proposed law that would require licenses for virtually all construction trades contractors but discussed further refinement of the measure, which was tabled in May.

In other business Monday, the council approved final reading of a smoking ban in the city's grocery stores.

The council has discussed the licensing law at the last several meetings. Robert Komorech, a local contractor, asked the council Monday to further clarify the law before its final approval.

He questioned the extent the ordinance would impose regulations on property owners who do construction on their own buildings.

"I would like to know before we get into this what are some of the limits," Komorech said. "I would like to know where the rights of homeowners move to and where it stops."

Komorech said that although he favors licensing requirements for plumbers, pipe fitters, mechanical contractors and electricians, he opposes requirements for general construction contractors.

"We're trying to put everyone into one ball and not really looking at the ramifications," he added.

But council member David Barklage said that, in the interest of public safety, the city has to assure that all construction work complies with national codes.

He said the licensing requirement would allow the city to better regulate the construction industry to assure safety.

"You make some good points," Barklage said. "I think we're working very hard to find a balance. But we must err on the side of safety if we are to err at all."

Robin Tolbert, a project engineer with K & K Electric, also said she thought safety should be the council's overriding consideration.

Tolbert said she was an expert witness in a lawsuit where a child was killed at least partly because of improper electrical installation.

She said she reads every month in electrical journals of cases where people are killed because of improper wiring.

"There are so many people out there that really don't know what they're doing," Tolbert said. "If you don't have some type of licensing, how can you help those people get the necessary training."

Tolbert said contractor licensing is required in Poplar Bluff, Paducah, Ky., Nashville, Tenn., and Memphis, Tenn.

Komorech and Todd McBride, executive director of the Historical Association of Cape Girardeau, also asked that the licensing ordinance be clarified as to whether volunteer workers are exempt from the requirements.

McBride said the association relies heavily on volunteer labor for renovation work on historical structures in the city.

Komorech said groups like Habitat for Humanity, which builds and renovates housing for disadvantaged people, also rely heavily on volunteers.

Edna Patterson, who's affiliated with Habitat for Humanity, said the group has allowed 15 former renters in Cape Girardeau to become home owners. She said the licensing requirements would limit the group's activities because it relies on volunteers to do construction.

Patterson also said the group requires 350 hours of "sweat equity" from the future occupants of the homes.

Barklage asked that the city staff and the committee working on the ordinance exempt not-for-profit organizations from the regulations.

The council will consider the licensing issue at future meetings.

Final reading of the smoking ban ordinance was approved despite objections from Charles Woodford, who opposed the law's first reading last month.

"The purpose of a second and third reading (or an ordinance) is to allow for second and third thoughts," Woodford said.

Woodford referred to published comments by various grocery store managers in Cape Girardeau concerning the lack of serious problems with smokers in their stores.

"Where there is no problem, no solution is necessary," he said.

But the council voted 4-1, with one abstention, in favor of the ban. Council member David Limbaugh, who voted against the first reading of the law, didn't attend Monday's meeting. Hugh White abstained.

The council also passed a law to authorize the sale of city right-of-way along Gordonville Road. Involved in the transaction was a property owner whose home sale was contingent upon the deal.

The council agreed to sell 30 feet of city right-of-way to Joseph and Francis Goleniowski for $500. The right-of-way extends to within about five feet of the Goleniowski's home on Gordonville Road.

They said the house was sold to a Jefferson City buyer until the purchaser discovered the proximity of the right-of-way. The sale was then negated until the Goleniowskis could secure at least 30 feet of the right-of-way.

The city owns an 80 to 120-foot-wide stretch of property bordering Gordonville Road, because it was formerly a state route.

Dan Finch, an attorney representing the Goleniowskis, said the right-of-way isn't needed because the route now is primarily a residential street and the city has no plans to widen it.

But City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said that without a detailed survey of the area, the city staff couldn't recommend the transaction. He said the survey work would delay the issue until next month.

The council approved the transaction after adjourning into closed session to discuss the matter. After re-assembling, council member Al Spradling III moved that the right-of-way be sold and that the council give the measure emergency reading to enable the transaction to go into effect immediately.