Courthouse tops list of Cape County projects for 2020

If you ask Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy what he believes will be the most significant development in the county this year, he’ll tell you the answer is easy.

“Well, of course, the new courthouse is first and foremost,” he said following 2019’s last regular meeting of the County Commission earlier this week.

The three-story, 82,000-square-foot courthouse on the corner of North Missouri and West Washington streets in Jackson sits between the county’s existing courthouse, built 112 years ago, and the sheriff’s department and county jail complex.

Financed with revenue generated by the county’s use tax, approved by voters in 2015, construction of the $18 million structure began in late 2018. The courthouse is slated to open by April 1.

Several of the building’s six courtrooms are already nearing completion, according to 2nd District Commissioner Charlie Herbst, who noted carpet was being installed this week on the building’s third floor.

Herbst described the courthouse project as a milestone in Cape Girardeau County’s history.

“It’s been more than a hundred years since we, well, since the county, has done anything like this,” he said. “Seems every 30 or 40 years, schools replace buildings or are otherwise upgrading, but counties are typically a little slower doing things.”

The planning process for the new courthouse dates back nearly a decade.

“Back in 2011, we had a law on the books that said Cape County ‘shall’ operate two courthouses, one in Cape and one in Jackson,” Tracy said. “We changed that ‘shall’ to ‘may,’ and that’s what got the whole ball rolling, because without that language change, there would have been no reason for us to build a new courthouse and operate three.”

The change in the law’s language made it possible for the county to turn over the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau to the City of Cape Girardeau, which has plans to incorporate it into a new city hall complex.

Meanwhile, the commissioners said a decision will probably be made this year about the future of the existing county courthouse in Jackson, which has been in continuous use since 1908.

“We will be asking for input from local leaders and interested citizens regarding the future of the old courthouse,” Herbst said.

Regardless of the old courthouse’s new role, the commissioners said the building will require some extensive maintenance.

“We know there will have to be some major work done to that courthouse,” commented 1st District Commissioner Paul Koeper, who specifically noted the need to replace the building’s boiler system and make other upgrades to the structure’s HVAC system.

Besides the courthouse transitions, the commissions said other significant developments on the horizon in 2020 will include:

• Enhanced emergency communications among various police, fire and emergency response agencies in the county through the Missouri Statewide Wireless Interoperable Network (MOSWIN) system and the county’s new communications center that will serve the county and the City of Jackson.
• Ongoing road paving and maintenance projects throughout the county.
• The completion of upgrades to Cape County Park South.
• Potential reconfiguration of offices in the county’s administrative building to enhance workflow and customer service.

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