BENTONVILLE — Monday was a happy day in Siloam Springs: The Benton County Health Department finally was able to reopen an office there. To which we say hooray, and it's about time.
Our friends on the west side of the county had gone 2 1/2 years without the Health Department's presence there, despite great demand for its services. It is a shame that it took so long.
Now we happily switch our focus to another issue concerning the Health Department, along with the future of the juvenile court and detention center.
Under one plan being considered by the Benton County Quorum Court, the Health De partment would relocate from its current building in Benton ville on Arkansas Highway 102 to the Center for Nonprofits - also known as the former St Mary's Hospital - on Walnut Street in Rogers. The county would pay $1.96 million for a 15-year lease on space at the Center for Nonprofits, plus $105,000 per year for maintenance and utilities. After 15 years, the Jones Trust (which operates the center) would lease the space to the county for $1 a year. (The county also could accept a smaller space for a $1.7-million lease.)
If this happens, then the Health Department's current building could become the new home of the county's juvenile court. A new juvenile detention center would then be built on the premises.
There is much to like about this plan. The Health Department would tie in well with the mission of the Center for Nonprofits, which aims to provide basic services and basically make life easier for those in our community who need help. Some of its tenants include the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter, Catholic Charities and Youth Bridge.
The Community Clinic, which provides health care for lowincome and uninsured people is also there. The Health Department seems to fit in well, and it would be convenient for those folks already at the center for other services.
Under what we'll call plan B, the county would buy a 22,000-square-foot building off of Arkansas Highway 12 - roughly halfway between Walton Boulevard and Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport - to house the juvenile court. That building would cost $1.2 million.
We understand the advantages of buying rather than leasing, and we understand that County Judge Dave Bisbee has taken a liking to that building. But it's quite a distance from - well, just about everything, except for the Wal-Mart Distribution Center. The convenience factor must be taken into account.
Plus, there would be untold costs involved in renovating the building to fit the juvenile court's needs.
Under what we'll call plan C a new juvenile court and detention center complex would be built for $4.9 million. That' a hefty price to swallow, especially during uncertain economic times. The county, like most northwest Arkansas cities, has seen its sales tax collections plummet this year and it's hard to say when we'll see a rebound.
Complicating all these plans is the desire to keep the JDC in the same place as the juvenile court and probation offices.
Circuit Judge Jay Finch has said that if the juvenile court and probation offices are moved, building the detention center "cannot become an afterthought that passes away." We agree.
What to do, then? The Quorum Court is expected to try to answer that question next month. The opportunity to move the Health Department to the Center for Nonprofits is very enticing, and we don't see that offer being available forever. But coordinating such a move with a plan for the JDC appears complicated, and it definitely will be costly. The county has money in its build ing fund, but as Bisbee said, this isn't the best time to go on a spending spree.
It's a tough call. We wish the county good luck on figuring it out.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 09/23/2009