CHOOSING A SITE

Considerable support has surfaced for using the old St. Francis Hospital location as the site for a proposed new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau. While there are advantages to that idea, there are many other considerations that must be evaluated. One way to represent the public's interest in where the courthouse goes would be well served by having City Hall take a more visible and active role in the site-selection process.

The first question, of course, is whether or not another federal building is really needed here, particularly in light of the fact that the estimated cost of the new courthouse and other related improvements has about doubled to the $30 million range. Much of the cost escalation is attributed to the need for high-tech security mandated by the federal government following the bombing last year of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Generally, lawyers and judges who are familiar with the caseload of the U.S. district court here say new federal court facilities are needed. The existing federal building in downtown Cape Girardeau has limited space that curbs the number of legal proceedings that can occur at any given time. As a result, some civil cases are being delayed while available space is in use. Also, with a new courthouse, a federal judge would be permanently assigned to Cape Girardeau. This is considered a timely step, considering the workload of federal cases involving Southeast Missourians.

The city has been involved from the outset in the process of deciding where a new federal building should go. The city has provided a great deal of information to the General Services Administration and at one point even suggested four sites that would meet both the needs of the federal government and serve the city's best interests. None of those suggested sites included the old St. Francis Hospital.

But there may be some potential for the former hospital in a plan being worked on by state Rep. Mary Kasten and others to turn the old building into a service center for state agencies.

Meanwhile, the GSA's search for a federal building site continues following a decision not to pursue two blocks of old homes that had been the agency's first site choice. It now appears the GSA is looking for even more input from local sources on a site. Plans by the city council to hold a hearing on the matter, as well as the Chamber of Commerce's effort to set some priorities for potential locations, all point to a better-informed decision when it is made.

The more information available to local residents, the city, the chamber and the federal government, the more likely it is that the best choice will be made for where to put a new federal courthouse.