The Perry County Commission on Monday adopted a resolution to approve the contract for the financing and construction of the Perry County Joint Justice Center.
Zoellner Construction Company of Perryville, along with Dille Pollard Architecture of Cape Girardeau were awarded the contract to build the new facility at an estimated cost of $26.5 million. Financing for the project been provided by the Bank of Missouri of Perryville.
In April of 2021, voters approved a capital improvements sales tax of half of 1 percent for 20 years to fund the construction of the Perry County Joint Justice Center. After 20 years the tax will continue at one-eighth of 1 percent (0.00125) to provide the funds necessary to maintain the facility.
Perry County Presiding Commissioner Mike Sauer said Monday’s contract signing was the culmination of many hours of deliberation and discussions from multiple city and county agencies.
“We used the design-build process to select a design and construction team, and Zoellner’s design ranked higher in scoring than anyone else who submitted a plan,” Sauer said. “We are excited to work with them and Dille Pollard to get this project started.”
The roughly 60,000 square foot facility expected to be completed in mid-to-late-2024 will house the Perry County Sheriff Department and jail, The City of Perryville Police Department, state and municipal courts, Perry County Circuit Court Clerk’s office, city and county joint 911 dispatch center, Perry County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Perry County Coroner’s office and local Emergency Management agencies. The facility will be located on the 6-acre tract of land purchased in 2021 in the 400th block of W. St Joseph Street.
Sauer said the project has been on the radar for a long time in Perry County.
“For years, we knew there was a desperate need for facility updates at the Perry County Sheriff’s Department, and the jail,” Sauer said. “There is also such a benefit to having all our law enforcement and emergency management agencies in one location and while also combining and sharing equipment and space to create more efficiencies. The needs of the multiple agencies that will call the Joint Justice Center their new home were taken into consideration as they are the ones who will be the most impacted working there day after day. They understand what their current spaces were lacking and what could be done to create something better that will meet the demands of our growing community and carry us well into the future.”
Construction of the facility is set to begin later this month, with demolition of assorted structures currently standing on the property before the start of onsite excavation work.
