SCOTT CITIANS DISCUSS JUVENILE FACILITY

SCOTT CITY -- No one spoke out in opposition to a proposed juvenile detention center in Scott City but they had a few questions for the Missouri Division of Youth Services.

Representatives from the youth services division met with the Scott City Council and residents during a public hearing Monday night in the council chambers. About six residents attended to learn more about the proposed center.

Scott City is one of about 15 cities that applied for the site, said Pat Doyen, assistant director for the youth services division of the Missouri Department of Social Services.

The department wants to build two 20-bed juvenile detention centers in Southeast Missouri. The centers are needed to accommodate the increasing number of youth who are sent to juvenile centers and to keep the youths closer to home.

Twenty-eight counties are eligible for the site, which requires at least 5 acres of land.

Cape Girardeau County has offered three sites; Sikeston has offered two; and Dexter has proposed one site for the center. All applications were due Sunday.

Unfortunately, only two cities will be happy about the department's decision, Doyen said, adding that a decision likely will be made in May.

Scott City is offering either to donate or lease to the state a 13-acre site in the city. Part of the site is outside the city limits and will be annexed later this month.

The proposed site is along Rose Con Road in the southwest section of the city; it is a former sewage lagoon.

"We'll either give it to the department or lease it," said Mayor Larry Forhan. "It's just whatever the department feels is most appropriate. We are really interested in the jobs it will bring."

The 10,000-square-foot center would bring about 30 jobs to the city and would operate on an annual budget of $161,000.

Most of the operating budget will be spent in the local community, Doyen said.

Community support is an important criterion for site selection. In Poplar Bluff, where a similar site operates, community groups have adopted the center so it can participate in local programs, said Bill Vaughn, regional administrator for the Southeast Missouri area.

In other business, the council approved a liquor license for Larry's Store 24 and set an annexation hearing for April 15.