Public administrator candidate filing to open in May

At the Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting Monday, April 22, County Clerk Kara Clark Summers announced candidate filing for the public administrator position will reopen following the April 13 death of Public Administrator Lisa Reitzel.

The filing period will reopen from 8 a.m. Monday, May 13, to 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 17.

Candidates for nomination will be on the ballot for the Tuesday, Aug. 6, primary election.

Interested individuals should file at the Office of the Cape Girardeau County Clerk, County Administration Building, 1 Barton Square, Suite 301, in Jackson between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Those who file May 13 will select a number by random drawing to determine their ballot placement. After the first day, candidates will be listed in order of their filing.

Candidates will be asked to show proof of identification and submit a $100 filing fee payable to the County Central Committee of their political party.

They will also need to provide a signed affidavit from a surety company authorized to do business in Missouri indicating they meet the bond requirements of the Office of Public Administrator.

Summers swore Laura Cassatt in as interim public administrator to serve until a full time public administrator is elected and takes office. She had been working with Reitzel for the last six months.

Prior to her death, Reitzel had served as the county’s public administrator since 2013.

During the commission meeting, County Commissioners Clint Tracy, Charlie Herbst and Paul Koeper approved county orders to fly flags at half staff in honor of Reitzel and former county assessor Jerry Reynolds, who died Friday, April 19, at the age of 86.

Dispatchers Laurie Starkey-Cobb, second from left, and Johnna Bollinger, center, are recognized with the rest of their telecommunications team by the Cape Girardeau County Commission for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The week ran April 14 to 20.Christopher Borro ~ cborro@semissourian.com

Honoring telecommunication workers

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To celebrate National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week from April 14 to 20, the commissioners presented a proclamation to dispatchers Johnna Bollinger and Laurie Starkey-Cobb honoring the work they and their fellow telecommunications staff do to keep the public safe during emergency services calls.

Other business

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The county commissioners approved a pay request from Sides Construction of Jackson for work on the Cape Girardeau County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Cape Girardeau. The request was for $399,950 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

They also approved a quote from Todt Roofing of Cape Girardeau for $4,300 to install roofing over a gasoline facility at the EOC. This also used ARPA funding.

The commissioners additionally approved capital funding for Culligan Water of Cape Girardeau to install a water softener at the EOC and for Sides Construction to hook it up. These cost $5,411.20 and $2,704, respectively.