Public Safety and Justice Center to close morning of December 20th for utility work
The Dr. Donald E. Clark Public Safety and Justice Center, 303 East 3rd Street in Joplin, will be closed to the public from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, December 20, as staff works with contractors to replace the main electrical switchgear, which dates back to 1967 when the building was constructed. The City …
The Dr. Donald E. Clark Public Safety and Justice Center, 303 East 3rd Street in Joplin, will be closed to the public from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, December 20, as staff works with contractors to replace the main electrical switchgear, which dates back to 1967 when the building was constructed.
The City will continue critical building operations running with portable generators to power the necessary equipment, however, the public will not have access to the building during this time. This will not affect Police patrol or Fire operations.
This project required that City staff conduct significant planning and coordination to minimize the time the facility must be closed to the public and minimize the impact on public safety operations so they can continue to provide critical services to the community during this time.
In 2022, the city contracted with Gordian to conduct a facilities evaluation of many of our city buildings and systems. Those findings were categorized, and the result was a comprehensive list of buildings and assets within each. The company also made recommendations on equipment replacement based on national averages of anticipated life cycles. One of those items was the replacement of the Justice Center’s main electrical switchgear, which is original to the building and more than 75 years old.
Given its age, the electrical equipment and parts are no longer available for future repairs. New equipment has been specified and installed, and now the connecting wiring assemblies will be replaced and switched over, requiring the electrical service to be shut down for a brief time.
The cost of this project is $314,000, including engineering fees and is funded through the State of Missouri Legislative Priority Grant utilizing ARPA federal funding.
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