STUDY MAY LEAD TO NEW FEDERAL OFFICE BUILDING

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson has taken procedural steps that could lead to construction or leasing of a new federal office building here.

The House Public Works Committee has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on Emerson's request for an "11-B study" by the General Services Administration. The study is an action by Congress directing GSA to study federal agency needs, both present and projected of an area, and report back within 90 days.

Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said there is an apparent need for more office space for federal agencies in Cape Girardeau and it is important to address the issue properly and promptly.

"The 11-B study will cut to the thick of the problem and make a rational determination of current and future space needs," explained Emerson. "Hopefully, a summary of the GSA's results with possible solutions will be prepared before next summer.

"I am not interested in creating new office space or constructing new buildings just for the sake of doing so. Rather, I have requested this study so the subject may be rationally approached, and the space needs of the affiliated agencies of government can be systematically addressed," he said.

Most of the federal offices in Cape Girardeau now are housed in the Federal Building at 339 Broadway. The building, opened in 1968, has 28,590 square feet of space. However, recent decisions by judges of the United States District Court's eastern district to locate a full-time U.S. magistrate judge, two assistant U.S. attorneys, and maintain a standing grand jury here will put a strain on space.

The 5,000 square feet of space needed for the assistant U.S. attorneys and the grand jury has been met temporarily by renting space on the top floor of the Capital Bank Building, next door to the Federal Building.

Besides providing space for the federal court and court-related agencies, the Federal Building also has offices for the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Emerson's main district office, and a regional office for Sens. John Danforth and Christopher Bond.

Because of the space squeeze, Social Security disability hearings are being held in space rented from motels. Offices of the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Agriculture Stabilization Conservation Service have been moved to other locations in Cape during the last two or three years.

A needs study conducted by the eastern district court, concluded that their projected needs for office space would exceed all the present space in the Federal Building by 1994. Currently, court and court-related offices use 12,047 square feet.

Their 30-year projected need for the courthouse in Cape Girardeau is 90,000 square feet.

Lloyd Smith, chief of staff to Emerson, pointed out that just because a certain needs level is projected in a study does not mean it will be met. "Agencies do not always get what they ask for," said Smith. "They analyze their needs and make a request, but it's not like they will get every square foot they ask for."

The needs study by the court points out that "even if most, if not all, 16,543 square feet of non-court related components could be expeditiously moved out, there would be insufficient space to retain the court and court-related growth by 1994."

The court study suggests at least two options be evaluated as quickly as possible. One option would be to build an annex to the present building, providing about 60,000 square feet of usable floor space. A second option would be to move to a totally new building that is either owned or leased by the federal government. A new courthouse could be constructed in two phases, with initial construction focusing on a 10-15 year period on a site large enough to accommodate a second addition, the court study says..

Smith said the study being sought by Emerson will provide the same kind of data on non-court federal offices that the previous study did for court-related offices.

On Sept. 30, Emerson wrote letters to U.S. Reps. Gus Savage, chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds, and James Inhofe, the ranking Republican member of the subcommittee, requesting a hearing before the House Public Works Committee.

Smith said the request for a study "was fairly routine" and noncontroversial, and could get a favorable vote from the committee on Wednesday. Both the House and Senate will have to take action to order the study.

Smith said he anticipated congressional action being completed by Thanksgiving. "We will urge them to expedite it as much as possible because of the pressing needs some of the agencies are experiencing," said Smith.

The GSA will make the results of its study available to Congress and at that time, Smith said, "Congress has to make a determination what is the best way to fill those needs, and that may or may not be a new building."

Smith said Emerson would favor trying to locate a new federal office building as close to the present Federal Building as possible.

"In this case, we are looking to consolidate offices of the federal government as close to the present courthouse as possible, if the study shows there is a need for additional space. Obviously if the courts will fill the present building, the other offices will have to move somewhere else; the question is where."

The Social Security Administration office is an example of a non-court office that will need additional space in the future, Smith said. The office currently has 17 employees, but with the aging population expected to increase over the next several years, the staff will likely have to be expanded.

Because of the study, a proposed expenditure of $1.5 million for this fiscal year to improve the seismic design of the building from a Richter-7 to a Richter-8 level will be put on hold.

"When this study gets back, it will give us what the space needs are of all federal agencies here - their short-term, medium-, and long-term needs," said Smith.

He added that no action can be taken toward addressing space needs until the 11-B study is completed.