ROGERS -- A basic county service -- roads -- was the main point of discussion Tuesday at a forum for Republican Party candidates for Benton County judge.
Bob Clinard, the incumbent who seeks a fourth term, clashed with challenger, Barry Moehring, who is serving his second term on the Quorum Court, over the road plan and their leadership qualifications to oversee work done by the Road Department. The forum was hosted by the Benton County Republican Women.
Party primary election
Republican voters in Benton County will cast their ballots for candidates for county judge, sheriff, justice of the peace and other local, state and federal offices in the party primary election set for March 1.
Source: Staff report
Clinard pointed to his 34 years in the construction business and five years as county judge overseeing the work of the Road Department in building, repairing and maintaining about 1,500 miles of county roads, with about half the roads paved and the rest dirt or gravel roads.
"You need to know how to build roads as county judge," Clinard said. "You need to know how to build roads and bridges."
The budget allows for the paving of about 50 miles of road in a good year, meaning the county has to prioritize which roads will be improved, Clinard said.
"This year we had the money in the budget to pave 53 miles," he said. "That's a little less than 4 percent of our roads in the county."
Moehring said focusing on a county judge's construction experience was "an antiquated view" of the responsibilities and role of the county judge. Moehring thinks the county doesn't do enough planning in developing the road plan or on other issues. Moehring praised Northwest Arkansas as a wonderful place to live and work, made so by the vision and leadership of a host of people in business, city government and other sectors. But, he said, Benton County government hasn't been an active participant in growth and development.
"The missing piece of the puzzle is Benton County," Moehring said. "As a county we don't have the kind of leadership, planning or coalition building we need. We don't have planning in Benton County. The road plan is really a road list. Our [emergency medical services] plan is crumbling after only one year."
The county should work with cities and school districts and have a data-driven road plan based on the needs of all of the parties involved, Moehring said. Clinard said the Road Department works with every city and the road plan is based on an assessment of a list of criteria.
"My opponent says we don't have a plan," Clinard said. "The plan is on our website. We have a process of choosing which roads are included. It's based on connectivity to state highways, traffic counts, safety, houses on the routes, school bus traffic. Lately we've had a new thing we have to consider, the proximity to rivers, lakes and streams."
The two also discussed their leadership styles, with Clinard saying he works with a team approach to achieve agreed upon goals. Moehring said he sees county government as needing to work more closely with other governments, school districts and others to maximize the area's resources. He said that's the approach he has used in his past work in businesses, including management positions with Wal-Mart and Walt Disney.
"It's very difficult to put people in a room and come out with an agreement when you have scarce resources," Moehring said. "I've done that."
NW News on 11/18/2015