Dispute may be appealed

By Avelina (Belen) Lichtenegger

Thank you for your story about the jury verdict awarding us $65,000 in our fight with the city of Cape Girardeau. We would like to tell you how we got to this point and why we might appeal.

Yes, $65,000 is a lot of money. But it won't allow us to stay in business, and that's what we really want. This is not enough to compensate for the loss of parking, access and entrance to the property and consequential damages resulting from the widening of Broadway.

This property has been the site of a lot of volunteer and community services. Several students have been trained in this facility who are now engineers and scientists and researchers in scientific fields, including joint researchers in engineering and medicine. The majority of those trained are trained at no cost. The latest of the products from Global Trading graduated with a double major from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007.

Since 1986, this specialty store has provided important services to special and otherwise underserved populations in Cape Girardeau. In fact, Southeast Missouri State University included the availability of a global market as a recruiting point for foreign students.

Also provided were important services to the employees of foreign investors in the area like BioKyowa in Cape Girardeau and TG USA in Perryville, Mo. Without the store, these employees will have to do their specialty shopping outside the Cape Girardeau area.

Our proposal to address the parking needs of both Hardee's and Global Trading included a plan that would have allowed 26 spaces for the Hardee's lot. The city acquired approximately 9,000 square feet of property at 506 N. West End Blvd. for Hardee's parking, more than enough to compensate for the loss of nine parking spaces without consequential damages. However, the city ignored our proposal that would also allow us to use parking at the Tracy property at 1310 Broadway. The Tracy property cannot be considered an even swap. The widening and buffer-zone requirements take about half of its area. Instead, the city attached these two properties to the Hardee's lot, leaving no provisions for parking for the Global Trading property.

We never wanted money. All we wanted was to be able to stay in business just like Hardee's. Unfortunately, the city bent over backward to help one business, Hardee's, which is no longer in business. But the city wouldn't help us.

The result is that a business that provides valuable services, especially to the undeserved part of our community, may be permanently forced out of business.

Avelina (Belen) Lichtenegger and Jerel Lichtenegger are the owners of Global Trading on Broadway.