BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace will continue to study a new courts building, adding an option to expand the current courthouse.
The Finance Committee voted unanimously to proceed with the second phase of the study at the end of a 4 1/2-hour meeting Thursday. The justices of the peace agreed to focus on three options: a new building on Southwest 14th Street near the County Jail, a new building on Second Street downtown and expanding the courthouse into the area between it and the County Administration Building.
Courts study
Benton County’s justices of the peace enlarged the scope of their study of a new courts facility Thursday night, adding an option of expanding the courthouse to plans to study two new buildings. The cost of the next phase of the study increased from $119,500 to about $178,000. The county’s Committee of the Whole will consider the expanded study proposal when that panel meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Quorum Courtroom of the County Administration Building.
Source: Staff report
Plans for a building have been heavily discussed the past few years. A study in January 2014 identified three sites -- two downtown and one on Southwest 14th Street near the jail and Road Department.
County Judge Bob Clinard favors the Southwest 14th Street location, citing the greater ease of construction in an open space, minimal disruption of the courts and other downtown activities during construction plus room for parking and expansion if needed.
The Public Safety Committee endorsed a downtown building project early in 2015, and the Finance Committee spent some time exploring financing options for a downtown building. Work on the proposal was delayed in September after six circuit judges sent a letter to Clinard and the Quorum Court opposing both downtown plans as inadequate.
The letter -- citing concerns over security, access for the public and judicial system employees, parking and expansion -- prompted the decision to seek a consulting firm to help with the project. Perkowitz, Ruth & Cromwell -- the consultants chosen -- presented initial findings to the Public Safety Committee on June 7. That committee passed the issue on to the Finance Committee for a decision on whether to continue the study as originally proposed.
Circuit Judge Doug Schrantz told the justices of the peace the county needs to complete the study and act on the information it provides to meet the growing needs of the courts system. Benton County has the largest per-capita population for circuit judges in any judicial district in Arkansas, about 40,000 people for each judge, and is also the fastest growing district, he said.
"We're on the edge of a crisis in the judiciary in Benton County, come the next hiccup," Schrantz said. "We can't wait. We don't need to wait if we're serious about planning for the future. We've been talking about this for four years now."
The Finance Committee was tasked with deciding whether to continue the study, but the justices of the peace quickly shifted the focus from new buildings to include the downtown expansion.
Joel Jones, justice of the peace, calculated the county could enlarge the scope of the study for what he said was an acceptable increase in cost over the $119,500 initial estimate. The county briefly looked at expansion but discarded those early proposals, Jones said.
Barry Moehring has kept the issue of expansion alive, Jones said. Moehring, justice of the peace and the Republican Party nominee for county judge, likely will take office in January, and the Quorum Court has to consider his views, Jones said.
"As part of the initial plans by Hight-Jackson Architects, there were several that reused the old courthouse in some way," Jones said. "The biggest problem was security concerns because those older buildings aren't built to handle security. Barry has been saying we need to look at reusing. He's obviously wanting to wait until after the election to really speak out, and I understand that."
Jones calculated adding plans to use the old courthouse would increase the cost to about $178,000. Michael LeBoeuf, with the consultant team, agreed it can be done. The process will include additional meetings of the Public Safety Committee and workshops with the consultants where county officials further can define what they want the consultants to consider.
"We will take your direction," LeBoeuf told the committee.
Moehring stressed Friday he's a candidate for county judge with two opponents -- Libertarian party nominee Ronnie L. Smith and write-in candidate Jeff Broadston -- facing him in the November election. Moehring wants to have more input into the process and supports the study as long as county officials, including justices of the peace, are participants.
"I do hope to play more of a role in the process," Moehring said. "To date, I have not been included, but one of the outcomes of last night was that more input will be allowed."
The Quorum Court needs to also move ahead with the possibility of financing the project through a combination of reserve and increases in revenue, rather than a tax increase, Moehring said. The justice of the peace heard from Stephens Inc. officials Thursday about the current "historically low" interest rates and an expected jump of about $1.5 million in annual property tax revenue after a property reappraisal this year.
The Quorum Court needs to watch the budget to preserve some revenue to pay off a possible bond issue, Moehring said.
"It's a matter of prioritization," he said.
Tom Allen, justice of the peace and chairman of the Finance Committee, said his preference before Thursday night's meeting was to restrict the study to a downtown courts project, but he's satisfied the full study will support that option in the end.
"We did change the scope of the project, but I'm satisfied that it's still going forward. We're still making progress," Allen said.
NW News on 07/09/2016