CLAYTON 鈥 The brick fa莽ade of the 50度灰视频 County government building is falling off.
The basement, which houses a high-voltage power supply, floods.
Ceiling tiles on the eighth floor are missing in spots. A few sheets of plastic protect workers from the asbestos above.
And there are no fire sprinklers in most of the 10-story, 54-year-old high-rise.
鈥淭here are buildings from ancient Rome that we can walk around today because there are enough resources to maintain them,鈥 county public works Director Stephanie Leon Streeter said on Tuesday. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had the resources to do the preventative maintenance.鈥
County Executive Sam Page wants to build a new headquarters, but he faces a stalemate at the County Council, which must approve any proposal that goes to the voters. On Tuesday, he organized a media tour of the facility, the Lawrence K. Roos building, to make his point: It needs to be replaced, and officials don鈥檛 have much time left to do it.
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鈥淭his question has been put off for way too long,鈥 Page said.
The county has outlined a few options, if voters agree to pay for a redo: Cleanup asbestos and install sprinklers, which are required by Clayton city code, for $175 million. Retrofit and lease another building for $476 million. Or build a new administration and police headquarters, plus a mid-county satellite office, for $562 million, according to estimates from the county鈥檚 contractor, WSP Global Inc.
The least expensive option would cost the owner of a $250,000 house about $18 per year in increased property taxes, and the most expensive about $69, Page said.
Council members are skeptical.
Republican Councilman Mark Harder of Ballwin doesn鈥檛 think Page鈥檚 office has offered enough detail or transparency, and wonders why the county isn鈥檛 considering buying an existing property, such as the Caleres building in Clayton.
Democrat Rita Heard Days of Bel-Nor wants a public meeting to discuss options with public works officials before making any decisions.
Democratic Council Chair Shalonda Webb of unincorporated North County said she won鈥檛 green-light any proposal unless Page releases long-delayed pandemic relief aid for several nonprofits serving 50度灰视频 County residents.
And Republican Dennis Hancock of Fenton said he鈥檇 be in favor of using some of the $178 million from the NFL Rams settlement, and doesn鈥檛 believe the situation is as urgent as Page鈥檚 administration says. The first two floors already have sprinklers.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to take three years for us to put sprinklers in this building. The infrastructure for the sprinklers is already here,鈥 Hancock said.
Two councilmembers want a new building. Republican Ernie Trakas of unincorporated South County said Roos isn鈥檛 salvageable. Democratic Councilwoman Lisa Clancy of Maplewood said she鈥檚 frustrated the council hasn鈥檛 seriously considered any options, though contractors and public works officials presented them last summer.
鈥淚t seems like every hearing we have and every discussion we have, we鈥檙e going backward and asking questions we鈥檝e already asked,鈥 Clancy said.
Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway, a Democrat from Chesterfield, did not respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, Page said he wants a new building. If the county leased, it wouldn鈥檛 own anything at the end of the agreement.
And the existing building requires such an overhaul that it would mean 鈥渢hrowing good money after bad,鈥 he said.
Windows and the fa莽ade need replacing. The sewer pipes at the county police headquarters next door are rotting. The Roos building leaks 鈥 in one cubicle, a temporary pipe leads to a bucket to catch the water 鈥 and sometimes county workers can鈥檛 figure out where the leaks are coming from.
An exterior tuckpointing job done about 10 years ago already shows cracks. A device on the top floor that circulates air is so rusted and crumbly that it would disintegrate if the county tried to replace it.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 keep putting this off,鈥 Page said Tuesday. 鈥淚n three years, we鈥檙e going to have to be sprinklered in this building, or we鈥檙e going to have to be out of it.鈥
Page wants to get a ballot initiative before voters in November.