JUVENILES AND JOBS

In the past, the Cape Girardeau County Commission often found itself in the awkward position of mediating skirmishes between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. It isn't only in high school athletics that these two cities have sustained a friendly rivalry.

To the benefit of both cities and the county, though, discord between Cape Girardeau and Jackson has largely dissipated in the past few years.

The Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association is an organization governed jointly by both cities and the county. Its most recent effort has been to try to lure a state juvenile facility into the county.

The Division of Youth Services is eying 28 counties in Southeast Missouri to find a site for a 30-bed center for juveniles convicted of felonies. The $3.8 million center would employ 50 people with a $1 million payroll and operating expenses of $250,000 annually. That's a pretty good-sized industry.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission came up with a plan to offer a 32-acre tract at Klaus Park, situated just southwest the Interstate 55-Highway 61 interchange, for the center. Industrial recruiter Mitch Robinson is leading the effort to get the center with help from the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the county commission.

It seems an ideal plan. Klaus Park is little used by the public, and, by offering a portion of the park to the state in a long-term lease agreement, the county won't relinquish taxpayers' land. If DYS would close the center at some point, county taxpayers will keep control of the property.

Although the plan, endorsed by Cape Girardeau, Jackson and the county seems ideal, there is some opposition.

Opponents of the center quickly gathered 124 signatures of "Concerned citizens opposed to locating DYS juvenile center for felons in Klaus Park." Some of the petitioners live near Klaus Park. Others live in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Those living near the park are concerned about declining property values. More importantly, they worry about their safety. Klaus Park, although within Jackson city limits, is in a rural, tranquil setting. The thought of felons -- even juvenile felons -- housed in their midst has some neighbors seeing red.

Since commissioners and Robinson first proposed the Klaus Park site for the center, they have sought the input of county residents. As can be expected, the results are mixed. A new state juvenile center would bring jobs and cash into the county's economy. But residents' concerns shouldn't be dismissed on the basis of economics.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones plans to meet with some of the most vociferous opponents to the plan. It is probably the best course of action right now.

Once applications from the various counties and cities in Southeast Missouri are in, DYS will conduct public hearings on the proposal before final recommendations are made in April and a decision on the center is made later in the summer.

Much can change between now and then. Commissioners should do what they can to assuage residents who oppose the center. Even if the commission is able to persuade enough opponents to their side, the ultimate decision rests with DYS. The more concerted the pitch, the better its chance of success.