County mulls building overhaul ideas

A majority of government functions for Cape Girardeau County could be moved to the uptown Jackson square under a series of options for consolidation presented to the county commission by an architect Monday.

Sharon Schmitz, principal architect for Treanor Architects, presented three options for county government offices and departments, all of which would include building a new courthouse in Jackson along North Missouri and Washington streets.

Jackson is the seat of Cape Girardeau County, but there are several county offices and state-operated courtrooms in two county courthouses -- the 160-year-old Common Pleas Courthouse in downtown Cape Girardeau and the 105-year-old county courthouse in Jackson. Other offices and the county jail are spread throughout buildings and houses converted to office space in the uptown Jackson area.

County commissioners hired the architecture firm earlier this year to conduct a needs assessment study for county facilities. Schmitz detailed the results of the study, which analyzed the current and future needs of the county through 2033.

Talk of an attempt to consolidate the county's courtrooms and offices into renovated and new spaces in one location has been a topic for the commission for several years, though no plans for funding such a move are yet in place. The plans presented by the firm included only conceptual footprints and basic floor plans for new and renovated buildings. A range of cost estimates also was provided.

Needs

The study found that the population of Cape Girardeau County has been growing about 9 percent per decade and projected the space needs of the county on the assumption the increase will continue. The number of employees of the county, not including employees of the sheriff's office and jail, also is expected to grow from 165 to more than 220.

Schmitz said the "biggest situation" faced by the county is not having enough courtroom space and that several other offices, including the collector's office, is also "bursting at the seams."

A lack of courtroom space often causes scheduling issues for the courts -- not limited to prolonging the time it takes to set and hold a trial and other hearings. Four judges now use county courtrooms full time, and two more hold court there twice per week. The six judge positions, along with more clerks, are expected to be needed full time in the future.

A need for more space for court employees was found to be essential in the study, along with accessible buildings, more space for the county clerk and beds for inmates in the county jail. Increased security and space is also needed in lobby areas of county buildings, according to the study.

All the options include an addition to the north side of the jail, an underground corridor for moving inmates to and from jail and court and an enlarged kitchen space for the jail. The first two options also include an addition for the archive center building.

Option A: More buildings, less initial money

Option A

The first option would include building a consolidated three-story courthouse southwest of the existing jail, renovating the Jackson courthouse to hold the commission, county clerk and public defender; and renovating the administration building at 1 Barton Square to hold remaining county administration offices. The option would give the offices remaining in the administration building more room.

The option likely would be the most economical option for the county starting out, according to Schmitz, but would also mean the county would end with more buildings to maintain and operate, which could incur more cost in the long run.

Also included in the option would be to build a 60-space parking garage as basement space under the new courthouse. The new courthouse first floor would include offices for the prosecuting attorney and circuit court clerk, a jury assembly room, security screening, a lobby and building support. A second floor would include four courtrooms large enough for jury trials, holding areas for inmates and offices for judges and other court employees. A third floor would hold a drug court, two more courtrooms, judges' offices and the public administrator's office.

Option B: All under one roof and more parking

Option B

The second option would move nearly all county operations into a new four-story courthouse that would be in the same space as in the first option. The current administration building would be taken down and replaced with a two-level, 200-space parking garage. The old courthouse would house the county's emergency operations center, public administrator and public defender offices. All other offices now in the county's administration building would be moved to the first floor of the new courthouse, and all the courtroom space and offices basically would move up by one floor.

Option C: Ambitious plan and U.S. 61 reroute

The third option would be to move the county administration building and courthouse operations into a new courthouse that would be placed over the area near where Washington Street meets U.S. 61. The parking garage, slightly scaled down in size, would be built at the southwest corner of the jail. The county administration building would be replaced with a new section of U.S. 61 -- meaning there would be a considerable change in flow for traffic in uptown Jackson. The new courthouse would sit between the jail and existing courthouse.

Option C

A remodel of the existing courthouse would include space for a drug court, public defender and administrator offices and building support. All other offices, along with courtrooms and departments, would go in the new courthouse. The plan would require the cooperation of the city of Jackson and the Missouri Department of Transportation, since those entities control the streets and some right of way.

Only some of the office space used by the collector and assessor would likely remain in Cape Girardeau -- where it is now housed at the Common Pleas Courthouse annex -- under all the options. A juvenile assessment center office is also included in the cost associated with the options, although the commission is exploring whether to build that facility on several acres it already owns in Cape Girardeau.

The estimated cost to build the options ranges from $29 million to $48 million. Those estimates include expansion for the jail, which could be costly -- about $9 million.

Jail expansion was included in the overall plan since the population is usually about 30 inmates over capacity, and the need for more space in the future is anticipated.

Commissioners said the option of adding on to the jail, as well as other renovations and changes, might not be included in the ultimate plan the county could choose for facilities, so the current estimated costs could change substantially. Exact costs per new building or renovation were not given, but Schmitz said a new courthouse alone could cost about $12.5 million, depending on the size and floor plan option chosen by the county. The cost estimates did not account for possible inflation.

Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said the presentation gave the commission plenty to consider. Commissioners say they expect to select an option or a combination of the options and present to the public for feedback in coming months.

No plans for future use of the Common Pleas Courthouse were included in the study.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO