BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace agreed Tuesday on the need for more security at the County Administration Building.
The County's Finance Committee heard a proposal to remodel the building entrance to make room for a bigger security station with a metal detector to screen anyone entering the building. Under the proposed plans, the building would have separate entrance and exit doors. Bollards would be installed in the front of the building and an awning extended along the front. The cost of the improvements was estimated at around $60,000. The cost would increase if additional personnel are needed.
The building now has a desk just inside the entrance but no metal detector. People entering the building are not channeled through a security checkpoint.
County Judge Barry Moehring said the county's elected officials had unanimously endorsed the planned improvements. In a recent survey, Moehring said, many county employees indicated they would feel safer if there were a metal detector at the entrance to the building.
The justices of the peace voted to send the plan on to the county's Committee of the Whole.
Also Tuesday, the committee reviewed the state's sales tax collection and reimbursement procedures. Businesses collect sales taxes and submit the money to the state Department of Finance and Administration, which then distributes the money to local taxing entities. Brenda Guenther, comptroller, told the justices of the peace the county has received about $4.5 million in sales tax receipts through May, an increase of about 9.8 percent over the same time in 2017.
Josh Beam, county engineer, briefed the committee on a grant the county is seeking to help repair about $420,000 in flooding damage from storms that hit the county in 2017. Beam said the county has four sites where bank stabilization work should help prevent recurring flood damage. The county's share of the cost would be about $105,000 and the grant would cover the remaining $315,000.
NW News on 06/06/2018