JUVENILE CENTER SOUGHT; FREE LAND NEAR I-55 IS COUNTY'S MAIN LURE TO STATE

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County officials want to reel in a state juvenile facility much like any other big industry, this time using free land as a lure.

The Division of Youth Services is studying 28 counties in Southeast Missouri, attempting to locate a 30-bed secure facility for juveniles convicted of felonies. Any community with over 2,000 population may be considered, and proximity to medical services and colleges or universities is a plus.

It's an attractive offer. The $3.8 million facility would employ 50 people with a $1 million payroll and operating expenses of another $250,000 annually.

The facility will employ youth managers, teachers, clerical workers, medical professionals and cooks and will house males around 15 years old.

County commissioners are offering several acres in the 32-acre Klaus Park on a 99-year lease with another 99-year option. The state would pay $1 per year maximum, and Jackson city officials propose to run utility service to the site.

Industrial recruiter Mitch Robinson is leading the effort to get the facility here with help from the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the commission. He said Cape County has an "excellent shot" at landing the facility, but said it is too early in the decision-making process to get any answers from the DYS.

Applications are due March 1. Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association, said he expects seven other Southeast Missouri communities to apply. DYS personnel will research the areas and then conduct public hearings in which people living within 600 feet of the proposed sites may speak. Only one family lives that close in Cape Girardeau County.

The final recommendations will be made in April, with a site chosen 90 days later.

Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said Klaus Park hasn't been used to its full potential as a county park. If DYS locates its facility there, the county likely would pay more attention to landscaping and facilities.

The only stumbling block Jones mentioned was the potential agreement to lease the land instead of sell it, but the Missouri Department of Conservation has a similar agreement in North County Park.

"We didn't feel it was within our realm to give away taxpayers' land," he said. "If at any time in the future DYS wanted to close its facility, we want the taxpayers of Cape County to have control over the park land."

Officials hope the public will complete a community attitude survey being published in this edition of the Southeast Missourian. Surveys also will be available Cape Girardeau and Jackson city halls and should be returned to the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association.

If DYS decides to locate in Klaus Park, and even if it doesn't, the Juvenile Detention Center for the 32nd Judicial District may be moved to the park. Juvenile officer Randy Rhodes said state juvenile justice experts will tour the existing detention center, located on Merriwether Street in Cape Girardeau, study the number of referrals and determine if the district needs a new center.

The difference between the Juvenile Detention Center and the state facility is that the center merely holds residents until their hearings. Afterward, some juveniles are sent to DYS, where they are detained, treated for their problems and educated.

The eight-bed center currently is full, with juveniles being farmed out to other centers for $50-$70 per day. However, it also accepts juveniles from other judicial districts for the same cost, usually resulting in a financial balance.

Sometimes juveniles not accused of serious crimes are released so the center can take others.

"The largest complaint we get from the community is that we are a revolving door -- kids are going in and kids are coming out," Rhodes said. "It has to be that way. If not, we'd have kids in facilities all over the state."

A new Juvenile Detention Center would feature a courtroom and offices for Rhodes and his staff. With its proximity to the DYS facility, it would be the only center of its kind in the state, Rhodes said.

Commissioners said they want to get an answer from DYS about the state facility before doing any real work on the local center.