IT'S TIME FOR ACTION ON DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS

Several Cape Girardeau City councilmen have expressed concern about the city's liability from such dilapidated structures as the old St. Francis Hospital and the Marquette Hotel. Their concern is rightly placed. We would go so far as to suggest it's urgent.

Although these structures are privately owned, their condition may well endanger the public safety. Broken glass and unprotected stairways or elevator shafts may injure a trespassing child or adult. The question is: Who will pay the price?

The city should use its authority to force the owners to repair or sell the structures in a specified period of time. If neither is done, then the city should move with dispatch to condemn the buildings.

Both old St. Francis Hospital and the Marquette Hotel were once grand and useful structures but have long since become community eyesores. After years of neglect, it's doubtful they could even be turned into anything viable at this point. Although many of us may have accepted~~ this state of disrepair, these buildings paint a poor picture for visitors or newcomers to our community. In an area of high-dollar investment, restoration and renovation downtown, these buildings are dismal exceptions. It's doubtful the city would allow a residential building to fall into such a state without condemnation.

The former hospital opened in November of 1914. It operated as a hospital until October of 1976, when the new St. Francis Medical Center opened. The building was then sold to Southeast Missouri State University. It operated as student housing until 1985, and has changed hands several times since then. The 115-room Marquette Hotel opened in November of 1928. It was shut down in July of 1971 by the Missouri Division of Health for safety violations. A piano salon operates in small portion of the building.

If these properties aren't repaired within a reasonable period of time, they should be torn down. The Marquette Hotel property, mostly vacant now for a generation, would be well suited to a parking lot for federal building use. Other downtown businesses with little parking space might assist with the financing or upkeep of this parking lot. The old St. Francis property may also offer more potential as vacant property than as a dilapidated building.

Recently, the city has taken steps to secure the often-vandalized old St. Francis Hospital. The city has been unsuccessful in its efforts to contact the out-of-town owner. That's not the problem with the Marquette Hotel, with the owner a Cape Girardeau resident. But the result has been the same a run-down structure just waiting for an accident to happen.

The city is simply courting trouble by letting these properties fall deeper into disrepair. The cost of condemnation may be high, but how can it compare in terms of the public safety or a human life? The city council and staff are right to pursue these concerns. It's time for the city to force repair or sale of these eyesores. If no action is taken, let's tear them down. It's time to move on.