New police station nears completion; opening date announced

Workers sought to put the finishing touches on Cape Girardeau�s new $11 million police station and municipal court Wednesday as city officials announced the new station near Arena Park will open on March 5.

The construction project should see �substantial completion� by Friday, said Sara Nenninger, the police department�s administrative coordinator.

Police chief Wes Blair said crews are finishing painting, among other things. �There still is a little bit of flooring that needs to done,� he added.

City manager Scott Meyer said new furniture still is being delivered and information technology and security equipment must be installed.

�It is looking real close to being done,� Meyer said.

Blair said the police department plans to move from its Sprigg Street location to the new building at 2530 Maria Louise Lane over the first weekend in March and be up and running by March 5.

City officials plan to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 2. Open houses will be scheduled in late March or early April for the public to tour the facility, Blair said.

He said he wants to hold one open house on a weekday and another on a Saturday to make it convenient for the public to visit the station.

Cape Girardeau Municipal Court, which is now held at city hall, will relocate to the new facility by March 7. Court offices at city hall will be closed March 6 and no court will be held March 6 and 8.

Police administrative and records offices will close at noon on March 2 and reopen when the new station begins operations on March 5, city officials said.

Nenninger said the first weekend in March will be a busy time with computers, phones and numerous paper files having to be relocated to the new station.

Blair said a major task will be moving criminal evidence containers to the new station. The chief said officers must maintain a strict chain of custody while moving the containers.

Nenninger said the containers will be stored on rows of tall shelving that can be moved together or apart along tracks in the floor.

Police operations will take up the east part of the building while court offices and the courtroom will be housed on the west side.

Giant letters on the outside of the building proclaim Court and Police. A large, circular, Cape Girardeau city seal decorates the front of the building.

There are separate public entrances and lobbies for municipal court and the police department.

Meyer said, �It is designed for the public to be in parts of the building.�

The one-story, 35,500-

square-foot building is close to double the size of the two-story downtown station, officials said.

The new station is designed with security in mind. Officers and others who work at the station will swipe ID cards to enter various areas of the building, Nenninger said.

Touring the new facility Wednesday, Nenninger showed off the modern d�cor, including the white-bright lighting throughout the building.

The structure has numerous offices, a large, open-space area with desks, and lots of storage.

�It�s kind of a big maze,� said Nenninger.

The public entrance to the new station features a double set of doors. After 7 p.m., the second set of doors will be locked. The station commander will be able to unlock those doors to allow individuals to enter when necessary.

The lobby will include a wall memorial to the five officers who have died serving their community over the years, Nenninger said. The memorial is scheduled to be installed next week, she added.

Public groups will be able to use the department�s community room when it is not being used by law enforcement, she said.

�Detectives will have their own conference room, Nenninger said.

Traffic and nuisance abatement officers will have their own space as well.

One area of the building will provide space for processing evidence, she said.

The new facility has modern jail cells situated around secured pods. The jail can accommodate as many as 20 inmates, according to Blair.

Nenninger said she is looking forward to the building�s opening. �We are pretty excited about it,� she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641