Volunteer parking task force planned

Debra Tracy is thrilled the city of Cape Girardeau is forming a task force to study the city's parking ordinance.

But she won't be on it.

Neither will John Voss. The two city council members pushed to fix the seasonal parking problems experienced by residents living around Southeast Missouri State University. Voss proposed an ordinance increasing parking fines from $10 to $50 but agreed to table the measure in favor of some citywide fact finding.

Tracy, who represents Ward 3, and Voss, Ward 1, each live near the university. At Monday night's council meeting, they said they didn't want to influence task force recommendations.

"I don't know how the task force will decide to proceed," Tracy said after the meeting. "My hope would be that they might have a public forum and we could just go as citizens and not as council members and express our concerns."

"It would be very appropriate to get updates," Voss said during Monday's meeting. Mayor Jay Knudtson said the task force's meetings would be open to the public.

The majority of Cape Girardeau's parking tickets are written for cars parked illegally on residential streets around the university, according to police chief Carl Kinnison.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127