BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace expressed shock and frustration Tuesday when presented with a $1.2 million list of repairs and maintenance work needed at the jail.
The Budget Committee was briefed on the work by John Sudduth, general services administrator, and Maj. Jeremy Guyll from the Sheriff's Office.
What’s next
Benton County’s justices of the peace will continue working on the 2017 budget when the Budget Committee meets at 5 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Quorum Courtroom at the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report
Sudduth said much of the work stemmed from a review of the building's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems done in the aftermath of a project to remove microbial growth from the building. Sudduth said the extent of the work needed was unforeseen. He said some of it was the result of age, with the building and its systems being nearly 20 years old, and neglect.
"Once we finished with remediating the microbial growth, the reconditioning of the HVAC was the final step," Sudduth said. "Nobody saw this coming."
Sudduth said the county needs to spend about $570,000 to repair the HVAC systems in two phases. The phase II work includes repair or replacing faulty mechanical equipment to eliminate negative air pressure in the building and prevent microbial growth problems. The phase III work would include repair or replacing some of the life safety equipment, including smoke dampers, the smoke purge systems and fire alarm system. Sudduth said the state, county and city fire marshals are giving the county time to do the work, but only because they agree progress is being made.
While the justices of the peace didn't argue with the necessity of doing the work, they said they were blind-sided by the scope of the work.
"When is it going to stop?" Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the committee, asked. "I'd like to see some documentation on this. I'm getting real frustrated. Every six months we throw some money at it and it's supposed to be fixed."
Barry Moehring, justice of the peace for District 15, said he wants to see reports on the Sheriff's Office and jail and all county buildings showing anticipated maintenance and repair so the work can be scheduled and budgeted for.
"We get hit with these things," Moehring said. "It would be helpful to come back in the first quarter of 2017 with a list of what are we looking at over the next five years or so. I think what we need is a plan. In the first six months of next year, let's look at doing that."
Pat Adams, justice of the peace, said he agreed with Moehring the county needs to have a schedule for repair and maintenance so surprises such as the jail work can be avoided.
"I'll be honest with you," he said. "I'm a little bit shocked with the costs."
Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, suggested the Budget Committee needs to look at all of the items on the jail list and see if any can be deferred. He suggested $100,000 in roof repair and $325,000 to replace a generator might be put off.
"Maybe for a year or two," Sudduth said.
The justices of the peace reviewed other capital equipment requests, finding cause for levity while discussing the Sheriff's Office request for a voice stress analyzer. Sheriff Meyer Gilbert said the analyzer will be used in screening prospective employees, replacing the polygraph examinations the office uses. Gilbert said the voice stress analyzer takes much less time than a polygraph and, with nearly 60 percent of the prospective candidates for employment failing the tests, that time can be significant.
Tom Leadabrand, justice of the peace for District 12, suggested the device could have other uses but Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, cast doubt on the idea.
"This would be good to have in a political situation," Leadabrand said.
"The problem with that is they all think they're telling the truth," Jones countered.
NW News on 10/19/2016