What will the future ofJoplin’s Justice Center look like? Tonight, we’ll get an update at a special meeting of the Joplin city council.
The new Justice Center is estimated to cost between 30 and 60 million dollars depending on whether city officials choose to renovate the currency facility or construct new buildings.
While council members and city staff will speak and debate what should be included and how large the Justice Center should be there will likely be considerable discussion about how to pay for it.
According to a 46-page presentation on the city’s website, JoplinMo.org officials outline two primary funding sources, issuing long-term debt, or issuing another ½ center Captain Improvement Sales Tax, at a time that the city is currently collecting a ⅜ CIS tax.
The city outlines five possible payment options, all requiring voter approval. One feature of all five of the proposed plans is that the justice center would take at least two decades to pay off. The two construction projects that will be discussed tonight both contain a new downtown fire station, with one including renovations to the police department and building additions to the court building.
Another includes a completely new justice center for all three departments. This is during a transitional time for Joplin PD, the department's new chief of police starts next month.
The special session of the Joplin city council gets underway tonight at 5:45.
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