TOWN MEETING EXAMINES GOALS; VISION 2000 PANELISTS TAKE TO AIRWAVES

Few people attended a Vision 2000 town hall meeting Wednesday night, but several called the televised program with questions and comments about six goals for the city to attain by the year 2000.

Wednesday's meeting was the first such gathering to combine panelist discussion of Vision 2000 goals with video presentations and a live call-in cable television format.

The meeting was broadcast on Cape Girardeau's Channel 13. About a dozen people attended the meeting, held at City Hall.

Local city officials and Vision 2000 representatives presented information on six Vision 2000 goals. Vision 2000 is a citywide effort to plan for Cape Girardeau's growth and development. A strategic plan was drafted in 1988 that established several goals to attain by the year 2000.

The six goals discussed Wednesday include the following:

90 percent voter registration and 75 percent voter participation by the year 2000.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said that in the April 3, 1990 city election, only 46 percent of those registered voted.

"Realistically, this is a good turnout for a city election, but when you look at a goal of 75 percent, we've got a long way to go," Miller said.

Miller said that the best turnout in the 1990 city election was in Ward 16, the Hanover Lutheran Church district, where 57 percent of the registered voters cast ballots.

"The idea of voter registration has been an issue for a long time," Miller said. "It's a concern nationwide, where only 57 percent voted in the last presidential election."

The county clerk said the key to increasing voter registration and participation is to inform the public of election issues, and assure citizens that "their vote counts."

Placement of community information centers throughout the city by the end of the year.

Public Library Director Terry Risko said that the city is about 90 days from having such a system in place.

He said computer terminals will be placed at West Park Mall, City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and other sites. The computers will allow people to "call up" information on a wide range of subjects, from city government to area events and attractions.

A video titled "City Hall in the Mall" illustrated how the information centers would be used.

Education enhancement through the Cape Girardeau Public Schools' Parents As Teachers program.

Richard Bollwerk, director of elementary and secondary education for the school district, and Karen Enloe, one of the instructors in the Parents As Teachers program, explained how the program helps parents become more involved in their children's development and education.

A video also was shown explaining how the program works. Started here in 1984, the program served 285 families in the school district last year and will serve as many as 350 to 360 this year.

Enloe said the program includes home visits by educators, panel discussions, and group meetings and activities.

Development and distribution of "start-up" business packets to help new businesses in the community.

Pauline Fox, chairman of the Vision 2000 jobs and business committee, said the packets are available to business owners and contain information on licensing requirements, taxes, building permit and inspection requirements, and phone numbers of various city officials and agencies.

"This packet of information should serve as a resource so that anyone starting up a business should keep it on hand," Fox said.

Buzz Sutherland, director of Southeast Missouri State University's Small Business Development Center, also explained a university program called "Business Enterprise Start-up Training," or BEST.

"BEST is a program that's been used very successfully across the country," Sutherland said.

He said the program is used to give budding entrepreneurs a hand so that they don't fall into the category of 80 percent of small businesses, which fail within a year of their creation.

Improvement of storm-water management and flood mitigation in the city.

Michael Aide of Southeast Missouri State, City Planner Kent Bratton and Charlie Haubold of Vision 2000 explained some of the city's flood-control work.

A video was presented that showed some of the city's past flooding problems and ways for residents to protect their property through storm-water retention. A brochure explaining storm-water retention and flood prevention also is available at City Hall, the public library, and the Public Works building.

"It's something that's been needed for the city and for John Doe, the citizen," said Haubold. "It's something we probably should have started 10 years ago and didn't."

Redevelopment and preservation of the city's historic downtown.

Chuck McGinty and John Boardman of the Downtown Merchant's Association, Kent Zickfield of the Downtown Redevelopment Corp., and Martha Bender of the Historic Preservation Commission explained efforts to develop the downtown and preserve the historic character of the older, riverfront area of Cape Girardeau.

McGinty and Boardman said downtown merchants and businesses have taxed themselves to raise money for beautification projects and to successfully "revitalize" the downtown business climate.