Thanks to those involved in new police station

On Dec. 3, the Jackson Board of Aldermen received a recommendation from the design-build selection committee to enter into a contractual agreement with Penzel Construction Company, Inc. to design and build a new Jackson Police Station Building. The artist rendering was provided to and recently published in the newspaper.

I would like to thank all of those responsible for helping this project reach this important milestone.

First, I would like to thank the seven companies that showed initial interest submitted their statements of qualification to design and build the station. Their early interest and initial ideas ensured we had a premier group of construction companies and design firms from which to choose. Furthermore, a special thanks goes out to the two finalists, Penzel Construction Company, Inc. and Kiefner Brothers, Inc. These excellent local companies and their partners provided well thought out and extensive technical proposals that will help bring our police station building to life.

Next, I would like to thank our city consultant, George Harris, and the city staff for supervising our design-build process from the initial request for qualifications to awarding the contract. The method for awarding such a project was new to the city, and it was managed expertly by those individuals assigned to complete the task. The advantages of the design-build process are evident in the results of an excellent proposal that exceeded our initial requests at no additional up-front cost.

A very special thanks to the city Design-Build Selection Committee, Alderwoman Katy Liley and Aldermen Joe Bob Baker and Tom Kimbel. This small, but very important, group worked with George Harris and the city staff to review all of the submitted proposals and to score them on their technical merits. This included many hours of reading, discussing, and evaluating the material over a nine-month period.

Thanks to the Jackson Board of Aldermen who started the planning for a new police station five years ago. The elected officials worked closely with police chief James Humphreys and his department staff to formulate the initial requirements for the new station. The board also worked with the city staff to formulate a strategy that will pay for the building and ongoing operational expenses. This included the use of the city's financial reserves to pay for the new building construction costs and proposing a public safety sales tax for the ongoing operational costs and additional officers.

My thanks also extend to the Cape Girardeau County commissioners and sheriff's department. Through an intergovernmental cooperation agreement, the city was able to reduce the overall project cost of the new station by over 1 million dollars. This reduction included Cape Girardeau County taking over the jail responsibilities for the city and an agreement to combine our 911/dispatch departments in the sheriff's office beginning next year.

Finally, a very special thanks to the citizens of Jackson for passing a half-cent public safety sales tax in April 2018. This tax will enable the city to add officers to both our Police and Fire Departments, provide for additional needed equipment and technology, and pay for the operational costs of the new building and proposed renovations to the current complex to be repurposed by the fire department.

In approximately 15 months Jackson will have a new police station we can all be proud of, as well as additional officers working within the police and fire departments. These public safety improvements will help reassure our community will remain a safe city in which to work, live, and raise our families.

Dwain Hahs is the mayor of Jackson.