PARKING ISSUE TO COUNCIL

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The City Council Wednesday will consider amending the city code to allow restricted parking along Kage Hills Drive.

The council in December approved a law that prohibited parking on the street, but 11 of the street's 16 residents protested the law and asked that parking be allowed on at least one side of the street.

At their Feb. 6 meeting, council members asked the city staff to draft a new law that would allow parking on one side of a portion of the street.

The new law would still prohibit parking on the north and west sides of the curved street from the Kage Hills Drive and Kage Road intersection to where the roads again intersect to the south.

Parking also will be prohibited on both sides of the crest of a hill on the street, starting at a point 882 feet north of the Kage Hills Drive-Kage Road intersection, around the curve to the east for an additional 132 feet.

Residents of the street said at the last council meeting that they wanted some curb-side parking to accommodate vehicles of visiting friends and relatives.

But Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd and Fire Chief Gene Hindman said the hill doesn't provide adequate site distance to assure the safe passage of vehicles on the narrow street.

Hindman and Boyd have been opposed to allowing any parking on the street, contending that there wouldn't be sufficient room for emergency and sanitation vehicles to maneuver on the street.

In other business, the council will conduct a public hearing on a measure to authorize the filing of an application to the state's Community Block Grant Development Program.

The program provides state funds for qualified low-income housing projects.

The city has proposed to replace some sewer lines, install some new sewer lines, and rehabilitate some housing units in the southeast part of the city. The area outlined in the application is bounded by Pacific Street to the east, West End Blvd. to the west, Jefferson Ave. to the north, and College Street to the south. The city will apply for an $800,000, two-year grant.

The council also will consider a resolution to authorize application for Missouri Department of Agriculture matching funds to help pay for completion of the final phases of the Arena Park lighting project.

The city last year completed two of the project's four phases, and hopes this year to again receive state funds to help pay for the electrical work.

The electrical work recently was completed, with the Southeast Missouri District Fair Association reimbursing the city for the cost of the work.

But the association again is eligible to receive financial assistance through the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Application for the funds must be made through a government entity, such as the City Council.

The association could receive $1,500 in funding. The money would be used to replace overhead utility wires with an underground electrical system.

In other business, the council will consider appointments to the Board of Adjustments, where Ivan Irvin's term will expire next month; and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, to replace Pat Newbern, who recently resigned from the board.

Also, Vision 2000 will present its annual report to the council, and the city's Small Business Development Center, which operates through the Office of Economic Development at Southeast Missouri State University, will present a report on its activities.

Last year, the council voted to give the center $5,000, with the understanding that the center would report on its operations at the end of the year.

Linda Cochran, director of the Office of Economic Development, is scheduled to provide the report Wednesday. She also will request another city donation to the center.

In related city business, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission will meet tonight to discuss the city's latest traffic counts. The counts were compiled last year by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.