Cape Girardeau County selects contractor for emergency ops center

This story is updated

Sides Construction of Jackson was selected Thursday, April 13, to be general contractor for Cape Girardeau County's new $4.8 million emergency management operations center (EOC) — a 13,440-square-foot structure to be built by mid-2024 to withstand tornadic-level winds and consolidate all emergency equipment in one location.

Sides emerged as low bidder among five entrants for the EOC work and was formally awarded the contract by the County Commission.

The chosen EOC location is 3555 Veterans Memorial Drive, close to Exit 102 (LaSalle Avenue/East Main Street) of Interstate 55.

First District County Commissioner Paul Koeper said each bidder, at the county's request, presented four alternate options for the project, but added the county will do any additional work deemed necessary and Sides will complete the base bid proposal.

Controversy

County commissioners announced Dec. 13 it had purchased the selected 6-acre site from Touchdown Development LLC at a cost of $750,000, a price the county said includes water, sewer, fiber and other infrastructure capability.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said at the time it will ultimately cost the county less to buy and develop the Touchdown property than had the county gone ahead with its original plan to situate the EOC inside county-owned Klaus Park.

Factoring into the commission's decision was the county's unsuccessful attempt to obtain a $1 million development grant for the Klaus Park site.

Cape Girardeau County officials at the site of the future County Emergency Operations Center, 3555 Veterans Memorial Drive. From left, First District County Commissioner Paul Koeper, Office of Emergency Management deputy director Sam Herndon V, Office of Emergency Management director Mark Winkler; and Second District County Commissioner Charlie Herbst.Jeff Long

Cape Girardeau County officials at the site of the future County Emergency Operations Center, 3555 Veterans Memorial Drive. From left, First District County Commissioner Paul Koeper, Office of Emergency Management deputy director Sam Herndon V, Office of Emergency Management director Mark Winkler; and Second District County Commissioner Charlie Herbst.Jeff Long

In a series of meetings last fall, some county residents objected to Klaus Park as the EOC venue, including members of SEMO Mudcats, a local youth mountain biking team, which said it extensively uses the park for practice.

Comments

"As a first-class county, Cape Girardeau County has been recognized as a leader in emergency planning in this region for many, many years and to establish a regional-type building will be important to the entire area, not just Cape County but surrounding agencies," Second District County Commissioner Charlie Herbst said in remarks Thursday at the planned venue for the EOC building — a current wheat field.

An outline of Cape Girardeau County's new emergency managerment operations center is seen in this blueprint. County commissioners Thursday, April 13, selected Sides Construction of Jackson as general contractor for the $4.8 million project, to be completed in mid-2024.Submitted

An outline of Cape Girardeau County's new emergency managerment operations center is seen in this blueprint. County commissioners Thursday, April 13, selected Sides Construction of Jackson as general contractor for the $4.8 million project, to be completed in mid-2024.Submitted

"With what happened recently in Bollinger County, it's evident that our guys in emergency management do an excellent job and they just need a building to work out of, to store their material and to be able to do their jobs," Koeper added.

Capability

The largest section of the EOC will be an 8,422-square-foot storage and maintenance area for various pieces of county emergency equipment — including a mobile command center, a flood response trailer, a mass-fatality trailer, a mass-casualty trailer, three mobile animal shelters and space for two portable generators.

The site will also include offices and a conference area.

County Office of Emergency Management director Mark Winkler, who is slated to retire in July, and his designated successor, deputy director Sam Herndon V, said the new building will help the county respond more quickly and efficiently to emergencies.

"Right now, (Office of Emergency Management) has some equipment — some of it is ours and some is federal equipment assigned to us — and the real problem is, it's scattered all over the county. We're trying to bring it all together to make it readily accessible at a moment's notice — so we don't have to drive 15 miles one way to pick up equipment or 10 miles another way. We're designing the (new) building to sustain 200-mile-per-hour winds so it can resist any violent tornadic activity in a worst-case scenario," Winkler said in remarks last year to the County Commission.

What's next

Winkler said core samplings of the property have been conducted, and added he expects Sides to begin site development work for EOC this summer.

Financing, Koeper said, will come from American Rescue Plan Act funds and via the county's capital improvement monies.

At present

Emergency management operations currently are based out of the basement of the county administration building at 1 Barton Square in Jackson, with emergency equipment located mainly outdoors at various county-owned sites.