WORK TOPIC AT COUNCIL RETREAT

The Cape Girardeau City Council will grapple with some of the major problems facing the city in a daylong retreat today at Black Forest Village.

For years, the city council has huddled with department heads to shape the coming year's budget and brainstorm about policy questions.

This year's agenda includes an update on the status of the city's major capital improvement projects and introductions to the new department heads.

Council members will discuss how to pay for street improvements on Broadway and Bloomfield Road.

The city figures out how much the street costs and then apportions the cost based on how many linear feet each property owner has.

Usually commercial property owners pay the full cost, while the city subsidizes the price tag for homeowners.

But Broadway and Bloomfield Road have both residential and commercial landowners, so the council will discuss whether to treat landowners on the same street differently, Mayor Al Spradling III said.