Prop C.O.P.S. education effort continues

In late December, the Perry County Commissioners voted to put the Proposition C.O.P.S. initiative on the April ballot, which would fund a joint justice center for the county and city of Perryville. Since that time, organizers have spent time informing the public of the benefits of a new center.
Last week, Perryville city administrator Brent Buerck gave an informative presentation to the Perryville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee and Connections at the Catalyst Center for Business. Afterward, there was time for questions.
While much of the focus has been on the condition and overcrowding of the jail at the Perry County Sheriff’s Department, Buerck thinks there are issues that extend beyond the jail facility.
“The two biggest things that stand out for me are how we do medical transports and also how we transport to court. Having to load everybody up, bring them downtown, get them out, get them up there. Plus, tying up officers that could be patrolling the streets to sit outside a doctor’s office or a hospital bed seems to not be the best use of resources,” Buerck said.
An artist rendering of what a joint justice center could potentially look like was part of Buerck’s presentation. A floor plan designed by Dille Pollard has been on display at the County Commissioner’s meeting room.
“The architect has suggested we’re looking at a six acre tract, and ultimately, it’s been suggested we’ll be in the range of $15 to $17 million for the building and upwards of 70,000 square feet (of space),” Buerck said.
Buerck pointed out a large increase in the cases handled by the Perry County Prosecutor’s office. It was at 425 in 1990. That quadrupled to more than 1,836 in 2020.
In the office area of the sheriff’s department two detectives share one office.
That doesn’t provide the most secure location and only one interview can be conducted at a time. There are other considerations.
“Your office or my office is full of weapons, staplers, pencil sharpeners, all those things that people can use as a weapon and we’re bringing in people who are already known for making bad choices and we’re asking them to sit there calmly and answer questions they don’t want to answer,” Buerck said.
Prior to constructing the facility on Highway 61, the sheriff’s office and jail was at 217 North Spring Street, where the sheriff lived on site.
“Even then we struggled,” Buerck said. “There were no separate compartments for which to confine woman or youth, so those were challenges then already.”
The existing sheriff’s facility and jail was constructed in 1989.
“It was designed to hold 16 people, 14 men and two women,” Buerck said.
“Life has changed, in Perryville and Perry County,” Buerck said. A few of the major ones he highlighted were: assessed value in 1998 at nearly $191 million increased to nearly $377 million 2020; population of 16,648 in 1990 is now up to close to 20,000, District 32 is in the process of a campus rehabilitation and businesses such as Gilster-Mary Lee, Perry County Memorial Hospital and Bank of Missouri have expanded.
The structure was built to house two women and it now, on average, holds six to eight per day.
“That is a challenge,” Buerck said.
More than 30 decades ago, the sheriff’s office had 21 employees and handled 700 arrests per year. It has grown to 32 employees, and the most recent arrest tally was 1,060 a year.
“Between the two organizations, however you count them, you have 60,000 calls for service of 911 last year,” Buerck said.
Another issue is getting multiple doors between confinement and freedom, Buerck said.
The use of computers and working with screenas has taken off.

“1989, that doesn’t seem that long ago, but who had a computer, who had a smartphone, who had a tablet, who had 13 of them in their house if you count what your kids got?” Buerck asked. “That just wasn’t we thought of when we built this facility. Computers were not prevalent, it was not constructed or considered to be designed for computers. There are no connections or ports for data. There’s no conduit for installation.”
If approved April 6, the initiative would impose a half cent sales tax for 20 years. After 20 years it would sunset, it would fall off, but one-eighth would stand on to help maintain the building.
“If we’ve learned anything about buildings, 20 years later you have to do things,” Buerck said. “You have to put roofs on them, you have air condition problems. You have to maintain it. This one tax, we believe, would do both of those things, and that’s the question being asked of the voters.”
In recent years, the state of Missouri has recommended the merging of dispatch centers for improved efficiency.
“If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right,” Buerck said.
The existing sales tax now in Perry County is at 7.875.
If PropCOPS approved, the rate increase to 8.475 percent. Buerck pointed out that would be lower than Ste. Genevieve County but the same as Cape County. Buerck noted a sales tax is based on consumption and provided the example that a $2 cup of coffee would cost an extra penny.
“It’s a small number in the grant scheme of things.”
Buerck explained the rationale of a sales tax. vs. property tax.
“A sales tax is better because visitors pay sales tax. It’s almost 51 percent that are not city residents.” That percentage isn’t as high on county side.
Property tax assessments have typically been used to generate funding for public schools, Buerck said.
Following his presentation, Buerck was asked what will be done with the existing police building if the measure is approved. The structure has a relatively New roof, still fits city’s needs at this time.
“We’re not here because we need a new police department,” Buerck said. “It does have value. It’s got a good location. We’re working with a government partner who is interested in buying that. I do not have a contract signed, but if we can negotiate with that partner directly, they would pay appraised value, they would take possession and move into it...I think we have buyer.”
As for the existing sheriff’s facility, the land is likely worth more without the building.
“It’s in bad shape, it’s likely to be torn down,” Buerck said.
As for the courthouse, more “non-secure activities” would be added, Buerck said.
“We might be able to orient offices better for efficiencies,” he said. “Right now, we’ve got offices separated by hallways. We would want to open it back up to the people.”
A justice center facility would be constructed with ability to add on more in the future. As far as possible locations, that remains on ongoing discussion.
“We’re looking at several different locations. That’s up for debate. We don’t know. There are different reasons for going different places. We’ve spoke to folks on the fringe of the industrial park. We’ve spoke to folks on the bypass and we’ve actually found a property in downtown as well. We don’t know exactly where it’s going yet, but would do an analysis.”
It would certainly have to be in the city limits of Perryville, according to Buerck.
“Our problem doesn’t go away if folks decide this isn’t the right solution,” Buerck said.