Road panel approved, now needs members

~ The panel is a response to public scrutiny about Cape Girardeau County's road program.

Wanted: 11 Cape Girardeau County residents concerned about roads.

Applications are open for slots on the Cape Girardeau County Road and Bridge Advisory Board. The board, approved unanimously by the county commission Thursday, is a response to public scrutiny given to road building since commissioners placed a half-cent sales-tax issue on the Aug. 8 ballot.

After their meeting, commissioners said they believe that responsiveness and efforts to make their arguments for the tax are beginning to pay off.

The chances of passage or defeat at this time, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said, are about even.

"We are doing everything we can to get the message out to the citizens of Cape Girardeau County," Jones said. "If folks would read it through, they would see it is a beneficial thing."

Proposition 1 would increase the countywide sales tax by a half-cent, raising about $5.9 million in revenue the first year. If approved, county residents would no longer pay property taxes for roads and bridges. After that revenue is replaced, the county would have about $3.1 million left to split between road paving projects and law enforcement.

If approved, the sales-tax rate in the city of Cape Girardeau would rise to 7.475 percent. In Jackson, the rate would become 6.725 percent and for sales in other areas of the county, the rate would be 5.225 percent.

In the weeks immediately after commissioners voted to place the tax on the ballot, Jones said, the public was hostile to the tax. "We started out way behind."

Since then, commissioners have agreed that the tax would pay for paving a list of county road projects for the years 2007 through 2012, promised that some of the funds would be dedicated to dust control and promised they would establish the advisory board.

During Thursday's meeting, County Clerk Rodney Miller proposed a 10-member board chosen with one member from each of the townships in Cape Girardeau County. Commissioners added an 11th member, to be chosen at large, and made highway administrator Scott Bechtold a nonvoting member.

The discussion and vote on the advisory board was not part of the commission's posted agenda. "It was an honest mistake," Commissioner Jay Purcell said. "But we passed it and we are taking applications."

Members will serve three-year terms, staggered so commissioners appoint three or four members every year.

One of the first tasks for the board would be to develop a new policy for deciding which roads to pave. The county currently requires that all the landowners along a route provide easements for 30 feet on their side of the road's center line. The unwillingness of some landowners to agree has stymied efforts to pave several roads.

The first members will have a steep learning curve and could provide guidance for future roadwork if voters defeat Proposition 1, Miller said. "There needs to be a full day, at least, of orientation," he said. "And if the tax doesn't pass, what are you dealing with?"

Issues that must be addressed by the advisory board, regardless of whether the tax passes, include the criteria for selecting roads for paving, how much right of way the county needs and whether to use eminent domain to get it, Purcell said.

During the discussion, Commissioner Larry Bock said the advisory board needs clear direction that they will be making recommendations, not establishing rules. "Somewhere down here we need a sentence that final authority rests with commissioners," he said.

The commission wants applicants who are registered voters. Each applicant needs to submit a letter outlining why they wish to serve on the advisory board, information about their background and any special qualifications. In addition, the directive said, they need to state their township.

Afterward, when asked his township, Jones was uncertain. Townships are political units that have their origins in the earliest surveys and are little used today except to help identify landholdings for tax records.

Cape Girardeau County's townships are:

* Cape: The area immediately surrounding and including Cape Girardeau.

* Byrd: Jackson and the surrounding area.

* Randol: Egypt Mills and the area east to Jackson.

* Shawnee: New Wells, Pocahontas, Leemon, Fruitland and Neelys Landing.

* Apple Creek: Oak Ridge, Friedheim, Daisy and Old Appleton.

* Whitewater: Millersville and the surrounding area.

* Kinder: Burfordville and Grave Hill areas.

* Liberty: Crump and surroundings.

* Welch: Delta and Blomeyer.

* Hubble: Whitewater, Allenville, Tilsit, Gordonville and the west side of Dutchtown.

There is no time limit for applications. Applicants can send their letters to the Cape Girardeau County Commission, 1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo., 63755.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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OPEN MEETINGS

Cape Girardeau County commissioners and Sheriff John Jordan are visiting town meetings and service clubs to discuss Proposition 1, the half-cent county sales-tax issue for roads and law enforcement. Most service club meetings are not open to the general public, but the town meetings are open. The following open meetings are scheduled at this time:

* DAISY: Coon Hunters Club, 7 p.m. July 24

* DELTA: Delta Community Center, 7 p.m., July 25

* CAPE GIRARDEAU: First Friday Coffee, Show-Me Center, 7 a.m., Aug. 4