MEETING SET FOR AIRING CONTRACTOR COMPLAINTS

Area contractors, architects, developers, engineers, realtors and developers tonight will have the opportunity to air complaints they have concerning the city's building permit and inspection program.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Gene Rhodes called tonight's special City Council meeting.

Rhodes told members of the city staff and the council at the April 15 council meeting that he has received numerous complaints from building-trades representatives about the way the city's inspection division handles building permits and inspections.

Rhodes said the special council meeting would give the representatives the opportunity to voice their concerns without "fear of reprisals" from the inspection staff.

The city staff this week mailed letters to 226 area contractors, developers, engineers, architects, realtors and other interested parties inviting them to the meeting.

Members of the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission and Building Code Board of Appeals also were invited to the meeting.

In a letter to members of the two city boards, City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said inspection program complaints "have been of long-standing concern" to Rhodes.

"The mayor has continually referred to the impact these issues may have on the city, citing increased construction costs of 10 to 20 percent, static population and contractors who will no longer work in the city," Fischer's letter said.

The city manager said the city staff believes that "significant improvements" have been made in the inspections program during the past three years.

Fischer said that the city recorded its third consecutive year of construction that exceeded $25 million. He also said that, with the adoption of the 1990 Building Officials and Code Administrators codes, the city's inspections are as "up-to-date" as possible.

Fischer said that without specific complaints related to inspections and building permits, there's little the city can do to resolve possible concerns.

"We know that there is always room for improvement and we are very anxious to resolve specific problems when they arise," he said. "The mayor's comments in calling this meeting relate to very general concerns. We must have specific details of current problems in order to effectively resolve them."