By John Hacker
Jasper County voters will be asked in April to extend a quarter-cent, county-wide sales tax to address what county officials say are serious security concerns at facilities in Carthage and Joplin.
The Jasper County Commissioners voted on Tuesday to ask voters to extend the sales tax that voters approved in 2015 for construction of a new Juvenile Justice Center in Joplin and renovations to the courthouse in Carthage for a maximum of 15 years.
The measure will appear on the ballot in the April 2 municipal and school election.
Presiding Commissioner John Bartosh said the sales tax proceeds, as much as $60 million if the tax is left in place for the full 15 years, will be used for three specific projects:
• A new Jasper County Courts Building in Joplin to replace the aging facility at Sixth Street and Pearl Avenue in Joplin.
• Build on to the Jasper County Detention Center in Carthage to provide more space for prisoners and secure meeting spaces for attorneys to meet with clients.
• Renovate the third floor of the Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage to provide an additional court room and other improvements.
Bartosh said the county is finishing the projects that were to be paid for initially by the sales tax when it was first approved by voters in 2015.
• A geothermal heating and air conditioning system was installed for the historic Courthouse in Carthage. Sidewalks were also replaced and the Carthage stone structure was power-washed and tuck pointed.
That was completed in 2017 at a cost of a little less than $3 million.
• Construction is in the final stages on a new $10 million Juvenile Justice Center on Pearl Street between Fifth and Sixth streets in Joplin.
Bartosh said the current sales tax is slated to end when the bonds sold for these projects are paid off, and that could happen in the next three years.
Bartosh said all the new projects revolve around providing better security and safety for all residents of Jasper County,
“Number one is security in the Courthouse, that involves everyone in the county at one point or another,” Bartosh said. “And the jail, we’ve pushed that building way too long, it’s got to have something done to it. It’s just common-sense stuff, it needs to be done. It’s not a new tax, it’s a tax we’re already doing and it’s just a quarter of a percent. I don’t think anyone has lost any meals and we’ve done a good job on the juvenile justice center, that’s going to be a great addition.”
