FEDERAL BUILDING SITE GETS NOD OF APPROVAL

For several years now, plans have been made to construct a new federal building in Cape Girardeau to replace the existing federal building on Broadway.

At one time, there was talk of moving court-related operations out of the existing building and using it to house other federal agencies. Now the plan calls for the new building to be as much as five stories tall with all federal operations housed in one location. The existing building likely would be sold.

Much of the time since a new building was first proposed in 1991 has involved deciding where to build the new courthouse. At first, the General Services Administration wanted a location close to the existing federal building. The GSA chose a couple of sites nearby, but most community support went to an area called Happy Hollow next to City Hall on Independence Street, about two or three blocks from the federal building.

At various times, the former St. Francis Hospital building and the vacant Marquette Hotel were proposed, mainly as a way of cleaning up a couple of eyesores. Some other locations along Broadway were given high marks by the GSA, as was a location on Themis Street just across the street south of the existing federal building's parking lot. But those options soon lost favor for a variety of reasons as the Happy Hollow location gained more prominence.

All through this process, questions of need and cost also were considered, although with far less scrutiny than the location.

Lawyers who regularly are involved in federal court hearings have said repeatedly that there definitely is a need for additional court space. They have complained about shifting schedules and delayed hearings that they say are caused by the limited space in the federal building.

Some U.S. district judges also have seen a need not only for a new courthouse, but also for a full-time federal judge to be assigned in Cape Girardeau. Currently, judges from St. Louis travel to Cape Girardeau to hold hearings and preside over trials.

As for cost, the figure currently is an astounding $40 million. Compare that to the proposed cost of the entire River Campus proposed by Southeast Missouri State University at the former St. Vincent Seminary, which the university now owns, or the school-construction projects approved by Cape Girardeau voters that include a new elementary school and a vocational-technical school. And voters will be asked to approve a new high school sometime in the not-too-distant future. All the school projects are expected to cost less than the new federal building, as is the River Campus project.

Only two federally funded projects in Cape Girardeau, the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and the extensive flood-control project, will cost more than the proposed federal building.

But there has been no hearing on the cost of the new federal courthouse. It has just been taken for granted that the project will cost at least $40 million. A chunk of that expense has been attributed to the high level of security now required at federal buildings. Even the current federal building has undergone millions of dollars in security improvements in recent years.

There was a hearing last week on the location, though. Nine people showed up to speak. All of them said they favored the Happy Hollow location.

As things stand now, the first construction funds are expected in fiscal 2001, and the new building could be open by 2003. With the national economy and federal tax revenue humming, it is likely the costs will receive easy approval.

Thanks to a good economy, it seems, most taxpayers aren't worried too much about how their money is being spent.