County Commission provides justice center update

Cape Girardeau County�s plans for construction of a new justice center are moving along.

The county had put out a request for proposals to secure $20 million in funding for the new courtroom facility, Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper said.

He said 13 firms had responded with bids for the financing, including Stifel Nicolaus, Raymond James, UMB Bank and several others.

�It�s a good thing to see so many people interested,� Commissioner Charlie Herbst said.

The RFPs were referred to the financial adviser for review.

A use-tax measure in April 2015 was approved to help pay for capital improvements, including the justice center, but the project will still need to be financed. The county has been studying the use-tax revenue received to determine whether it would cover the entire cost of the project and/or its scope.

The use tax brought in about $900,000 in 2016, and as of September 2017, it had brought in almost $800,000 for the year.

Koeper said the design-build process will commence soon.

In May, commissioners announced their choice of two design-build teams to compete for the final bid: Penzel Construction of Jackson and architectural firm Treanor HL, which has offices in Kansas City, Missouri, and other locations; and the other team, River City Construction of Benton, Illinois, and St. Louis architectural firm HOK.

Koeper said the commissioners expect to receive two sealed proposals from each team Friday. One will be a technical proposal, and the other will be the price.

According to Missouri statutes on the design-build process, the technical proposals will be opened first. Commissioners will review and score those proposals. Then 10 days after the technical proposals are opened, the prices will be opened publicly, and �we�ll go from there,� Koeper said.

�Hopefully, we�ll select a team to move forward, and then we�ll be in the next phase: building,� Koeper added.

Other action

• Mental health board treasurer Tim Schwent requested the 2018 tax rate remain the same as 2017, 0.0772 percent. Herbst and Koeper set a public hearing for 9 a.m. Sept. 6 to set the rate.
• Two people were appointed to serve on county advisory boards to replace recently-appointed interim Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson. Dickerson recommended Zachary Dillard, a sergeant in charge of communications with the sheriff�s department, to serve on the 9-1-1 Advisory Board, and Jaime Holloway, a detective who handles domestic violence cases, to the Domestic Violence Authority Board. Both recommendations were approved by Koeper and Herbst. Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy was absent.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630