St. Louis County’s Blue Ribbon Commission will conduct a public hearing June 12 in Clayton as it continues to develop solutions for county government’s aging buildings, parks and roads.

The hearing will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the County Council Chambers on the first floor of St. Louis County’s Lawrence K. Roos Building, 41 S. Central Ave.

County Executive Charlie Dooley established the Blue Ribbon Commission, a group of regional business, political and civic leaders, earlier this year.

He has asked the commission — officially named St. Louis County’s Capital Investment Initiative Blue Ribbon Commission — to recommend a viable, publicly acceptable plan to generate funds needed to correct widespread problems the county faces with many key pieces to its infrastructure puzzle.

“We need to reinvest in our community,” Dooley stated in a news release. “We have numerous long-term challenges to face, and we’re relying on the advice and expertise of the commission to help us overcome those challenges.”

The public hearing will allow the Blue Ribbon Commission to explain county government’s infrastructure dilemma, related funding needs and potential revenue sources. Commissioners also will hear from residents who wish to speak.

“The benefits of public involvement will be invaluable,” stated Commission Chairman Skip Mange, a former County Council member. “Our work cannot proceed without the public’s understanding and support, and a forum like this will help us accomplish both.”

Many of county government’s Clayton-based buildings are old, cramped, leaking and need to be replaced, officials say.

Besides the antiquation of many structures, “space” also is a prominent issue — with many departments shoe-horned into work areas that are simply too small to accommodate their work and serve the residents of St. Louis County. The county Police Department’s well-respected Crime Lab is in particular need of more room, the release stated.

In total, an estimated $430 million to $530 million will be needed in the next 10 to 20 years, county officials say.

Besides an expanded crime lab, St. Louis County faces a very keen need for new Family Courts, health labs, animal shelter, and office space into which it could transfer those parts of county government now operating out of the Family Courts Facility off of Brentwood, and the 121 and 111 S. Meramec buildings in Clayton. One potential plan would entail the demolition of the 121 and 111 buildings to clear the way for a new family courts building that could be physically connected to the regular courthouse and county jail.

The county’s parks system and arterial roads need significant, additional cash infusion as well, officials stress.

In April, the Blue Ribbon Commission toured the county’s problem facilities, and saw firsthand the 1960s-era elevator systems, jerry-rigged heating and cooling systems, corroded pipes, cracked concrete, dribbling roofs and windows and inadequate animal shelters. The animal shelters exceptionally are pressed for cage space, according to the release.

At previous commission meetings, county staff — primarily Director of Administration Pam Reitz, Public Works/Highways and Traffic Director Sheryl Hodges and Darin Cline, director of intergovernmental affairs for Dooley’s office — explained funding mechanisms that included the possibility of general-obligation bonds and certificates of participation.

And Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls explained the funding needs currently facing Metro, Missouri American Water and the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.

The Municipal League’s Tim Fisschesser discussed the need for a new, regional communications system for emergency responders.

The Blue Ribbon Commission’s goal is to produce an official recommendation to the county executive by August.

Besides Mange, commission members include: Frederick Douglas, chairman of the Workforce Investment Board; David Mason, David Mason & Associates; Don Musick, Don C. Musick Construction Co.; James Qin, Q&C International; Pat Kellett, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562; John Siscel, former executive director of the Mechanical Contractors Association; Nancy Cross, Service Employees International Union; Sally Roth, Regions Bank; George Brill, Talisen Tech; Colleen Wasinger, County Council; Hazel Erby, County Council; Barbara Fraser, County Council; Judith Metzger, Knoll Inc.; and Steve Lichtenfeld, Clayton Board of Aldermen.