BENTONVILLE -- A shuffling of Benton County offices will happen in phases beginning later this month, a county official said.
Planning, Community Risk Reduction and Fire Services will move from the Bogle Building, 1204 S.W. 14th St., to the annex building at 2111 W. Walnut St. in Rogers, said Channing Barker, county communications director.
Within the Bogle Building, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension will move to space occupied by county offices, Barker said. The extension doesn't pay rent for the space, said Bryan Beeson, facilities director.
The Road Department administration staff will move to the space the Extension Office is vacating, Barker said.
The series of moves was triggered by the Road Department administration moving from its current location, according to a county news release. The 7,000-square-foot building the Road Department administration now uses was built in 1964, Barker said. It will be torn down, Beeson said. He called the building "an eyesore."
Removing the building is part of a bigger project at the Road Department on Southwest 14th Street.
Expanding the Road Department shop is among this year's capital projects. The cost is projected at $150,000. A 4,800-square-foot addition to the 9,000-square-foot shop will feature three drive-through bays and an oil change pit, Beeson said.
The Road Department will do the site preparation, building pad and concrete slab for the project. The Maintenance Department will do the electrical and mechanical work, Beeson said. That work will be done as part of the departments' normal daily work.
The 18,840-square-foot Bogle Building was built in 1973. The Public Defender's Office and Veterans Affairs will remain in the building, Beeson said.
Fire Marshal Marc Trollinger said his office is in the process of notifying builders and contractors about the move.
"We have to get ahead of the game," Trollinger said. "It's about time to start moving."
The Rogers Annex is a leased building. It once was a Kmart. The county leases 26,000 square feet. County offices or services at the annex include the assessor field inspectors, the Election Commission, county clerk, county archives and record retention storage, Beeson said.
The three offices that will move will occupy about 650 square feet at the annex, Beeson said.
There's no cost for moving, he said. Jail inmates will move furniture and heavy items. Personal items will be the responsibility of staff members, Beeson said.
Planning, Community Risk Reduction and Fire Services will be closed Feb. 24 for the move, the release stated.
The tentative move date for those three departments will be the week of Feb. 24. The extension office will move the week of March 16, and the Road Department administration will move the week of April 20, Barker said. Those two dates are also tentative.
NW News on 02/18/2020