Two years after officers barricaded off the Morgan Oak-South Ellis Street neighborhood to restore peace, Cape Girardeau police are keeping an eye on the crowds who congregate there during the early-morning hours on weekends.

Police said the crowds gather in the south-side neighborhood after stopping for food at Don's Store 24, a convenience store at the corner of Sprigg and Morgan Oak streets.

Several South Ellis Street residents have complained about the situation to the city council.

Two years ago, police closed off a four-block area in south Cape Girardeau early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to deal with the problems of noisy crowds and people littering and fighting.

At the urging of police, convenience store owner Don Caldwell closed his business at times that summer to help alleviate the peace-disturbance problem.

Police chief Steve Strong said the situation so far this year is less troublesome than in 2003. Still, he said his officers continue to patrol the area and monitor the weekend crowds.

At a council meeting nearly two weeks ago, Steve Spurgeon of 338 S. Ellis St. complained that the crowds were back.

"They wake me up every Friday and Saturday night," he said. "They get into fights. They are urinating in my yard."

City manager Doug Leslie said police don't want to overreact to the situation for fear it would only make matters worse.

"We want a measured response," Leslie told council members at a meeting on Wednesday. Council members brought up the issue, saying they wanted to know what police were doing to address the problem.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said it's a difficult situation that requires balance.

"Your alternative is to go in and start handcuffing people," Knudtson said. But police said most in the crowd aren't troublemakers.

"A majority of those people are not going out with the intent to do harm or break the law," Strong said.

Councilwoman Loretta Schneider said the gathering will just start moving elsewhere in the city if police disperse the crowd.

The crowd typically shows up around 1:20 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and disperses within about 30 minutes, police Capt. Carl Kinnison said.

Last weekend's crowd numbered about 200 early Sunday, police said.

Most come by car and park on both sides of the 700 block of Morgan Oak Street, police said. When that block is filled, cars start parking on nearby Ellis Street, police Capt. Carl Kinnison said.

Patrick Buck, who operates The Phat Cat bar at 731 Broadway, said most of the members of the crowd are customers of his who congregate on Morgan Oak and Ellis streets after his establishment closes.

Police have requested that Buck encourage his customers to be considerate of the neighborhood when they leave his bar, which is several blocks away from Morgan Oak and Ellis streets. Buck said he's happy to help out.

"The best thing we can do is make our customers aware of the situation," he said.

Buck said many in the crowd stop at Don's Store before heading over to an Illinois nightclub.

Over the most recent weekend, the city had five officers patrolling the area and two other officers secretly videotaping the gathering so officers could review what occurred and look at how best to handle the situation, Strong said.

Police observed an argument between two men that led to yelling, Kinnison said. "There were several loud stereos," he said.

But police made no arrests. People have been cooperative, Kinnison said. They have turned down their car stereos or left when requested to do so by police, he said.

Strong said warm weather brings out the crowd. "Every summer becomes a new challenge," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123