Council, staff discuss new police station, firehouse improvements

The next year will be a busy one for Cape Girardeau's public safety departments.

The Cape Girardeau City Council and city staff members gathered Monday for a special study session, held before the regularly scheduled council meeting.

Public safety was the main focus of the meeting, with much of the discussion centered around projects funded by the recently renewed fire sales tax. Voters approved an extension of the sales tax last year, which came with a prepared list of projects to be funded.

One of the biggest projects was the relocation of Fire Station 4 on Kurre Lane. It's the department's smallest station, and the property is not large enough for additions to the building. Fire chief Rick Ennis said several location options have been considered, but the best option seems to be city-owned property near Lexington and Flad avenues.

Not long after the quarter-cent fire tax initially was approved by voters in 2005, Ennis said the city decided to buy the property, knowing it could be the future home of station 4.

Building and code enforcement manager Anna Kangas said a request for proposals for a design-build would be ready to issue in January, and construction could begin in the spring. In the summer, she expects to see some movement on bids and construction for projects at fire stations 1 and 2. Improved safety, additional storage space and more privacy in bunk areas are among the improvements planned for those stations.

The extension of the fire sales tax also played a role in funding a new home for the police department. Through the fire tax, restaurant tax and casino funds, the city has set aside $11 million for a new police station.

In July, the council approved an ordinance accepting transfer documents for a facility at 2530 Maria Louise Lane, near Arena Park, that could become the future home of the police department. It followed an agreement the city reached with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the city to assume ownership at no cost of the facility that once served as a Navy Reserve Center.

City manager Scott Meyer said the police station, jail and municipal court operations would move to the Maria Louise Lane location for greater efficiency. Court is held at city hall, 401 Independence St., while the police station and jail are at 40 S. Sprigg St.

The existing jail includes 29 beds. City staff said it still is being determined whether the new jail will be the same size or larger, though one proposal is to build the jail in a manner that would be easy to expand at a later date, if necessary. A request for proposals for the new station's design-build likely would be issued in September, Kangas said.

Police chief Wes Blair said he's heard concerns about moving the station to near Arena Park and away from the "perceived high-crime area" in the southern part of the city, but he doesn't believe the move will affect coverage.

Officers are patrolling their assigned areas, not sitting at the station waiting to respond to an incident, he said, and a changed location wouldn't change that. If anything, Blair said, the new location could help officers.

"The location of the station is beneficial because of the officers responding back to the station -- bringing in prisoners, property, evidence, paperwork, meeting with a supervisor and such," he said. "By locating your station in a more centralized area in the middle of town, you lessen your time for an officer -- say he's at Wal-Mart, arresting somebody for shoplifting. Now, it's about a 20-minute drive in to the station with traffic. This person then has to get back out to his district. If you locate your station in a central part of town, you lessen that drive for everybody."

The department also is looking at partnering with local businesses to set up a "storefront" in certain parts of town and make an officer available at those locations. This arrangement would provide residents with more locations and more opportunities to speak with officers, Blair said.

srinehart@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

2530 Maria Louise Lane, Cape Girardeau, Mo.