CITY VOTES TO CONTRACT CAR UNLOCKING SERVICE

Cape Girardeau residents who find themselves locked out of their vehicles no longer will be able to summon the help of the police department.

At Monday's meeting, the Cape Girardeau City Council unanimously voted to approve a contract with Seabaugh's Auto Repair to provide city vehicle lockout service for $15 per vehicle in lieu of the past policy of free police department service.

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard "Butch" Boyd Jr. said during Monday's study session that technology already has made the department's service impractical.

Boyd said the "Slim Jims" the department uses a long, thin strip of metal designed to slide between the vehicle's window and door and unhook the lock are ineffective for newer vehicles with electronic locks and plastic parts.

"The Slim Jim was developed when ships were made of wood and dashboards made of steel," he said. "It easily damages plastic lock parts, and it doesn't work very well on newer cars.

"We've been trying to get out of the business (of unlocking vehicles) for years, and we've just about been put out by technology."

In the past, Boyd has said police officers are forced to spend too much time on "lockouts" at the expense of more crucial crime control.

The police chief said the city has averaged about 170 lockout calls per month. He said the new policy of a private company providing the service for a nominal $15 fee is a reasonable one.

"They normally charge $35 to $45," Boyd said.

In other business at Monday's meeting, the council approved a subdivision plan that excludes an extension of Kent Street, on the city's north side, to Lexington Avenue. At the same time, the council approved an engineering and design contract for the extension, but not at the developer's expense.

The status of a Kent Drive extension to Lexington has been in limbo since the council in November voted against a subdivision plan that would have left the street as a dead end.

The council held up the proposal when residents of the neighborhood insisted the street be extended. Residents of Woodland Hills, particularly those who live on Belleridge Pike, have said Kent is needed to relieve traffic on their street.

But the developer of the subdivision, P. David Gerlach of Randol Farms Development, has refused to build the street, claiming the design of Lexington makes the extension too costly and impractical.

By approving the record plat for the subdivision, the way is cleared for Gerlach to sell a lot on the site to the First Pentecostal Church.

Since the council also agreed to proceed with design engineering for the street extension, the street likely will be built with the construction costs assessed to abutting property owners.

Gerlach presently is the only abutting property owner, but City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said that by the time the street is built, the developer might sell the lot to the church, which then would have to bear the full cost.

Gerlach said Monday that because the council approved his subdivision plan without the Kent extension, the question of putting the street through must be resolved by the city and the property owner.

"The record plat we ask you to approve tonight is the one without the Kent right of way, which would allow us to sell the property to the church and the council to go ahead with condemnation proceedings or whatever they plan to do," Gerlach said. "We won't stand in the way of that."

In other business the council:

Acquired 51 acres of property at the corner of Mount Auburn Road and Kingshighway the site of a new city park that's being planned as part of a $4 million parks and recreation project.

Tabled a request by the American Red Cross to allow volunteers to collect donations at primary city intersections. The police department recommended denial of the request for safety reasons.

But council members said they were concerned that the city has approved a similar request for a single-day event for Youth, Education, Literacy and Learning (YELL) a project to aid education and literacy. Councilman Al Spradling III said he wasn't certain whether the American Red Cross was planning a single-day or a month-long event.

"If they want a monthlong drive, I would not be in favor of it, but if it's a day drive, I would," he said.