Looking ahead to the new year in Cape Girardeau

I bring greetings to all my fellow citizens by wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year of 2018.

2017 is rapidly coming to a close, as is my mayoral term of eight years. We have experienced a very good 2017 in Cape Girardeau, and we have many things for which to be proud and thankful. Rather than give a lengthy recap of all accomplishments and activities during this past year, I want to spend this available time and space looking forward into the coming year.

I have begun working on transitioning to new leadership that will occur in April 2018. Councilman Bob Fox will become our city’s next mayor at that time, as he is running unopposed in the April election. I am forming a book of current items and future projects that will be continuing into the next administration. I very much benefited from that same update I was provided by Mayor Jay Knudtson in 2010 following my election.

First, I anticipate new expansions and openings in the retail and major commercial areas of our city. I like to break these down into four distinct geographic areas which are Downtown/Old Town Cape, Town Plaza, the West Park Mall area, and the lengthy Seimers strip west of I-55.

There are challenges but also great opportunities in these important areas of our city. We rely heavily on sales-tax revenue to support our city operating budget and must continue to be diligent in maintaining and expanding our retail base.

I am looking forward to further development and activity in our Purpose Built Community project in the southern parts of our city. This major long-term effort began in the fall of 2015 with a visit from the Atlanta group that initiated this successful revitalization model. The ultimate goal of this model is to eliminate generational poverty. I have been very pleased in the past several months with several activities and projects including a major south side cleanup, a new enhanced street lighting project and several meetings and new support from individuals and groups. We also have a tremendous partner in the Cape Girardeau Public School District.

The extension of the existing Parks and Storm Water sales tax will come before the voters in April. We have many needs in these areas and there has been much work done by city staff, our Parks Advisory Board and Foundation Board, along with several public input sessions to achieve a final list of projects that will be completed over the next 15 years. All citizens will be hearing many more details about these projects in the coming months. I endorse these projects and the renewal of this existing tax as it is critical to the continued growth and quality of life for our city.

Internally, council and staff are working on new and expanded strategies to curb and lower violent crime in our city. Crime statistics show crime actually is down in our city, but acts of violent crime, along with drug arrests and prosecutions, are up drastically and must be addressed in an aggressive manner. We also will be studying the future needs for city hall. We are very fortunate to have state-of-the-art municipal facilities via citizen support, including water, waste water, transfer station, fire, police, etc. Now it is time to evaluate the needs for city hall and identify a funding source for the future.

Other projects that will get attention in 2018 include but are not limited to the following: further development of our business park on LaSalle, airport projects, establishing a music festival for Downtown Cape, continuing transportation projects, and further development of our “WOW” customer-service program throughout all city staff.

It is an exciting time to live in Cape Girardeau, and I am very confident our staff and future leadership will continue to move our city forward with the support of our fine citizens.

Harry Rediger is the mayor of Cape Girardeau.