County will renovate Cape building to become juvenile facility

The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted Monday to take one of the first steps toward renovating the building at 2137 Rust Ave. in Cape Girardeau to its new juvenile facility.

It was announced in February the county had bought the building to provide office space, department services and juvenile and family drug court proceedings in one location, consolidating a department that has been operating out of two locations since 1990.

Funds to buy the $505,000 building off South Kingshighway came from the 2011 refinancing of bonds used to build the county jail in 2002.

Commissioners on Monday discussed and agreed to use Treanor Architects for renovations to the building. The St. Louis-based architectural firm also designed the plans for the county's new courthouse facility, to be built in Jackson with funds from the use tax approved by voters in April.

Associate Commissioner Charlie Herbst said the county plans to do much of the work in-house, including minor electrical work and plumbing, but there are a couple of larger remodeling projects that will have to be tackled.

The idea proposed by Herbst was to hire Treanor "mainly just to start with the bathrooms first, and the waiting rooms -- that's kind of our main project. Just have [Treanor] get those plans drawn up for us so that we can get that out for bid."

Herbst said Treanor offered a bid of $45,000 for a "complete end-to-end project," but since the county is asking for its services only in a specific part of the building, he estimated the price would fall somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000s.

Before Treanor presented plans to the county about the update of court and office facilities, it reviewed buildings and departments to survey needs and existing conditions. That knowledge puts the architectural firm in a good place to begin looking at the building on Rust Avenue, said Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper.

"They are really familiar with what is needed with our juvenile facility and everything that goes with that department, so it would be something that I think we just need to have done to make sure we're heading in the right direction," he said.

Once renovations begin, the county will have $20,000 to contribute to the costs, thanks to a recently awarded grant. The county applied for the grant from the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator, requesting $35,620. The proposal in the grant outlines a plan to create a waiting room with children's comfort in mind.

"Grants are a large part of operations and program budget," said chief juvenile officer Randall Rhodes in an email. "But this one is a little different because it guides the county to remodel or construct a 'child friendly' waiting area for children involved in the juvenile court process."

Of the building's 10,000 square feet, 1,500 have been designated as the waiting area. The plan is to designate within that space a children's area with child-size tables and chairs, plus an activities area. Child-size accommodations also would be built in the restrooms.

The grant proposal said an estimated 45 adults and 10 children will use the waiting area for court services each week.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, Mo.

2137 Rust Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.