Several state offices changing Jefferson City locations

Relocations attributed to department restructuring, tornado damage

In this file photo, workers cross a seventh-floor walkway under a bright blue sky Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, 2011, in the atrium of the Harry S Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City.
In this file photo, workers cross a seventh-floor walkway under a bright blue sky Tuesday morning, Nov. 10, 2011, in the atrium of the Harry S Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City.

The restructuring of some state departments by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has meant name changes and new duties, as well as changes to where they are located in Jefferson City.

Parson used executive orders earlier this year to downsize the state's Department of Economic Development by moving offices to other state departments, some of which were renamed.

The moves are intended to spur a focus by the state on workforce development and infrastructure investment.

In Jefferson City, the restructuring has meant literal moves from one state office building to another or from one floor of a building to another.

The biggest move - and by far the most costly one to date - was immediately spurred not by an act of the governor but by an act of nature.

The May 22 tornado that hit Jefferson City caused more than $2 million in damage to the Employment Security Building on Dunklin Street, Office of Administration Communications Director Brittany Ruess said.

Ruess had reported in late July it might cost nearly $1.6 million to repair or replace the building.

"We are currently in discussions with the insurance company, determining the total claim amount. Right now we are focusing on finalizing the claim amount for the exterior work (complete replacement of all roofs and replacement of rooftop HVAC equipment). We need to get the building weather-tight before we begin interior repairs. We are meeting with the insurance adjuster and independent consultant this week, with the intent of getting closer to finalizing the exterior claim and moving closer to completing the exterior repairs," she said.

The damage led to 81 employees from the Division of Workforce Development's office in the building to move to the Harry S. Truman State Office Building on West High Street.

Parson moved the Division of Workforce Development under the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, formerly named the Department of Higher Education.

Sixty-three higher education employees will also move Dec. 1 from the Jefferson State Office Building on Jefferson Street to the Truman Building, Ruess said.

Employees in the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center - also brought under Higher Education and Workforce Development - will remain in the Truman Building.

Also within the Truman Building, the Department of Economic Development is moving from the sixth to seventh floor, starting today.

DED is trading floors with staff in the Department of Commerce and Insurance's Finance and Credit Union offices to allow the DED offices to be together on one floor.

The Public Service Commission and Office of Public Counsel were brought under the Department of Commerce and Insurance, but Ruess said those offices are not moving from the Governor's Office Building.

The Department of Commerce and Insurance was formerly the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration.

All 35 or so Division of Energy staff moved at the end of August from the Truman Building to the Lewis and Clark State Office Building on Riverside Drive; the Energy Division is now part of the Department of Natural Resources.

Ruess said the move cost $13,025.85. She did not yet have cost estimates for the upcoming DED move today or the DHEWD move in December - what she called the primary reorganization moves.