BENTONVILLE — While moving forward with a feasibility study on a new courts building, Benton County’s justices of the peace also began to define issues the study won’t address.
The Finance Committee voted Tuesday to send the proposed study to the Committee of the Whole that meets May 14. County Judge Bob Clinard has pressed to look at a replacement for the county courthouse built in 1928 and the satellite offices and courtrooms the county has used to house six circuit court judges, their courtrooms and other court operations.
At A Glance
Committee Action
Benton County's Finance Committee sent proposals for consideration by the Committee of the Whole:
• A $5,000 salary increase for the Geographic Information Systems project manager in the Assessor’s office.
• Hiring two part-time licensed practical nurses at the jail.
• A uniform policy and transfering $24,800 in the Sheriff’s Office budget for uniform allowances for the sheriff and 30 employees. The committee also forwarded a recommendation to spend $18,100 for uniforms for other Sheriff's Office employees.
• Install a $10,000 irrigation system at the Juvenile Justice Center.
• Spending $21,500 to convert a sprinkler system at the Sheriff’s Office from a water-based system to a clean agent-based system.
Source: Staff Report
Clinard has said county land on Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville, adjacent to the Road Department and the jail, is one site for a new building. The study will look at that site and also examine two configurations for a courts building that would keep the courts complex in downtown Bentonville.
The study will cost $65,000. The county will pay half and a coalition of community organizations and individuals will pay the rest. In a letter sent to Clinard in July, Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin, Chad Evans, chairman of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce and Tim Robinson, president of Downtown Bentonville, volunteered to pay half the cost of a study and to “help with any interim accommodations.”
The study will be done by Hight-Jackson Associates and Chang-Ming Yeh, a consultant with the National Center for State Courts. Allie McKenzie, a Hight-Jackson architect, briefed justices of the peace about the study Tuesday and answered questions. McKenzie said the study will not include a detailed traffic study and will not examine economic impact of moving the courts away from downtown. The study also will make no recommendation about paying for for the project.
“It’s important for us to know what is not included,” said Barry Moehring, justice of the peace.
Gary Jackson with Hight-Jackson said the study will provide cost parameters, including schematic drawings and estimates of the square footage of the proposed building, but a detailed budget will be something set by the county. Jackson warned the justices of the peace they likely will need to “fasten your seat belts” when they start examining cost.
“You will have a budget that you need to use telling you what it will cost in today’s dollars,” Jackson said. “You will have a budget you can use to decide how to pay for it.”
Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore said he wants the county to be cautious about downtown Bentonville interests possibly swaying the findings of the study.
“We want to make sure the partnership that’s funding this is not going to obligate us to any particular decision,” More said.
Brenda Anderson, a Downtown Bentonville board member, said those participating are “advocates for downtown” but won’t try to influence the outcome.
“We just want to make sure that downtown is a consideration,” she said, adding the study should list the pros and cons of each alternative.
Justices of the peace also recommended transferring $2,095,000 to the Road Department on Tuesday. The money will pay for the expanded road program, buy heavy equipment for the department and material needed to repair damage from the April flooding.
Justices of the peace also recommended approving a request from Scott Stober, public services administrator, to hire three heavy equipment operators for the department. Stober told justices of the peace the department has three operators absent on extended sick leave or family medical leave and he needs to fill those positions to meet the road work schedule.