GENTRY — Plans to do minor renovations to the old court clerk’s office and install a doorway for police department access won’t be of much help tothe Gentry Police Department in resolving its need for more office space, according to Police Chief Keith Smith.
Mayor Wes Hogue told council members at the March 1 council meeting that he was doing minor renovations to the old court clerk’s office - a room adjacent to the court room and council chambers and in the same building which houses the Gentry Police Department - to make it usable for the police department. He said money budgeted for maintenance at the police department was being used for the project. Included in the renovations was painting, some electrical workand the installation of a doorway from the police department patrol area into the room. Much of the labor was being provided to the city by Benton County inmates, keeping costs minimal, he said.
The planned renovations fellshort of the request of Smith, who had suggested that a wall be constructed in the room to divide it and create a secured space where officers could work and police department items could be stored and still leave a hallway through whichcourt personnel could access the courtroom from the north side.
Smith called the current plan useless to the police department.
“We can’t use the room due to security issues,” Smith said. “It’s not being set up for police use,” he said, explaining that the law required any criminalhistory information be kept in a secured space and away from public view.
Smith had hoped the room could be used as office space for his patrol officers and give the department additional space for storage of criminal records and thus free up a room in which police could conduct investigative interviews.
The department has for some time been struggling with security and space issues in its current location because of the number of officers using the patrol office and because the only indoor restroom facilities for the courtroom are in the police department, leaving very limited secure space for officers to work and records to be stored.
When the finance committee met before the council meeting on March 1, it recommended holding off on the full renovation plans at the present time because of concerns over budget constraints, Hogue said.He said he expected the council would likely revisit the issue in the next few months and do the full project if money becomes available.
In the mean time, the room will be available to the police department most of the time and to the court and the council on days when they meet. The council could use the room to retire for executive sessions should the legitimateneed for an executive session arise, Hogue said.
“I agree with Keith’s concerns and I agree with the finance committee,” Hogue said, explaining that he understood the room would be of very limited use to the police department if it were not secure space and that he understood the finance committee’s hesitation to spend additional money for a wall with incoming tax revenue being yet uncertain.
Hogue said initial tax receipts for the year were looking very positive. He said he expected the fullrenovation could be approved within the next few months if incoming tax receipts continue to be up.
At the council meeting Hogue reported January city sales tax revenues at $44,736, up from $42,630 last year and $43,829 in 2008. February city sales tax receipts were $46,911, down slightly from $48,000 in 2009 but up from $43,000 in 2008.
News, Pages 1 on 03/10/2010