MORATORIUM SET ON COUNTY ADDRESS CHANGES

JACKSON - After Aug. 13, there will be a six-month moratorium on requests to change street names as part of Cape Girardeau County's move toward implementation of a 911 emergency telephone service.

The move was requested by postal officials to give carriers time to get up to date on where all streets are located.

Under the move to 911, the old route and box numbers around the county are being changed to city style street names and addresses. As part of that process, roads that were previously unnamed are now being named.

Mike Niemeier, who is overseeing the addressing program for the 911 committee, said there have been several dozen requests to change street names and he is in the process of trying to get them handled and into the computer.

Under the addressing plan, county roads that are already numbered and state routes will be used as the street name; each residence will have an address number assigned to it. But on roads that have two or more residences that have been unnamed before, names are being assigned according to topic.

For example, roads that need to be named in the section of the county where roads are numbered in the 100s are Indian related names; in the 200s, roads are named after Missouri Wildlife; in the 300s, streets are named after rocks, minerals and gem stones; in the 400s, streets are named for trees; and in the 500 numbered area, roads are named for flowers.

Under a plan drafted by the 911 committee, residents along a road must unanimously petition for a change in name from what was assigned them. Whenever possible, the new name must be chosen from the appropriate topic list for that area of the county.

"We have had some street name requests and are trying to get those done before the deadline," explained Niemeier. "For six months we will not be able to change them, but, if at the end of six months after the deadline, people still want to petition a change, we can consider it."

Presiding Commissioner Gene Huckstep said he understands the desire of the post office to bring the changes to a halt for a while. "It makes sense that they need a moratorium on people wanting to change names - otherwise it will be bedlam. I doubt we will make any more changes after the six months unless absolutely necessary."

Another issue the county commission resolved with postal officials was what city name should be used for people living on what is now Cape Girardeau Route 3. Some residents have referred to their address as Gordonville Route 3.

Under an agreement, people living in and east of the Hillcrest Subdivision will use Cape Girardeau as their city name, while people west of the subdivision will use Gordonville.

Huckstep said a delegation from the Gordonville area approached the commission with concerns about changing their town name to Cape Girardeau; however, others closer to Cape Girardeau did not want to have a Gordonville address.

Niemeier said he is starting to get caught up on address confirmation cards and making corrections from the initial mailing of new addresses. Overall, he feels things have gone well and people have been cooperative.

Said Niemeier: "We have had very few people who have been mad. Most of the calls have been from people with questions about the change and how to post their address. Overall, everyone has been pretty cooperative about this."

Huckstep said he is pleased with the work done by the 911 committee, its staff and consultants. "I think the committee is functioning real well. To my knowledge, we have not overruled them on any of their recommendations. They have done their homework on this," he said.

In some counties, Huckstep said the 911 transition has not gone well and the process has had to be started over. But that has not been the case here and he is optimistic that by the first of November, the system will be operational as planned.

Voters in November of 1991 approved a 14.9 percent surcharge on their base telephone rate to pay for the system. During the campaign it was promised that after two years, the charge would be reduced to provide just enough funds for maintenance of the system.

"We feel like we can at least shave that charge in half by the first of the year," said Huckstep.