Time is right for new Benton County facility
As a long-time citizen of Benton County and a former member of the Benton County Quorum Court and the Arkansas House of Representatives, I am watching with great interest the current discussions and debate by the Quorum Court on the need for new court facilities in our county.
I am encouraged it appears there is general consensus within Benton County government on the acute need that we have in our county for new and expanded court facilities. In fact, this is long overdue. The current facilities are antiquated with circuit judges holding court in several different locations in Bentonville, our county seat where the court facilities are required to be located.
After years and years of debate on where the new facilities should be located, I am further encouraged that the Quorum Court has very recently officially voted to locate the new facilities at a specific location in downtown Bentonville on Second Street, across the street from the Historic Courthouse. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to the different locations that have been discussed to date, but I remain strongly in favor of keeping the courts downtown.
First, there are compelling economic advantages to keeping the courts downtown, with one University of Arkansas study estimating the courts' impact at approximately $3.4 million annually in downtown Bentonville. Also, with everything going on in downtown Bentonville with new restaurants, shopping and the like, it's great for all the employees and customers of the courts to have access to those amenities. Keeping the courts downtown has also drawn public support from numerous community leaders and organizations from throughout the region, including the Northwest Arkansas Council, chambers of commerce in Bentonville-Bella Vista and Rogers-Lowell, the Walton family and key members of the legal community.
I know some are against the courts staying downtown, citing reasons such as traffic and the ability to expand in the future. In fact, there are going to be traffic and cars wherever the courts are located, and from the architectural work I've heard about on this, the Second Street location can certainly accommodate expansion in the future.
However, with respect to all points of view on this, the reality here is that it is simply time we address this issue. We have a new county judge who is committed to getting this done, and there appears to be alignment with a number of key courts stakeholders, including the Quorum Court, the prosecuting attorney and others, to move forward promptly on a specific downtown location.
At the same time I know from all my years in government and politics that everyone involved is going to have to give a little and compromise on some of the key issues, such as size and cost of the building. Ultimately, the county has to build a building that it can afford, and hopefully without having to ask voters for a tax increase.
So I write this letter with firm hope and expectation that Benton County leaders will align together in seizing this opportunity, the best one we've had in years, and address this issue for today and for years to come.
Tim Summers
Bentonville
Commentary on 03/24/2017