Problems of city, county buildings

Cape Girardeau Police Department

Police officials this year lobbied for a $7.3 million addition to address needs such as cramped quarters that require a trailer to be used to house 22 of the department's staff of 97. The department's municipal jail is deteriorating and often crowded.

Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Cape Girardeau County Courthouse

Security has been an issue at the county courthouse, though county officials are working to address this issue. Heating and air conditioning are problematic at this courthouse, too. County officials say the possible answer to correct problems at both the Common Pleas and county courthouse is to build a consolidated courthouse in Jackson that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and is custom-made to be a modern courthouse.

Cape Girardeau City Hall

Cape Girardeau City Hall

Built in 1937, the building is aging and too small to house the number of people who work there. Enough room does not exist for storing all the documents that the law requires municipalities to maintain. The two-story building has no elevator, which means it is not handicapped-accessible.

Common Pleas Courthouse

Common Pleas Courthouse

The antebellum building has annual heating and air-conditioning problems and is also not handicapped-accessible, with no elevator or bathroom railings. Judges have complained that security measures are lax. Plumbing problems exist, including the collapse of lines in the past. The building is not set up for modern technology such as computers.

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