Some in McClure not sold on vote for incorporation

McCLURE, Ill. -- Don Trowbridge likes his rural life. But without moving from his rented mobile home, he could soon find himself living in town.

That's because McClure's 289 registered voters will decide on Nov. 2 whether to incorporate as a village, taking in a nearly two-square-mile area that includes Trowbridge's residence near the Grapevine Trail.

A retired Korean War veteran, Trowbridge opposes the incorporation effort and insists other residents in the town of 350 people do too but are reluctant to speak out publicly.

A group of residents of McClure have pushed the incorporation measure, citing unhappiness with Alexander County flood-plain regulations that have prohibited new construction in the town, only a few minutes drive from Cape Girardeau.

McClure resident Rodney Brown, one of the leaders of the incorporation effort, said turning the town into a legal village would allow residents to get clear of the flood-plain law and build new homes and businesses without government interference.

Brown said many McClure area residents support the measure.

But Trowbridge said McClure residents should seek to have the Alexander County commissioners repeal the flood-plain ordinance that regulates construction in unincorporated areas of the Southern Illinois county rather than incorporate the village and set up a village board.

"We are just going to have more government," he said. "I've had enough people in my life telling me what to do and what not to do."

Trowbridge worries that incorporation could burden residents with more taxes, a contention that Brown denies.

He also objects to the proposed village because it would include an adult video store just south of the intersection of highways 146 and 3.

The proposed boundaries include all nine businesses in the area, a move that would generate income for McClure if it becomes a village.

"We would get 1 percent of all the state sales tax they bring in," Brown said. The town also would share in state income and motor fuel tax money, he said.

In all, the village could receive an estimated $27,000 a year, he said. Some of that money would go to maintain streets that currently are the responsibility of the county government, Brown said.

'Can't do anything here'

Richard Thompson of McClure owns the building that houses the adult bookstore and video store. He said incorporation would lift flood-plain restrictions that have prevented him from being able to secure a county permit to complete construction improvements to what was a former nightclub.

"The building is only completed on the outside," he said. County officials, he said, halted the construction work after the project was underway. "You can't do anything here," he said.

Jerry Mann, who operates an auto body shop in McClure, doesn't like the flood-plain restrictions. But he questioned the need to incorporate as a village. There's no demand for new construction, he said.

"It hasn't grown since I've been here," which has been 34 years, Mann said.

Still, Mann isn't saying how he will vote. "I've got customers on both sides of the fence," he said.

If voters pass the measure, a circuit judge will appoint a seven-member board -- six council members and a mayor. That board would serve until April, when voters of the new village would elect a new council.

Brown, who likely would serve on the appointed board, said no major municipal government decisions would be made by the initial board.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123