Trash talk: Cape councilman calls for tackling illegal dumping in Red Star neighborhood

Cape Girardeau’s Red Star neighborhood has been plagued by illegal dumping of trash and something needs to be done about it, Ward 1 Councilman Daniel Presson said Monday.

Residents working to revive their northeast Cape Girardeau neighborhood are frustrated by the littering and dumping of trash along Highway 177 and elsewhere in the area, he told fellow council members.

People have dumped Christmas trees on the vacant ground in the neighborhood’s flood buyout area near the Mississippi River, Presson said.

Presson, who lives in the Red Star neighborhood, said Styrofoam cups regularly litter the ground near Sloan Creek.

“Trash is always an issue,” the councilman said.

“It is something that needs to be addressed,” he told council members and city staff.

Mayor Bob Fox suggested the Red Star neighborhood could benefit from volunteer cleanup efforts, similar to what has been done in south Cape Girardeau.

Presson said landlords need to be encouraged to clean up derelict, rental properties, a move that would increase their investments.

Red Star residents, with assistance from city staff, implemented a Neighborhood Development Initiative (NDI) in 2015 to revitalize the area.

Four years later, the Red Star Neighborhood Revival organization remains the only NDI in the city, although city manager Scott Meyer said officials would welcome the formation of such groups in other neighborhoods.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said the group, aided by the city, has made strides in the removal of dead trees and other debris. There has been better maintenance by the city of flood buyout land, he said.

A new pedestrian bridge was opened over Sloan Creek and plans have been drawn up for a new city park to be developed in the flood buyout area, Shrimplin said. In addition, military flags have been installed at Cape Rock Park.

At one point, city officials sought to help establish a traditional NDI in the city’s south-side neighborhood with the help of a community group called Authentic Voices.

But Shrimplin said that effort has now “morphed” into the PORCH organization.

PORCH, which was started by south-side residents last year, stands for People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing. It celebrated its formation at an event at the River Campus in November.

The organization is serving as the “quarterback group” for the Purpose Built Communities model.

That model has transformed a neighborhood in Atlanta and could do the same here, Meyer said at the council study session.

Meyer said PORCH is working to raise money to hire an executive director. The group also will establish goals for improving the south-side neighborhood.

At that point, PORCH can seek to become an affiliate of the Atlanta-based Purpose Built organization, which encourages formation of such revitalization groups nationwide.

“Their goal is to be affiliated by the end of the calendar year,” Meyer said.

He said the Purpose Built Model attempts to address generational poverty by focusing on educational improvements, health and safety and development of mixed-income housing.

Addressing the issue of generational poverty could take 10 or 20 years, the city manager said.

Other business

At Monday’s regular meeting, the council voted to hire KLG Engineering LLC to handle municipal engineering duties for the next six months, with an option to renew for six more months.

Under the agreement, the city would pay a maximum of $60,000 to the firm for six months of work.

City officials decided to take this step after being unable to find a qualified individual to replace city engineer Casey Brunke, who has taken a position as assistant public works director.

The council also adopted the five-year capital improvements plan, which outlines proposed projects through 2024.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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