Columbia city manager fears steel tariffs could change police station plans

City Manager Mike Matthes said the U.S. tariffs on imported steel could change the course of the city’s planned police substation.

“If the tariff kicks in, we may not be able to build it,” Matthes said.

The northside police station at International Drive and Rangeline Street is slated to open in 2020 at a total price of $9.6 million. Designs from McClure Engineering estimate the two-story building size at 16,500 square feet.

Matthes said the 25 percent tariffs on foreign steel pose a scarcity problem for steel consumers such as the city government. China is the leading producer of steel in the world, creating 49 percent of the steel used across the globe, according to the World Steel Association. The U.S. is the fourth-largest producer of steel at nearly 5 percent.

“The tariffs — it does force you financially to buy from the U.S., but then they run out,” Matthes said. “They can’t serve the global need. They can’t even serve the need in the U.S.”

President Donald Trump ordered the steel tariffs in March in hopes of spurring job growth in the U.S. The president plans to visit the U.S. Steel plant in Granite City, Illinois on Thursday. The plant, which is near St. Louis, reopened some of its steel-making operations shortly after the president’s order on tariffs, expecting a greater demand for domestic steel and bringing back around 800 jobs.

Vice President Mike Pence mentioned the plant’s restarted operations at a stop in St. Louis last week.

“Three years ago, under the last administration, the steel plant across the river in Granite City shut down — you all remember that — after more than a century of operation,” Pence said to the crowd. “But thanks to the president that you supported, and the Congress that has supported him, that steel mill is reopening and it’s rehiring 800 workers going back to work. Steel is back and America is back.”

Matthes said the fear of an increased price for the police station is speculative. The city is still waiting to receive bids to build the new station. If the price comes out higher than budgeted, Matthes said the city may consider building the station out of wood instead of steel and rock.

“We’re designing the best building that will serve our needs for the longest,” Matthes said. “So, if we make it out of wood, it will wear out faster and need to be replaced. So, we’re trying to be smart with our dollars, taxpayer dollars, make them last the longest they can.”