Dear Editor:
A plan to demolish the old Cole County jail to build a new courtroom in its place is a bad idea on so many levels.
The estimate for the demolition and construction of a new courtroom is now $3.2 - $3.4 million. Much higher than the $2.2 million the commissioners said they would spend. And when do projects ever cost just the estimate?
The old jail is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a local landmark by our Jefferson City Historic Preservation Commission. By all accounts this structure is a beautiful classic stone structure that blends well with the courthouse and embodies a part of our community's history. It tells part of our story. It is part of our identity.
If you travel to neighboring river cities such as Hermann, Rocheport, Boonville you will see what happens when cities embrace their history. You can feel the history in those cities and tourists flock to them to experience it. What would these cities have if they had torn down everything? Jefferson City has come a long way to revitalize its downtown. The facades have come down, the landscape improved. We have a beautiful downtown. The old jail is part of that landscape.
On another level, every time we tear something down we add debris to our landfill and shorten its life. To rebuild a structure requires the manufacture of many new materials with the expenditure of much energy resources. In terms of environment, the greenest building is one that is already built.
It has not been fully explained why the county offices that occupy space in the courthouse cannot be moved to the vacant second floor of the new jail facility across the street or to a renovated old jail and a courtroom added to the courthouse. And why, with a national downward trend in crime do we need a big courtroom? The latest reports say the new courtroom would seat 80 not the 100 they originally wanted. The current large courtroom on the second floor seats 75. All this to gain five seats?
I urge the commission to use their $2.2 million to renovate the old jail, move county offices to that space and add another courtroom to the courthouse.
We can have both historic preservation and progress with some creative approaches. Remember, that demolition is forever.
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