WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: FORMER OFFICIALS FOR CITY OF CAPE STILL IN GOVERNMENT

In the 1980s, they ran Cape Girardeau city government. Today, they are handling administrative duties in cities from Oregon to Missouri and enjoying it.

The exodus to greener pastures began with City Attorney Fred Boeckmann, who left in August 1986 to take a position as city attorney in Columbia.

In December 1987, City Manager Gary A. Eide and Assistant City Manager Jeff Hancock departed. Eide resigned to take a position as city manager of Salem, Ore.; Hancock took a job as city manager of Warrensburg.

In March 1988, Mike Pounds resigned as Cape Girardeau's personnel/risk manager to take a position as city administrator of Glendale in St. Louis County.

Police Chief Ray Johnson resigned in August 1988 to take a job as the first police chief for the newly incorporated city of Chesterfield in St. Louis County.

In December 1990, Parks and Recreation Director Steve Bone left for a job as general manager of the Lake St. Louis Community Association.

Five of the six former city officials are still handling the jobs they took upon leaving Cape Girardeau.

Only Hancock has moved on to still another city.

Jeff Hancock

Hancock served 4 years as Warrensburg city manager before leaving in July for a job as an assistant city manager for Kansas City.

While in Warrensburg, Hancock had to deal with a riot this spring, sparked by student protests at Central Missouri State University over the Rodney King verdict.

"We had 200 to 300 officers in there. It was kind of tense for a while," he recalled.

Rioters smashed windows in 20 offices and businesses and set a dormitory on fire. Total damage was estimated at $100,000 to $125,000.

Hancock admits he got a first-hand lesson about riot control. But he's reluctant to talk at length about the riot. These days, he prefers to talk about his new job.

Hancock, who began his new duties July 6, is one of three assistant city managers.

In making the move, Hancock went from managing a city of 15,244, with a budget of $6.7 million and 75 employees, to a city of 435,000 people, with a city budget of $558 million and 6,300 employees.

"It's stressful making moves," said Hancock, who is still commuting more than an hour each way from Warrensburg. He and his family hope to move to Kansas City this fall.

Hancock, who has spent nearly 17 years in public administration all in Missouri cities said the city manager in Kansas City had approached him about the job.

"The city manager came to me and asked me if I would be interested in the position," said Hancock. "And from a career opportunity and professional opportunity (standpoint), I just couldn't turn it down."

Steve Bone

When Bone went on vacation this year, he stayed at home. And why not?

As general manager of the Lake St. Louis Community Association, Bone oversees two lakes, a clubhouse, restaurant and bar, beach, pool, tennis facilities, two golf courses, eight neighborhood parks, 10 neighborhood marinas, and one large marina.

Bone's now a boat owner and spends time water skiing.

He and his family are enjoying the recreational facilities. "We love it. Where else can you live and in less than five minutes be water skiing or fishing?"

The city of Lake St. Louis has a population of about 7,500. Most of the citizens are members of the community association. The association has a budget of $1.5 million to $2 million.

"This is a planned recreation community. We are the biggest in Missouri," said Bone.

The community association not only controls the recreational facilities, but the design and color schemes of residential housing.

"It's more like being a city manager," said Bone, who answers to a six-member, elected board.

Lake St. Louis, he said, is different than most cities. "We don't have any cemeteries in the whole town." And there are no funeral homes.

Gary Eide

In Salem, the capital of Oregon, Eide has directed a city government that has experienced budget cuts.

"City government has shrunk," said Eide. "We are into some real strong right-sizing of our organization."

In November 1990, Oregon voters approved a property tax limitation measure, which, Eide said, "took away a large amount of revenue from all the cities, including Salem."

The city ended up cutting $6 million out of the general fund budget last year and reducing its nearly 1,000-member labor force by about 55 people.

Eide said the city has eliminated a lot of middle-management personnel. "We went from one supervisor for every nine employees to one supervisor for every 17 employees."

Eide directs a city that operates on a $168 million budget and also serves as executive director of the city's housing authority, which operates on a $20 million budget.

Salem is a growing community. Its population has climbed from about 98,000 to 115,000 in four years.

"It's an exciting place to live," said Eide.

"You kind of get used to the gray winters. We get a lot of rain, but that is what makes it green here.

"It is wonderful this time of year. The sun shines and we don't get any rain at all," he pointed out.

The city has plans for $112 million worth of improvements to be funded by a series of five bond issues. Voters have already approved two of the bond issues.

"It is a real supportive community when you lay out the needs," said Eide. "There is just tremendous citizen involvement in everything we do," he added. Salem, for example, has 19 neighborhood associations.

A major difference between Oregon and Missouri is in the environmental area, Eide said. Oregon, he said, has more environmental regulations. "The environmental concerns are pre-eminent in most everything that goes on."

Fred Boeckmann

For Boeckmann, the job of city counselor in Columbia is similar to the position he held in Cape Girardeau.

As he did in Cape Girardeau, Boeckmann attends city council meetings and advises city officials on legal matters.

He also has to deal with a lot of reporters from the University of Missouri journalism school.

"There is kind of an interesting mix up here," he said. "There is a certain liberal element with the university, I suppose, but there is also a conservative element."

The city, he said, recently added "sexual orientation" to its human rights ordinance. But he added, "We haven't done anything too crazy."

Mike Pounds

Pounds, who has served as Glendale city manager for four years, said he enjoys the residential community of 6,000 people.

"We are small enough that if a resident has a specific problem, he can talk to a city official about it," said Pounds.

"It is one of the oldest suburbs of St. Louis," said Pounds, noting its the eighth oldest of the more than 90 municipalities in St. Louis County.

"It is a very close knit suburb. We do a lot of little things for our citizens," he added.

Ray Johnson

These days Johnson is directing the operations of a police department he built from the ground up.

When he took the job of Chesterfield police chief in August 1988, he was the police force. There were no police officers or patrol cars.

Today, the department has 56 officers and 24 vehicles. The police department averages over 1,000 arrests a year, Johnson said.

But he said, "In general, it is not a violent type of community."

Chesterfield is an affluent city. "We don't have any blight. We don't have any poor districts," said Johnson, pointing out that the average home costs about $200,000.

Johnson recognizes that he had a unique opportunity to build a police department. "It was a fantastic opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I really enjoyed my time in Cape. It was a great city and a great department. But I have to say, I haven't regretted my move," said Johnson.

Speaking about himself and the other former Cape Girardeau city officials, Johnson said: "Hopefully, as a group collectively, we left a good mark on the city of Cape Girardeau.

"Sometimes it is time to move on," said Johnson. "And I think everybody had a good opportunity presented to them, and we seized it."