ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis County;s current headquarters will be out of compliance with the city of Clayton's new code if they do not install a fire suppression system by 2028.
County Executive Dr. Sam Page laid out the three options ahead of them. Renovate the current building in downtown Clayton, find a new building to move into or his preferred choice, construct a new headquarters.
Dr. Page says he'd rather the County make a larger investment and build a new Headquarter, saying he believes it would be the best long term solution.
"The third option is to build a new public safety administrative building," Page said, adding the new facility would include, "a new police headquarters, a new crime lab and new core government services."
That solution is the most costly and requires the County's voters approving a property tax increase.
"If the voters would approve this plan, that would mean an increase in their taxes to the average household of $69 per year."
The cost to construct a new building is five hundred and sixty two million dollars, compared to one hundred and seventy five million dollars to renovate the current headquarters. However the St. Louis County Council has not agreed to approve the ballot measure. County Councilman Dennis Hancock wants to take bids on renovating the building to get a more accurate price point.
Lets get a bid to find out how much it's gonna cost. I've talked to a lot of people I know in that industry, nobody think's it's going to cost $100 million to retrofit sprinklers in this building." Hancock said. "Lets get a real number... there's a lot of good plumbing companies and pipe fitting companies in town, let's put those guys to work."
Dr. Page says the issue with their current building go beyond a lack of a sprinkler system. The fifty year old building's costly repairs is outpacing the city's budget and the issues are piling up.
The work would have to be done to remove asbestos, lead, mold, and whatever else we find behind the walls when we begin peeling off sheetrock. This doesn't include any of the deferred maintenance costs... that we've become behind in over the past ten years."
Dr. Page took the press on a tour of the building showcasing the issues it has. There are cracks in the foundation on the upper floors, water leaks mixing with asbestos in the ceiling and after Monday's rainfall, two inches of standing water sit right next to the transformers in the basement. Those transformers not only power the County Government building but the jail right next door. Councilman Mark Harder says these are issues that should have been handled long ago.
We can address some of the other issues, such as water penetration and things like that. Things can be fixed. It's just now what was supposedly a crisis six year ago is an urgent crisis today. And they've been asleep in some cases, why haven't we been addressing that?"
Councilmen Dennis Hancock and Mark Harder both say they'd like a meeting with Doctor Page to discuss the matter.
"For some reason [Dr. Page] decided not to talk to to us," said Hancock, with Harder adding, "What has to happen to break this stalemate between the Council and the Executive need to sit across the table."
Doctor Page would like the same thing and says time is running out.
"The decision needs to be made now if we're going to put this on the ballot for November. It's just not responsible to put this on the ballot without moving forward with bond council and with time, with appropriate time and adequate time, to communicate with the voters and residents of St. Louis County so they know what's in front of us."
The Councilmen said they have not requested a meeting with Dr. Page. A spokesperson for Dr. Page says they tried to set up a meeting between the Public Works department and the Council but never heard a response. He added that Dr. Page would be happy to sit down with the Council. If the County does not install a fire suppression system or move out by 2028, they could be fined by the city of Clayton $1,000 a day.
