Three Poplar Bluff City Council members would like to see the location of a new municipal building put to a vote of the people.
Mayor Ed DeGaris, Robert Smith of Ward 5 and Barbara Horton of Ward 3 attended a meeting Monday evening held by community group Citizens with a Voice.
The group formed following a 4-3 vote in August to relocate city hall, the police department and city court from the downtown area to Barron Road. DeGaris, Smith and Horton voted against the measure, supporting instead to remain on property already owned by the city on Second Street.
"I hate to see it come to this, but if this is what the public wants, then yes, it's what we need to do," DeGaris said at the meeting Monday, which drew approximately 20 people to Jim and Jerry's on Vine Street. "I don't want the citizens to lose faith in the council and what we do."
Organizers say collecting signatures from 25 percent of registered voters, approximately 2,600 people, could force the matter of location to be put to a city-wide vote.
Volunteers are taking petitions door-to-door and will have them available Saturday at the Downtown Poplar Bluff booth in front of US Bank during the Iron Horse Festival. Petitions are also available Myrtles Place, McNeely Shoe Service and Childress Auto Sales.
The group wants to collect the signatures before the city council signs a contract to purchase Northwest Medical Center. The council has not given a date of when this could occur, but has promised the public would be allowed to see the document before a council vote.
DeGaris added Monday he believes everyone who sits on the council has their heart in the right place.
Mayor pro tem Susan McVey, council members at large Ron Black and Steve Davis and Ward 4 representative Philip Crocker say the purchase of Northwest is a better option because of cost and location.
DeGaris, Smith and Horton voted against naming Northwest as the preferred site following lengthy comments at an August meeting from members of the public, who supported remaining downtown.
Horton announced at a Sept. 18 council meeting she had been approached by residents who wanted a city-wide vote on the matter and that she would be working with the group.
"I don't think you will see three city council members doing this very often," Horton said Monday, adding she was doing what she believed was best for the citizens.
Smith said the matter is important to him.
"I think we made a bad move and sent the wrong message," he said.
Citizens have told the council where they want city offices and why, he said.
"I've said it before, we're driving the final nail in the coffin for downtown. If the city packs up and moves, why should anyone else stay?" Smith asked.
It takes a revenue-generating property out of property tax collections, Smith added. The city would no longer collect property taxes for Northwest after the purchase.
The building also costs approximately $120,000 a year for utilities, DeGaris said.
Opponents of the Northwest site said during Monday's meeting they could not support the location without a maintenance line built into future budgets.
The council has started the process to secure $8 million in financing for a new building.
McVey said Sept. 18 numbers had not been finalized concerning what the purchase and renovation of Northwest will cost, or if any improvements will be needed to widen that section of Barron Road.
An offer of $3.45 million has been made for Northwest, the council said this month, up from a purchase price of $3.395 million discussed in August. The council has placed renovation costs at almost $5.6 million for 50,000 square feet of the 80,000-square-foot building. Renovations of $1.3 million for another unused part of the building are not included in the initial expenses.
The council has estimated it would cost between $7.5 million and $8.75 million to construct a new building on Second Street. They have said this could include renovations of some of the existing complex.
The Second Street site is used currently for city court and city council meetings. City hall and the police department are in rented buildings now.
Demolition of the Second Street structure is not included in either estimate, council members have said. Architects previously have said this could cost an additional $1.4 million.
Resident Barbara Lewis of Ward 3 said she attended Monday's meeting after discussing the pros and cons of the new location with friends. It feels wrong to move everything that is the heart of a town out of the historic section, according to Lewis.
"I think it's very important we do get to vote," said Lewis, who volunteered to collect signatures at Iron Horse.
Jim Shields plans to take the petition to homes in his ward.
"I think the city council is not listening to the wishes of its constituents," said Shields, of Ward 2. "I want to see downtown grow. I want it to change."
Dr. John Patty and his wife, Dustie, who have an office at Northwest, are also seeking signatures on Barron Road, the group said. Patty, who is a part owner of the complex, opposes the sale, his wife has said. Dustie Patty has told the council some partners at the facility are being forced out by the sale. She said the property is controlled by majority owner Focus Bank, following the death of another partner.
A committee established by the council to review locations for city offices also supported a downtown site in 2016.
Citizens with a Voice can be contacted at citizenswithavoicepb@gmail.com, and found on Facebook under Citizens With a Voice-Poplar Bluff.