Benton County official hear road woes

GENTRY -- Benton County officials fielded questions about roads -- paving roads, drainage on those roads and speeding on rural roads -- at a town hall meeting Monday night in Gentry.

A crowd of 40 to 50 people filled the meeting room at the Gentry Public Library, with county officials and staff lining the walls. County Judge Barry Moehring and Chief Deputy Meyer Gilbert of the Sheriff's Office made brief presentations and then answered most of the questions.

Town halls

Benton County has four three hall meetings set for county officials to offer information and answer questions:

• July 31: 6 p.m. at Shiloh School, 309 Griffith Ave. in Sulphur Springs.

• Aug. 7: 6 p.m. at the Prairie Creek Community Room, 14432 Arkansas 12 East in Rogers.

• Aug. 21: 6 p.m. at the NEBCO Community Center, 17823 Marshall St. in Garfield.

Source: Staff report

Moehring has set four town hall meetings, with more possible if the initial meetings seem well-attended and productive.

"I'm very happy with the turnout here tonight," Moehring said after the meeting. "We knew there would be questions about the roads but I'm glad Chief Gilbert was here since we had a lot of questions about the Sheriff's Office."

Moehring said he wants residents to bring their questions and complaints to the attention of county government and said many people will do so in person who may not otherwise.

"We may not hear a lot of specifics," Moehring said. "It's worth it if we have one citizen stand up and say 'I have this problem on this road.'"

Jay Frasier, the county's public services administrator and head of the Road Department, said he and his staff took the names and contact information of about 15 people at the meeting who had issues with county roads. Frasier said the complaints were mixed, with some old and some new.

"There were a lot of pre-existing things and some I didn't know about," Frasier said. "I'm learning."

Moehring briefed the audience on the basics of county government and on the county's road system. With 1,400 miles of county roads, including 800 paved and 600 unpaved, the county's budget is strained to keep the roads in good shape, he said. He said fixing the county's existing roads are the top priority, followed by improvements to the unpaved roads.

After Jason Williams asked how the county sets its priorities in road work, Moehring said the county will assess all of the roads and make decisions based on data showing the current condition of the roads, traffic, use by emergency vehicles or school buses, and the overall needs of county residents for a road network. He said past promises of road work may or may not be met.

"We have to make some hard decisions," he said. "There have been more roads promised than this county can afford to pave."

In response to a question about speeding on a county road and enforcement of the speed limit, Gilbert explained that the Sheriff's Office has reorganized and divided the county into districts with deputies assigned to patrol those districts.

"You will see more deputies in the county and fewer in the city," he said.

Gilbert said the forum was also worthwhile for the Sheriff's Office.

NW News on 07/25/2017

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