County commissioners set to pick firm for county facilities study

Qualifications of architectural firms that want to evaluate Cape Girardeau County facilities and create plans for a new courthouse have been in the hands of commissioners since the summer. Monday a firm likely will be chosen as the county prepares to take a next step toward consolidating facilities spread through the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Commissioners plan to discuss and select a firm at their regular meeting next week.

Last spring, the county asked for proposals from firms with specific expertise in helping government entities create effective court structures, and received information from Dille & Traxel Architects of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; Treanor Architects of St. Louis; Image Architects of Carbondale, Ill.; White & Borgogoni Architects of St. Louis and Carbondale; and Goldberg, Sullivan and McCrerey Architects and Planners of St. Joseph, Mo.

Commissioners want to hire a firm to evaluate seven county buildings, including the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau, the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson, the administration building, the sheriff's department and ancillary offices. The architects also would be asked to draw up plans for several facilities based on the results of the evaluations.

"What we hope to get out of this is not to only build a new courthouse, but to look at how to best manage our assets," said Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst. "We want to see several options for what we could eventually do, a plan A, plan B, plan C and so on."

Discussion of new consolidated facilities has been ongoing for several years as the county has struggled with upkeep of several older buildings, in particular the courthouses -- both more than 100 years old -- and has run into limited space arrangements for other offices. Legislation passed in Missouri in 2011 would allow for consolidation. State statute before the passage of House Bill 340 required the county to hold court and maintain circuit clerk and probate division offices in both Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said he is hopeful a vote will happen Monday so the planning process can move forward; commissioners held off making a final decision about which firm to begin talks with so Herbst had time to evaluate qualifications of each, Koeper said.

Herbst took office in January after he was elected in August to replace Jay Purcell, who advocated for the county to consolidate facilities during his time on the commission.

Koeper said that after a firm is selected, the commission will negotiate a contract for services. Until the contract is negotiated, no dollar figure can be attached to the study and proposed plans, since state rules prevent the process from including prices before a firm is selected to pitch services.

Materials submitted by the firms give a look at the areas of expertise for each and provide details on projects they have completed.

• Dille & Traxel Architects has engaged in design for many structures in Southeast Missouri -- most notably facilities for Three Rivers College and a new kindergarten center in Poplar Bluff, and other public and commercial buildings;
• Treanor Architects has designed numerous government office buildings and complexes that contain courthouses and jails;
• Image Architects produces plans for many commercial businesses and schools and other public buildings;
• White & Borgogoni Architects designed the 2006 addition to the Cape Girardeau Police Department and has been recognized for historic preservation projects, along with new public facility design; and
• Goldberg, Sullivan and McCrerey Architects and Planners designed the Cape Girardeau County Jail, which opened in 2001, along with the design of commercial and medical facility projects.

The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at the county administration building in Jackson. The commission will not meet Thursday, as Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy cannot attend.

eragan@semissourian.com

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