Commission hears public opinion of crime lab

The Greene County Commission will hold the 7 p.m. meeting at the Historic Courthouse, Room 212.

Commissioners will hear comments on a proposal by 15 area financial institutions that have offered to provide a $2.4 million low-interest loan to finance the lab. Each bank would contribute $160,000.

Voters in November rejected the crime lab as part of the Community Safety Initiative, which would have provided about $3 million over a five-year period for renovation of the L.E. Cox Building, 440 E. Tampa.

The banks’ loan proposal was made in January and, in February, Springfield City Council agreed to enter into negotiations with the participating banks.

Also in February, council members presented more than 300 e-mails and phone calls from citizens, 90 percent of which indicated they were in favor of the bank’s offer.

The participating banks are: Bank of America, Citizens National Bank, Commerce Bank, Countryside Bank, Empire Bank, Great Southern Bank, Guaranty Bank, Liberty Bank, Metropolitan National Bank, Mid-Missouri Bank, The Signature Bank, State Bank of Southwest Missouri, UMB Bank, U.S. Bank and Village Bank.