BENTONVILLE — Members of the Quorum Court voted unanimously to spend $300,000 to develop a bid package to build a new Juvenile Justice Center.
The center will include a Juvenile Detention Center, juvenile courtroom and probation offices.
It will be located on the county’s property on Southwest 14th Street in Bentonville behind the county’s Road Department.
The court also passed an ordinance to spend a $95,225 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase tactical equipment for the Benton County Sheriff ’s Office.
Equipment that will be purchased with the grant money includes tactical boots, global positioning system tracking devices, ballistic vests and a personal water craft.
Justices of the Peace Tawnya Lewis, Dan Douglas and Michelle Blaty voted against the measure. The three also voted against the measure during the April 13 Committee of 13 meeting.
Douglas questioned the county’s need for the items to be purchased with the grant during that meeting.
With a vote of 10-3, the Quorum Court also voted to settle the lawsuit fi led against the county by Bella Vista in 2008.
Benton County will pay $241,394 to settle the lawsuit. That money will come out of the county’s reserves.
The city filed the lawsuit to recoup nearly $500,000 in road taxes collected by the county in 2007 after county officials refused to give the tax dollars to Bella Vista.
County officials said the money belonged to the county because even though the taxes were collected in 2007, they were for the 2006 tax year when Bella Vista was not an incorporated City.
Bella Vista officials said the money belonged to them because it was collected after the city was incorporated.
The settlement amount represents a 50/50 split of the disputed funds between the county and Bella Vista.
The Quorum Court also voted to send a proposal to repair and reopen the Fisher Ford Road Bridge in Siloam Springs to the Long Range Planning Committee for further discussion.
The Fisher Ford Road Bridge has been closed since 2005.
Ron Petrie of Garver Engineering presented the Quorum Court with apacket of the company’s findings concerning the bridge Thursday night.
Garver’s preliminary estimate to repair the bridge is $415,000. Those monies will only repair the deficiencies identified by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
Several of the steel truss bridge’s beams will need to be replaced and new beams will need to be added to the bridge before it can be reopened, according to the report Petrie provided the Quorum Court.
News, Pages 19 on 04/28/2010