PETITION TO ANNEX RECEIVED; TWIN LAKES SEEKS BOUNDARY CHANGE

At least 75 percent of property owners at Twin Lakes subdivision, west of Cape Girardeau, have asked the city to annex the 155-acre tract.

Ray Miller, president of the Twin Lake Homeowners Association, said Monday night that residents of the subdivision requested the annexation to assure adequate water and sewer service and police and fire protection.

The Cape Girardeau City Council later this month will initiate the annexation process, which could add more than 200 people to the city's population. Twin Lakes is situated just to the west of Interstate 55, along Hopper Road.

"There's no reason the interstate ought to be a barrier to the expansion of Cape Girardeau to the west," said Miller from his home Monday night. "If you look at Cape Girardeau, there are just a number of beautiful lots and potential development to the west.

"They can't expand to the east, and the north and south are pretty well saturated with development. I think this would really be a mutually advantageous thing for the city and us."

Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink said at Monday's city council meeting that 75 of the 99 Twin Lakes property owners have signed a petition requesting the annexation.

He said the action would fit in well with the city's future development plans.

"It would be a substantial investment to provide water and sewers to the area, but I think it would be a very positive development for the city," Stoverink said.

The city's major streets plan includes future routes to connect commercial property, recently annexed west of I-55 along Gordonville Road, with Hopper Road to the north. Property west of I-55 along Bloomfield Road, south of Gordonville Road, also was annexed recently.

Miller said most of the residents of Twin Lakes see annexation as a solution to potential water and sewer problems in the future.

"Each one of us has a septic tank, and in this subdivision I think there are 12 wells," he said. "One of our major concerns is for the future of a good water system as well as a good system to handle our sewage."

Miller said that although the subdivision has adequate utilities now, residents of the area are looking to the future.

"Looking down the road, we can see that we would be better off being in a good community that can deal with those particular problems, as well as provide police and fire protection," he said. "We're served now by the Gordonville Fire Department, and that's a very good volunteer department, but they're a long way away from us."

Miller said that when the property owners met Sept. 16, 82 percent of those in attendance favored the annexation. Subsequently, owners of 112 of the 155 acres signed a petition in favor of the action.

"However, that does not mean owners of 43 acres were against it," Miller explained. "A good many of those we were unable to reach."

If the annexation measure is approved, the city must guarantee that it will provide essential services to the subdivision within three years. Stoverink said Monday he was confident the city could comply with the requirement.

To annex, the council must first hold a public hearing on the matter and, if there are no objections, move to annex the property.

The issue then would be submitted to circuit court for a judgment declaring the action "proper." If the court authorizes the annexation, a vote would be held in both the city and the area to be annexed.

If a simple majority of voters in both areas favor the measure, the annexation would be approved. However, if it fails in the area to be annexed, a second vote would be held in which all votes are combined. The annexation would then require a two-thirds majority to pass.

In other business Monday, the council approved an ordinance to establish the position of special municipal judge an issue prompted by an increase in the number of cases in which Municipal Judge Edward Calvin has been disqualified.

The action is intended to settle a disagreement over the assignment of disqualification cases, and to relieve the backlog that resulted when Presiding Circuit Judge A.J. Seier declined last fall to assign judges in the circuit to hear any more of the city cases.

The new ordinance includes a number of changes recommended by Calvin.

The new judge would be appointed by the city council, as the municipal judge is, but the special judge's term would be two years as compared to the regular judge's five-year term.

The special judge would hold the same qualifications for office as the municipal judge, who would have administrative authority over the special judge.

The new judge would be allowed to practice law or have other employment but won't be able to hold other city office.

In cases where the special municipal judge is disqualified, the municipal judge would ask the presiding judge of the circuit court to assign a judge to the case, or would ask the presiding judge to request the Missouri Supreme Court to assign a judge.

The council also heard a report from Police Chief Howard Boyd on efforts to curb the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors. Boyd said the department has sent letters to retailers informing them of new laws restricting tobacco sales.

"It's my goal to educate and not to go out and catch somebody that's not aware of the new law," he said.