Cape needs solution for city hall

It's time to do something about Cape Girardeau's city hall.

The city has known for more than a decade that the current building on Independence, a former elementary school built in 1937, will not meet the city's needs for much longer.

The building lacks an elevator and its heating and cooling system needs a very expensive upgrade. Adding the elevator and HVAC system would cost more than $1 million.

The soon-to-be-vacated police station on Sprigg Street is not suitable, and the city hopes to sell the building.

Another city-owned building will soon be vacated as well. The Cape Girardeau County government plans to vacate the Common Pleas Courthouse when it builds its new courthouse complex in uptown Jackson.

So the city is looking at three options: spending the money to upgrade the current city hall, moving offices into the Common Pleas Courthouse or building a new facility somewhere else.

The city recently kickstarted the process by seeking contractors to perform a needs analysis and study the options.

At this point the only thing that's certain is that status quo isn't an option. The city is prudent to begin planning earnestly for a solution.