Special road district serves Cape, surrounding area

Cape Girardeau public works crews don't plow snow or do maintenance work on Kage Road even though it is in the city limits. That's the job of the Cape Special Road District, a tax-supported operation which has been maintaining rural Cape Girardeau roads since 1912.

Cape Special Road District currently maintains 102 miles of gravel and asphalt roads in and around Cape Girardeau. The county highway department maintains the other 420 miles of rural roads in the county.

Most Cape Girardeau area residents think little about the road district except when it snows or they pay their property taxes. Residents of the district, including Cape Girardeau city residents, pay a levy of more than 26 cents per $100 assessed valuation on real estate and personal property.

The road district maintains mostly paved county roads and extends from Egypt Mills on the north to the Scott County line on the south and as far west as Highway 25, including the Dutchtown area. But 12 miles of Cape Girardeau city roads also are the responsibility of the road district.

They include roads such as Kage, Old Hopper Road and Old Sprigg Street, rural roads that became part of the city as the city expanded.

J.W. Slinkard, 80, has lived on Kage Road for 59 years. At one time he and his neighbors were rural residents. The city limits hadn't reached the rolling farm land of what is now Cape Girardeau's west side.

"We were out here when this was just a little bit of a gravel road; a wagon lane was about all it was," he said.

Slinkard and his neighbors are now city residents, but Cape Special Road District still maintains the road just as it did in 1942.

Slinkard likes it that way. The special road district does a good job, he said. "They are right here as soon as it snows, sleets or something like that," said Slinkard.

As the city expands and rebuilds some of the old farm-to-market roads, it takes over maintenance.

Ralph Phillips, the road district's chief engineer who manages the operation with the help of a three-member board, said city growth slowly has reduced the number of miles of roads maintained by the district.

At one time, the road district maintained a number of parks, including Cape Rock and Dennis Scivally parks, which are now run by the city.

But Phillips and C.A. Juden Jr., the board chairman, don't believe a growing Cape Girardeau will eliminate the need for the road district. Juden said the road district will continue to have many miles of roads to maintain.

"I don't see it going down," said Juden, who noted new roads may be built as the rural area becomes more populated.

Phillips said the road district built a few roads over the years, although it mostly has maintained existing roads.

Unlike the city, however, road district crews don't plow subdivision streets. Juden said rural subdivisions often have streets that aren't wide enough to easily plow.

The road district operates out of a large metal building at the top of a hill off Route W. The building has office, maintenance and storage space. A huge mountain of cinders is piled at the back of the lot, ready to be spread on roads when winter storms strike.

The road district isn't a small-time operation. It has a budget of more than $1 million, a dozen employees and 11 dump trucks, graders and loaders to maintain the roads.

Most of the district's funding comes from personal property and real estate taxes. The rest of its income comes from interest and money from a business tax that replaced the old merchants' and manufacturers' tax.

The district's three board members are elected and serve staggered, three-year terms. Prior to a change in state law in 1994, they were appointed by the county commission and the city council. Besides Juden, members of the board are Dr. J.K. Holcomb and F.R. Wilferth. The board meets monthly, directing overall operations and approving the payment of bills.

Phillips said the special road district is worth the cost.

Cape Girardeau city residents would be paying for county roads even if there were no special road district. In that case, they would be paying a county road and bridge levy as do residents in the rest of Cape Girardeau County, Phillips said.

The bottom line, he said, is that well-maintained county roads lead into the city of Cape Girardeau.

"I think it has benefited Cape tremendously," Phillips said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123