LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC HOUSING

To the Editor:

I am a member of the Housing Assistance Task Force. In your editorial on March 10, 1994, you had an error of fact. There were also some places in the editorial that some additional information might serve the public.

The error of fact was stating that during 1968 a public referendum vote defeated public housing. There was no such vote taken.

On July 27, 1984 city manager, Gary Eide, issued a memorandum on the "Historical Information on Cape Girardeau Public Housing Authority". He lists July 21, 1941 as the first time a Public Housing Authority was created. June 26, 1962 and August 4, 1970 the voters disapproved The Cooperative Agreement between The Public Housing Authority and the City of Cape Girardeau.

In Paragragh 3 of your editorial, you refer to some council members not wanting to relinquish control of housing. There is a good reason that the state of Missouri public law separates the city council from the housing authority. There will be millions of dollars involved in building 100 to 125 housing units. If a council or council member would be tempted to use subsidiaries and holding companies to "fleece" the city, they could buy the land, build the units and regulate the tenants. This would be enormously profitable graft. I do not mean to accuse any Cape Girardeau citizen by this explanation, only to state why the law was written this way. This is law and must be done this way. Five people appointed by the mayor and independent of the city council's control would build, regulate, and service this enterprise.

Private enterprise would be an ideal solution to building housing. But lets consider their problems and abilities. Contractors are doing well on the Lexington Avenue corridor and other subdivisions. They are building $125,000 to $250,000 houses rather busily. Which of them can or will interrupt these projects to build $25,000 houses renting for $250 or less a month? Of course, they cannot do this. The Community Sweat Equity Corporation and Habitat for Humanity are excellent organizations, but practically both together can just barely keep up with housing lost by condemnation and tear downs. They cannot build 100 units in any reasonable time frame. They are both trying hard, but time and resources are slowing them down.

As a final thought, Section 8 Housing (HUD), Senior Citizen Housing, and Community Development Block Grants are all public subsidized housing. Can we continue to let Buzz Word Fear prevent us from being the big hearted compassionate, and caring community we are noted as being? I think not.

MICHAEL WALLACE

Member

Housing Assistance Task Force

Editor's Note:

Despite what might have been in former City Manager Gary Eide's memorandum, Southeast Missourian records show several references to a 1968 vote, as well as similar votes in 1962 and 1970.

It should be clarified that voters did not consider whether to appoint a public housing authority -- the question now before the Cape Girardeau City Council. Such a committee already was in place in the three previous votes, and voters simply decided whether to accept development proposals for public housing units.

Those elections were the result of initiative petitions circulated successfully by public housing opponents after the city and Public Housing Authority had drafted "cooperative agreements" for public housing development.

To quote from a Page 1 article in the July 30, 1970 edition of the Southeast Missourian:

"Cape Girardeau voters will determine in a referendum Tuesday whether the city and its Public Housing Authority can go ahead with the federally financed 175 units proposed for low income persons. This will be the third vote on such a project here."

Mr. Wallace is correct in pointing out that a Cape Girardeau Public Housing Authority was first created in 1941. Housing advocates blamed, at least in part, World War II for thwarting efforts then to build low-income, subsidized housing.