BENTONVILLE -- Benton County will move ahead with plans for a new courthouse, but officials said the discussion likely will take months to complete.
"The first step has been done," said County Judge Bob Clinard. "That's the feasibility study. What we've got to decide is how many courtrooms and how much space we need to serve the county for the next 70 years."
"The study projects the needs out through 2030. That's about as far as they can make projections, but that's not enough for our purposes. We have to try to project it on for another 70 years. Future taxpayers are going to be saddled with whatever decision we make as far as location, size and configuration, so I would say everybody needs to open their eyes and look at the long-term impact of our decisions now."
Three options for a building to house circuit courts, prosecutors, public defender and related staff are under consideration. The study examined how each option will meet needs through 2030 and a list of issues, including safety, traffic congestion, parking, room for expansion and disruption of county offices during construction.
Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan represents the six circuit judges for developing the project.
The judges are unanimous in agreeing a new building is necessary, she said. The judges won't weigh in on construction details, but will offer input on the layout of the building, she said.
"Our priority has always been that we want it to be safe, functional and secure," Duncan said.
The full text of the feasibility study on Benton County's proposed courts building can be found on the county website at www. bentoncountyar.gov.
The county courthouse, built in 1928, was designed for a single courtroom and served the county well for many years, Duncan said. With six judges, the county now has its courts system spread among buildings and in spaces not designed for the judicial system.
"For people who may just drive by or visit the downtown area, it would be difficult to realize it's not exactly working like it was when it was built," Duncan said. "It was a good, solid courthouse for one court."
Duncan said she worries some people may argue the county should cut corners and reduce the scope of the project to save money. Duncan said she also has concern about ideas of doing the project in phases.
"My concern with doing it in phases is that we'll do a piece and that's all that ever gets done," she said.
"That could leave us worse off than we are now. Doing nothing shouldn't be an option, but doing something that makes the situation even worse should certainly not be one."
The county partnered with Downtown Bentonville, representing the interests of the downtown business community, to do the study.
Another survey of the economic impact of the courts on downtown was done by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business.
The survey is included in the feasibility study, along with an evaluation of downtown parking.
The economic impact report surveyed 432 people over two weeks. Kathy Deck, director and project manager, said the information from visitors includes people using both the courts and related facilities and county administrative offices.
"We surveyed people in the general area so we're not able to calculate exactly who was in the courts building and who was in the other offices," Deck said.
Information from county officials put the number of annual visitors to the office complex at 326,900, with 249,600 for the courts and 77,300 for the administration building.
The survey examined how visitors spent their money while downtown and included information on expenditures for meals, buying incidental items and other services.
Estimated annual spending associated with visitors was $3,086,636, with meals accounting for $1,871,930, according to the survey. Incidental expenditures accounted for $264,162 and other services for $950,545.
The courts and related activity have a substantial impact on downtown Bentonville, said Mayor Bob McCaslin.
"Those are pretty impressive numbers," McCaslin said of the survey. "Where I come from that's real money."
Keeping downtown businesses open and healthy is the best option for the city and the county, McCaslin said.
"It's about the economics," he said. "It's about the businesses. Rather than taxing the rooftops, businesses generate the tax revenue. The consumption tax is the most fair tax there is. This is why I have such a well-grounded passion about keeping this downtown. It makes sense."
Clinard plans to meet with city representatives, along with people knowledgeable about building similar public projects.
The process will examine the locations, costs and benefits.
He said he'll develop his recommendation and present that to the Quorum Court, which will decide about funding the project.
That process could easily take a year to complete, he said.
Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee, said the justices of the peace want to be involved in more than just the funding decisions, but he understands the need to keep the process manageable.
"If you go by what our elected positions are defined to be, the Quorum Court is supposed to be only interested in the funding and the county judge is supposed to be responsible for the buildings," Allen said.
"But I would like to see us have a partnership on this. We want to be sure we're appropriating tax dollars for something we think is a good investment of the people's money.
"The Quorum Court does have an interest in the project and I'm confident he's going to involve us. We need to look at more than the cost. We need to look at what impact it will have on the county as a whole."
Benton County Courthouse
Benton County officials are considering a plan to build a courthouse to replace the one built in 1928. Option A would be built on the site of the old county jail in downtown Bentonville. The estimated cost is $49.6 million. Option B would be built across from the courthouse and tower on North Second Street in Bentonville. The estimated cost is $53.6 million. Options A and B include renovating the courthouse and tower for $8.9 million and expanding the Juvenile Justice Center on Melissa Drive for $3.3 million. Option C would be built on Southwest 14th Street near the jail, Road Department and Public Service Building. The estimated cost is $49.6 million.
General News on 02/05/2014