Local violence, potential solutions discussed at Cape Girardeau City Council meeting

Few seats were left empty at Monday’s meeting of Cape Girardeau City Council, where multiple discussions took place regarding recent acts of violence in the city.

When the communications segment of the meeting opened, Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard immediately emphasized the importance in not only supporting the police force, which he said was vital, but in also supporting local initiatives led by People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing, also known as PORCH.

“We’ve done, probably, a not very good job of talking about how much we all, as a council and individually, want PORCH to succeed. ... Our continued support, whether it be individually or as a group, is going to help to eliminate poverty [and] help to damper crime,” Guard said. “And it’s going to be a long haul.”

Ward 3 Councilman Nate Thomas agreed with Guard’s remarks and noted the importance of creating a community-wide culture of crime prevention.

“That is the aim of PORCH. It’s not just a south Cape initiative; it’s a communitywide initiative. ... It can’t just be, ‘We have a committee in south Cape, let them handle it.’ It has to be integrated into every element of our community,” Thomas said.

Thomas faces the Rev. Renita Green of St. James AME Church and public accountant Bradley Tuschoff in today’s primary for the Ward 3 council seat.

Green shared her perspectives about the residual impacts of trauma in the community during the public discussion period and acknowledged the culture of silence and fear felt by some community members.

“The shaming of people who are victimized by trauma is not helpful,” Green said. “It is very hurtful to hear people in one part of town talk about people from another part of town as if they are from a different planet.”

Mayor Bob Fox pointed to the potential formation of a task force dedicated to violent crime as a solution worth considering, similar to a newly-formed task force in Columbia, Missouri, where 19 homicides occurred last year.

“We are not alone, ladies and gentlemen,” Fox said. “It’s everywhere; violence is everywhere.”

Ward 1 Councilman Dan Presson said he supported the mayor’s idea, and the suggestion received vocal support from those in attendance.

“It could be a really good option just to bring community leaders and community members to have conversations across the entire city, instead of just certain neighborhoods in certain wards,” Presson said.

Ward 5 Councilman Ryan Essex also agreed with the suggested formation of a violent crime task force, but cautioned against forming any initiative without specific goals in mind.

“You don’t want it to be a group that just meets. You want it to be a group that takes some action,” Essex said. “I think it’s a good idea, but we need to be very thoughtful about members of the task force and what the end goal is.”

The mayor said the issue will require more than just police enforcement and reiterated the importance of communitywide initiatives toward revitalizing south Cape Girardeau.

“That was the whole premise of Purpose Built, to do those things in a part of our town to help revitalize it and get rid of those problems of housing, and help solve the problems of generational poverty, and do those things to reduce violence as it’s done in every place where Purpose Built is, so it works” Fox said. “But it’s not something that happens overnight.”

The Purpose Built Community model, originating in the East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta, aims to change neighborhoods and lives in areas with high crime and poverty by focusing on three key points: mixed-income housing, cradle-to-career education and community wellness.

PORCH vice chairwoman Tamara Zellars Buck, however, pointed the concerned council members to something that is not being done in the city’s south side — road improvements on South Sprigg Street between Highway 74 and William Street.

In their last meeting, city council members discussed prospective projects to fund with a transportation tax package to be placed before voters in April.

City Council members voted 4-2 in favor of an option to allocate $2.3 million to the design, acquisition and dirt work for a future extension of Veterans Memorial Drive from Hopper Road to the Route K area.

Buck expressed her disappointment with the council’s decision to prioritize the new road expansion rather than fund improvements to existing infrastructure in south Cape Girardeau.

“To become a Purpose Built Community network member, the city will have to prove it is not simply paying lip service to the work of revitalization but that it has a well-reasoned and articulated plan for development,” Buck said. “... You said that today, that you wanted that, but the proof is in the planning that you do.”

Acknowledging the difficulty of the funding decision, Guard said he found it important to focus on opportunities in other areas.

“We’ve got other opportunities outside of just Sprigg, and we have to focus on that,” the Ward 4 councilman said. “We’ve got to look at those opportunities, as well.”

Buck countered by saying funding the South Sprigg Street project would not stifle growth but rather redirect it, and said the roadway’s frequent use makes it a major component of the city’s infrastructure.

“My parents taught me that sometimes you have to give up what you want for what you need,” Buck told the city council. “... Continue to deliberate, but prepare for opposition.”