Letter to the Editor

An open letter from the mayor of Sikeston 3/21

Thursday, March 21, 2002

Capital improvement program is paying dividends

As my year as mayor of Sikeston comes to a close, I wanted to take a few minutes for some open reflection on what has been accomplished in the past 12 months, particularly with the expenditure of your capital improvement sales tax dollars and transportation sales tax.

In August 1995, you approved a quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax to provide a revenue source to address Sikeston's capital needs. Prior to that, voters approved a half-cent transportation sales tax to insure a perpetual revenue stream for street maintenance. As caretakers of those sales tax dollars, my colleagues and I on the City Council are charged with the wise allocation of funds to get the most "bang for the buck" for our community. In looking back over the past year, I feel we've gotten a huge bang for our sales tax buck.

A big case in point is the new T.E. Bryant Public Safety Fire Facility. Our community has had a tremendous need for a fire station on the west side of the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks. With the completion of the new fire station on North West Street, our firefighters no longer have to fear being cut off from a fire on the west side of town by a train on the Burlington Northern tracks. The capital improvement sales tax made this possible.

Along those same lines, our firefighters last year added a new 75-foot aerial truck to their fleet of firefighting apparatus. Again, this is your capital improvement sales tax dollars at work. The value of the aerial apparatus was proven in last month's fire at Homestead Electronics. Without the aerial delivery capabilities the truck affords, the fire could have easily spread to the adjacent businesses.

Police and fire protection are priority concerns. The capital improvement sales tax has enabled us to keep pace with the equipment needs of our Public Safety Department. Last year, those revenues enabled us to purchase three new and two used vehicles for our officers.

Streets are another priority concern with our citizens. Capital improvement acquisitions in the past 12 months will enhance our Public Works Department's ability to provide maintenance. We're particularly excited about the two leaf machines which we put into service late last fall. The ability to remove leaves from the streets will alleviate drainage problems caused by blocked inlets and, of course, leaf removal will improve the overall appearance of our neighborhoods.

The Street Division also received a new street sweeper, courtesy of the transportation sales tax. This is another service which our residents appreciate and have grown to expect. The Transportation Sales Tax also funded a $1.162 million street improvement program in the last year which addressed various street and drainage problems throughout the community.

A project which we are very excited about, which became a reality in the last year, is our new Community Services Building. A very generous private donation got the ball rolling on this facility and we were able to match those funds to make the project happen with our capital improvement sales tax revenue. From the number of inquiries our staff has received on the new building, it's obvious to me there is a need for this type of facility. We feel it will be a huge asset and a real source of price for Sikeston. It should be completed around the middle of May.

A need we have had for some time in the Park Division has been addressed this past year with the construction of a new restroom/concession stand facility for the Little League baseball fields. Again, this should prove to be a source of pride for the Little League and the community.

We saw some great improvements in the business community in the last 12 months with the development that has taken place along South Main. Our Tax Increment Financing program is an integral part of that development. The arrival of Lowe's and the new traffic control improvements aside, the city received an additional windfall from all that development - R.S. Matthews Park and C.P. Wing Lake - thanks again in large part to a generous private donation. The park and lake will provide many years of enjoyment for our residents. We've already begun to make improvements in the park to make it usable with capital improvement sales tax funds.

We're fortunate to have the money to fund an ongoing program of capital improvements that is paying huge dividends in terms of the quality of life here. This is a credit to you, the voters, who had the foresight in the last decade to approve the sales tax measures that have given us the financial wherewithal to be a progressive community.

Folks, things are good for us in our hometown, and they're getting better. Yes, we have some problems but we're working to solve them, and we're making headway. We were fortunate last year when we had to fill the vacancy for the Public Safety director's position that the best man for the job was already in the department.

Since promoting Capt. Drew Juden to chief, the Public Safety Department is at full staff for the first time in recent memory. This includes a number of good officers who have returned to the department and who have been instrumental in some of the changes implemented by Chief Juden. At the City Council's direction and with their full support, a drug unit was established within the Public Safety Department to bring to bear the resources needed to address this most serious of issues facing our community. In the past year, we have seen a 27 percent decline in Part One Crimes in Sikeston, which include homicide, forcible rape, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny/theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

There was a dramatic increase last year in the number of cases of property maintenance violations which were prosecuted in Municipal Court. Thanks to aggressive action on the part of our Code Enforcement officers, court action taken on identified violations increased on tall weed and grass complaints 317 percent; junk and trash complaints 286 percent; and derelict vehicle complaints 339 percent. Fines assessed in Municipal Court for property maintenance violations increased from $3,754 in 2000 to $17,431.50 in 2001. There is a concerted effort being made to clean up the eyesores that blight our community.

We're fortunate to have the money to fund an ongoing program of capital improvements that is paying huge dividends in terms of the quality of life here. This is a credit to you, the voters, who had the foresight in the last decade to approve the sales tax measures that have given us the financial wherewithal to be a progressive community.

All things considered, it's been a good year. I'm proud of the progress we've made and excited about the prospects that lie ahead. It's been a pleasure and privilege to serve as your mayor.