Give renovated juvenile center a chance

The Missouri Judicial Finance Commission has been asked to decide whether Cape Girardeau County should build a juvenile detention center to replace the existing 30-year-old facility.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission asked the state commission to make a decision. The commission would like to wait. Two judges and the chief juvenile officer of the 32nd Judicial Circuit favor a new center.

Cape Girardeau County would have to pay for the bulk of a new juvenile center, although Bollinger and Perry counties also would help since they are within the judicial circuit. The judges and juvenile officer initially sought a 32-bed center that could cost up to $4.3 million. Cape Girardeau County's presiding commissioner, Gerald Jones, says the commission had agreed earlier to a $2.7 million detention center with 20 cells. But when the commission approved its budget last week, it didn't budget any money for the center.

At issue is whether the circuit court can order the county commission to build the center and mandate the size and design of the structure. The court hasn't issued such an order.

The state's seven-member Judicial Finance Commission includes three county commissioners from around the state, three circuit judges and an appeals court judge.

The chief juvenile officer, Randy Rhodes, has said the larger structure is necessary to secure state funding for additional staff to operate the center. Otherwise, he said, the county would have to pay the cost of added staff. Jones says the county won't pay for additional juvenile staff under any circumstance. He pointed out the salaries of juvenile officers are paid by the state, and staffing also would be up to the state.

The county commission has legitimate reasons for not wanting to spend the money for a bigger detention center.

For one, the existing center reopened last week after having undergone $35,000 in renovations. It was closed in August after a girl started a fire in her cell, prompting safety concerns. Some of the renovations are designed to lessen the threat of fire.

Another is that the center is seldom full. It can hold eight juveniles but frequently houses only three to five.

It seems logical to let the renovated center prove its worthiness or deficiencies before deciding whether the circuit really needs a new detention center.