License office to relocate to Town Plaza later this month

Cape Girardeau's license office will move from downtown next week; it will be closed for two days before opening in a new location in the Town Plaza.

Gina Raffety, managing officer of MCLB Management Co. LLC, which was recently awarded a five-year contract from the state to operate the license office, said the office will be closed Jan. 22 and 23 at the office at 112 S. Spanish St., and operations will resume the following Monday, Jan. 26, at 51 S. Plaza Way. The new location will be on the north side of the Town Plaza, close to Independence Street.

The office issues driver's licenses and motor vehicle registrations for the Missouri Department of Revenue.

Before Raffety's company was awarded the contract, the office was operated by the Southeast Missouri University Foundation, which did not seek another contract.

Under the contracts, the state gets a percentage of processing fees from local licensing offices, which are operated by independent agents but overseen by the revenue department.

The move to the Town Plaza, according to an email from Raffety to the Southeast Missourian, was prompted by a need the company saw for the office to be more centrally located in Cape Girardeau, and therefore more convenient for customers. The license office has been downtown for many years. It moved to Spanish Street from Main Street in 1994.

Raffety said the new office will have better accessibility, improved parking, additional work stations, an expanded waiting area, appointment and drop-off services and other amenities for customers, including complimentary coffee, a television, Wi-Fi access and a children's play area.

The office will keep its current staff, but more is being added to expedite service, according to Raffety, and the office will extend business hours to 5:30 p.m. The office is currently open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The company, according to Raffety, looked for ways to improve customer service.

"We brainstormed about how we could enhance the customer experience because lets face it," Raffety said in the email, "most everyone dreads going to the license office."

Linda Owens, who recently worked at the license office in Jackson, has more than 13 years of experience working in the setting, and is the area manager for the company. Owens will manage the new Cape Girardeau office.

The sole purpose of MCLB is to run license offices. The company also manages the license offices in Charleston, Farmington and Perryville, Missouri.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

112 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

51 S. Plaza Way, Cape Girardeau, Mo.