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State of the County: Dixon highlights development progress

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Last edited 5:41 p.m., Oct. 5, 2020

Despite “unanticipated adversities” brought on by the coronavirus pandemic this year, Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon said the area has made progress in key areas, such as development, and that residents would emerge from the crisis stronger.

Dixon on Oct. 1 delivered a State of the County address during the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Good Morning, Springfield program.

“This pandemic has been a serious challenge for all our citizens, our county employees, elected officeholders and staff,” he said during the livestreamed event at the Greene County Public Safety Center. “Through it all, the beautiful tapestry, the colorful fabric of our community, has held strong.”

Dixon used his presentation, in part, to highlight development work underway in the county, namely the $127 million new Greene County sheriff’s office and jail that’s under construction at 5100 W. State Highway EE near the Springfield-Branson National Airport.

J.E. Dunn Construction Group Inc. and DeWitt & Associates Inc. are serving as general contractors for the project, which calls for 330,000 square feet to house up to 1,244 inmates, up from 709 at the current jail, and accommodate most of the sheriff’s office operations on one campus. The development designed by nForm Architecture LLC is slated for completion in 2022.

“There is tremendous work being done to get the new jail completed,” Dixon said. “It is on schedule and on time.”

While the new jail is underway, the county is working on an increase in temporary jail space as law enforcement officials continue to encounter inmate custody rates that exceed capacity.

Dixon said a large temporary jail facility, approved earlier this year by the Greene County Commission, also is moving on schedule at a parking lot near Campbell Avenue and Nichols Street, between the Greene County Morgue and the Public Safety Center. With structures leased from All Detainment Solutions, the expansion increases the current jail capacity by 282 beds, according to the State of the County report released Oct. 1.

In other developments, Dixon said the Greene County Highway Department has completed a nearly $1 million, 110-foot bridge that creates a new connection between two existing subdivisions near the intersection of farm roads 164 and 129; a $600,000 bridge replacement on Farm Road 87; and a $507,000 bridge replacement on Farm Road 17.

Dixon also pointed to projects across the county being completed this year that are funded by the 2017-approved half-cent general revenue sales tax. He cited street and city building improvements in Walnut Grove; sidewalk enhancements and police vehicle maintenance in Willard; drainage and street improvements in Strafford and Fair Grove; a new police car in Battlefield and a new vehicle in Republic; and city park enhancements in Ash Grove.

Bidding farewell
Dixon also used his State of the County speech to say goodbye to Greene County colleague Harold Bengsch, who’s set to retire in December after serving as an associate county commissioner since 2005. Bengsch has more than 60 years in public service, including 20 years leading the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

“His fingerprints are everywhere, and as you know, he is simply just solid gold,” Dixon said.

He said Bengsch would be kept on “speed dial” with the county commissioners.

Bengsch this summer was recognized as Springfield Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement in Business honoree during the 2020 Economic Impact Awards. At the time, he told SBJ that continued collaboration would be key as the community moves forward.

“It’s other people that are important,” Bengsch said, pointing to his motto that “there is no limit to what can be accomplished when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.

“If you follow that motto, things will happen that are good for the community, and that’s what’s important.”

The county currently has a total budget of $234 million, a general revenue fund of $62.8 million, 957 employees and a coverage area that comprises nearly 688 square miles, according to the State of the County report.

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