PERMIT COMPLAINTS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

At a civic club luncheon this week where a Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co. official outlined the enormous expansion project of the company's plant near the Mississippi River at Neely's Landing, there was an unofficial estimate that construction activity in Southeast Missouri -- either under way or on the drawing boards -- totals nearly a billion dollars.

Times are good for construction, thanks to a strong state and national economy. Just look at the many highway projects that have been moved to the front burner, many of which had been moved off the stove for all practical purposes just a few short years ago.

In Cape Girardeau, the construction pace is strong, to say the least. Almost everywhere you look, there is site grading, foundations being poured or finishing touches being put on new commercial buildings, schools, medical facilities and homes.

All of this activity has only magnified the complaints about dealings with City Hall over construction permits and the resulting inspection process. While some of the gripes are surely little more than sour grapes coming from those who would prefer to take a short cut around bureaucracy, there are also some solid instances where business owners and construction companies have encountered legitimate roadblocks that aren't conducive to a vibrant building climate.

A couple of years ago, there were enough complaints that the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce formed a special committee in an attempt to resolve some of these issues. This has had a positive effect, but the complaints are continuing.

And in developing stories about this issue, the Southeast Missourian quickly learned there are many more complaints than those that have been made public or passed along to City Hall, because the complaining parties are too concerned about future dealings with the permit process. As a result, a good many complaints -- whether or not they are legitimate is difficult to determine without a full airing -- continue to fester in a community that deserves a better reputation for fostering millions of dollars in capital investment.

For the most part, there are very few complaints about the permit requirements and city codes themselves. Most of the codes, for example, follow national models that are widely used by cities everywhere. These codes are constantly being updated and revised, and licensed contractors have their hands full keeping up with all the changes.

But the biggest complaints are about how the permits and inspections are handled. By contrast, a city like Paducah, Ky., has few complaints, and builders there attribute this to a good working relationship with the city.

If nothing else, Cape Girardeau has a public relations problem. The problem with permits and inspections -- real or imagined -- is widely discussed, and some builders from other cities say they would prefer not to get involved in what they see as Cape Girardeau's permit morass.

The city's elected officials say they want to deal with these complaints and change the perception that some builders and business owners have. The chamber's efforts have already established a process for clearing the air. This could go a long way in making a difference as the building boom continues.