FEDERAL COURTHOUSE HEARING SET FOR APRIL 28

People will have a chance April 28 to voice their views on a proposed site for a federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

The General Services Administration will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. at Cape Girardeau City Hall.

People can sign up to speak at the hearing beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The hearing will focus on the proposed Happy Hollow site, a nearly six-acre tract west of City Hall.

The hearing is the next step in the process of buying property for construction of a new federal courthouse.';

Jim Ogden of the General Services Administration's regional office in Kansas City said a final decision on the site could come within a few weeks after the hearing. Once a decision is made, the agency can begin the process of buying the property, he said.

The entire courthouse project could cost $40 million, with construction of the building alone expected to cost some $30 million.

Construction could take two years. The building could be ready for occupancy in fiscal 2003.