JACKSON -- It will probably be early 1995 before the city of Jackson makes the move to its renovated city office building complex at the corner of West Main and Court Street.

The new city office complex will be located in the former Jackson Exchange Bank building. The city purchased the building in March 1993 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for $625,000, after the now-defunct Exchange Bank Corp., ran into financial difficulties and was closed.

The building is now occupied by Boatmen's Bank of Jackson, which is leasing it from the city until the bank completes construction of its new facility.

Boatmen's Bank spokesperson Pat Ferrell said construction of the two-story facility on a one-acre tract at West Main and Russell will begin in late spring.

Ferrell said the delay in the start of construction is due to asbestos that was found in a house on the tract. Before the house can be demolished, the asbestos must be removed under Missouri Department of Natural Resources and federal Environmental Protection Administration regulations.

Said Ferrell, "As soon as we receive all of the DNR and EPA permits, we'll seek bids from a contractor to remove the asbestos from the house. That work could begin this winter. We anticipate actual construction of the new building will begin in late spring. We hope to have it completed before the end of the year, but realistically, we're looking at moving in sometime in early 1995."

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said neither he nor the board of aldermen have any problem with that timetable.

Said Sander, "It's up to the bank. We're anxious to get into our renovated city office building, but we fully understand they need time to complete their facility. We are certainly not pushing them."

Ward 2 Alderman Kevin Sawyer observed, "We're in no hurry; we've been in our present city hall for about 33 years, so we can wait another year or two before moving to our new city office building."

Sander said the city wants all plans for the renovation completed so work can begin when Boatmen's moves out of the building.

The mayor said, "I do not anticipate any major renovation that would require a lot of work. There is nothing I see right now that would prevent us from moving into the bank building within 3-4 months after Boatmen's is out."

Sander said an ad hoc committee he appointed last year to work with architect John D. Dudley of Jackson has met with the architect to begin preparing preliminary floor plans.

Said Sander, "The preliminary plans envision most of the city offices will be located on the first floor level, where they are easily accessible to the public. That includes the city collector's office, city clerk's office, personnel director/office manager, public works director and city administrator.

"Of course, some of this may change as we continue to develop the floor plans. With our new public works director, Mark Stone, and personnel director and office manager, Larry Koenig, on board, both will have a great deal of input on the planning for the new city office complex."

Sander said the city council chambers will most likely be located on the second floor, in the former Exchange Bank board room. He said, "We want a nice sized city council chamber to accommodate a greater number of people than what we have now in our present city hall. If we decide to locate the city council chamber on the second floor, the mayor's office and the aldermen's offices would be located nearby.

"There should be no problem with access to any of the offices or the city council chamber because the building is equipped with elevators and is accessible to the handicapped."

Sander said computer services will be located in the west wing of the building, where the Exchange Bank had its computer operation set up.

The basement of the building is now used for storage space and has a small kitchen and break room for employees. Sander said he does not see any major changes there.

At first, it was thought the Jackson Public Library would make the move with the city into the new building. But Sander said preliminary engineering studies indicate the load limitation over the drive-in portion of the building will not support the weight of the heavy book stacks without expensive alterations.

"At this time, we do not know the status of the library. We plan to discuss the issue ... and come up with the best solution that will also be at the best economical cost to the taxpayers," the mayor said

Sander also noted the engineering study included concerns about moving the library to the bank building because of high volume of traffic at the West Main and Court Street intersection. "It was felt this would be traffic safety hazard to children crossing the street to get to and from the library," the mayor said. "The present location of the library does not present as great a traffic hazard problem to young children."

Sander said the city has two options with disposing of the current city hall. "We can sell it, or turn the entire building over to the library board and let the library expand to both floors," he said.

Ferrell said the new Boatmen's Bank building will emphasize customer access and convenient parking. It will also include an automatic teller machine. Said Ferrell, "We're looking at more off-street parking for our customers and staff. Right now, parking is extremely limited because of our location near the courthouse and county administration building.

"We've also added to our Jackson staff, so it's getting a little crowded over there. That's another reason we're anxious to get into our new facility."