BENTONVILLE -- All options for a new circuit court facility need to be weighed, Benton County officials said.

The county and downtown Bentonville business interests jointly paid for a study looking at two building sites downtown and one on county land on Southwest 14th Street near the jail and Road Department.

The estimated cost of the projects ranged from $49.6 million at one downtown site and the 14th Street location to $53.6 million for a second downtown concept. The initial cost could be reduced by doing the project in phases, officials said.

County Judge Bob Clinard asked for a "second opinion" on the estimate, but he's also looking at doing the work in phases. The study has some information on a phased approach. Doing the work in stages would reduce the size of the initial construction and cut the cost to about $27.4 million at one downtown site, $29.3 million at the second and $34.3 million at Southwest 14th Street.

"The option of phases is due to the cost," Clinard said. "If we cannot afford a complete new facility, we have to look at the option of doing it in phases. The information in the study is very inconclusive, so much more discussion will be needed."

Justices of the peace have varied opinions on doing the project in phases.

Kurt Moore of District 13 said he would prefer the county complete the building shell in the first phase, even if sizable interior spaces were left unfinished.

"Build the structure out to what we need out to 2030 and leave the rooms unfinished," Moore said. "I think that would be doable."

Leaving space unfinished could cut the initial cost by as much as 20 percent, which could ease money problems, Moore said.

"That might make the difference between doing it and not doing it," he said.

Tom Allen of District 4 and Finance Committee chairman said the cost is an obstacle for him, even at the reduced level of doing the project in phases as laid out in the study.

"I am in favor of phasing it, but I don't know yet if the figures are going to be completely accurate," Allen said. "If I was going to be asked to make a decision this year, that's too much money. That's still outside of our means. It requires money I don't think we can find."

Allen said he may propose cutting the project into even smaller segments, starting with renovating courtrooms and office spaces.

"I'm in favor of us getting the facilities we have now safe and secure," Allen said. "I'm not sure we need a building to make some kind of statement. I don't mean we should try to do it on the cheap, but it shouldn't be expensive."

The public's perception of the need has to be considered if the county decides to pursue a building project that will need voter approval of a revenue source such as a special sales tax or millage increase, Allen said.

Allen said he doubts voters will approve any new revenue source, more so now in light of the recent rejection of plans to pay for rural ambulance service through an $85 annual fee.

Susan Anglin of District 9 said she thinks the county needs to look at the needs of the judicial system, but the courts building has to take a back seat to the rural ambulance issue.

"I'm still feeling rather raw from all that," Anglin said of the ambulance plan campaign. "I think we need some kind of resolution on how we're gong to fund EMS before we decide how we're going to pay for a courthouse."

Anglin said she has mixed feelings on the courthouse location.

"As a Bentonville native, I lean toward keeping it downtown," she said. "That's where the heart of our county government has always been. That's my heart, and we've got to look at the 'head' part and look at what it's going to cost us."

Clinard favors moving the courts to the 14th Street property. He said building there will have fewer problems than a project in downtown Bentonville over several years. If the county decides to pursue the projects in phases, that might mean staying downtown, though, he said.

Barry Moehring of District 15 said the county needs to examine phasing the construction and look at how that affects financing at the same time. Reducing the project to smaller segments could also make paying for it more manageable, Moehring said.

"I think we're going to have to take it in phases," Moehring said. "I don't think we're going to get voters to approve any major new revenue. It's more doable in phases."

NW News on 03/16/2014