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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-1990.Council Restructures Airport BoardCoundl By Jay Eastift Staff Writer restructures airport Lbara CAPE GIRARDEAU — The City Council has approved an or- dinance changing the stna;ttue and clarifying the duties of the city's Airport Advisory Board, despite concerns that the measure would "dilute" the body. The council also Monday heard an ahemMt for an at Rion Monne ubum Road River m the planned Mississippi River bridge route. The con took ne action on dee McClanahan attended dee councils study session in discuss the airport ordinance. He said the board voted === recmmnend adoption of the or- dinanct wide same reservations. I think it probably bringgs (the airport board) mase in ccmfounuy Set AIRPORT BOARD, Page 4 board with your other boards," McClanahan said. "But there were some thoughts about the ordinance diluting the board. Ir does dilute it; there's no doubt about that." Council members said the or- dinance isn't intended to dilute the board, but to clarify the board's responsibilities and make the board similar to other city boards. Councilman David Barkkl1aagge said the ordinance wasn't dr red in reaction to a letter the airport board sent to the council earlier ibis year complaining that the council wasn't paying attention to their recom- mendations. Barklage said: "There have been some feelings that this is being done because the airport board's been real open and aggressive Ime- ly. That's not the case. "I think the reasons are to make the board more effective and help you all,' he told McClanahan. But Councilwoman Mary Wul- fers said her "gut reaction" was that the council was in some way trying W punish the board for its criticism -of thecouncii My first response to this was, this is a reaction to the letter the airport board sent to the council," she said. "Ifit is, I don't want any- thing to do with it." But City Manager J. Ronald Fis- cher said the measure is something the city's looked at for years. Councilman David Limbaugh said he didn't think the council and staff were reacting to the letter, but werein fact responding to the board's request for clarification of its responsibilities and powers. "We were responding to what they expressed they needed." he said. "It's certainly not any of our intentions in dilute the board." The ordinance essentially clarifies the board's role as an ad- visory body in the council. It also calls for a seven -member board with three-year terms instead of the current five -member board With six-year terms. Barklage said he favors more diversity in the city's advisory boards and increasing the number of members. He said limiting the length of terms would accomplish that. Wulfers asked Barklage if he thought the board had, in the past, W "as a one -minded clique." But Barklage and Limbaugh said any board with a limited number of members and extremely long terms tends to become narrow in its per- spective. Wulfers said she favored the or- dinance in general, but is against increasing the number of members. Limbaugh said the ordinance doesn't call for a seven -member board for a particular reason. He said City Attorney Warren Wells wrote the ordinance with no input from any of the council members one way or the other. Wells called the ordinance a com- posite of the city's other advisory board ordinances. But Rhodes said he would rather see the board remain at five mem. bers. Councilmen Hugh White, At Spindling III, Limbaugh, and Bark- lage all said they would support a seven -member board. The council members agreed that the current board members should be re -appointed in the new board McClanahan said he didn't think the council should restrict itself when choosing the remaining mcm- bers by appointing only aviators. "I think there might be a good John Doe out there that would make a good airport board mem- ber," he said. The report on an alternate exten- sion of Mount Auburn Road was From given by attorney Kevin Spaeth of Cape Girardeau. Spaeth spoke on befialf of Health Services Corporal - ion of America (RSCA). The Mount Auburn extension will connect that sheet with a new high- way that's expected to be com- pleted in five years and will cpn- met the planned Mississippi River bridge with Interstate 55. The city has been considering two possible roues for the exten- sion. One of the routes would go through the heart of the Northview subdivision and the other route would necessitate the destruction of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. RSCA owns the King- dom Hall property. Spaeth said HSCA has devised a third route for the extension, which would avoid the hall and Northview subdivision. He said the alternate route would affect an older, rental home situated west of the Kingdom Hall and would affect a home near the corner of Mount Auburn and Bloomfield mads. After looking at a map of the HSCA proposal, Fischer said the route appeared in be the best of the three proposals.