BENTONVILLE — It wasn't peasants with pitchforks, but Benton County's officials were warned Tuesday about the hazards of casting their eyes on Dave Peel Park as a potential site for a courts building.
"The moms with strollers, they are going to mob us," Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, cautioned the other justices of the peace.
Despite Jones' caution, the Committee of the Whole voted to add the park site to three being considered for a courts building, increasing the cost of the study to $205,250.
Jones also pointed to the additional cost of buying adjacent buildings on the East Central Avenue location. The county leases part of the building on the corner of Central Avenue and Southeast A Street, which also houses the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce.
"I think it's a whole lot more expensive to get those buildings," Jones said, noting the county owns or has obtained assurances it can buy the other sites being considered.
The justices of the peace agreed last week to focus on three options: a new building on Southwest 14th Street near the jail, a new building on Second Street downtown, across the street from the County Courthouse, and expanding the courthouse into the area between it and the Administration Building. Adding plans to use the old courthouse increased the cost of the second phase of the study from $119,500 to about $178,000. Tuesday's vote to add the Dave Peel Park site boosts the cost another $27,250.
County Judge Bob Clinard said the park site has been mentioned. He said if Dave Peel Park was chosen the park could be moved to the location on Second Street that would remain available.
"We've talked to the city of Bentonville about that site," Clinard said. "They're open to discussing that site. My personal opinion is they might prefer that site."
Jerry Sheridan, Justice of the Peace for District 1, suggested the city might offer the park for the project as a way to keep the courts and related offices downtown.
Bentonville has made it clear it wants the courts downtown, Sheridan said. "The city owns the park. The city might consider allowing the county to take that site."
Plans for a building have been discussed the past few years. A study in January 2014 identified three sites - two downtown and one on Southwest 14th Street near the jail.
Clinard favors the Southwest 14th Street location, citing the greater ease of construction in an open space, minimal disruption of the courts and other downtown activities during construction plus room for parking and expansion if needed.
The Public Safety Committee endorsed a downtown building project early in 2015, and the Finance Committee explored financing options for a downtown building. Work on the proposal was delayed after six circuit judges sent a letter to Clinard and the Quorum Court opposing both downtown plans as inadequate.
The committee also endorsed adding six jailers and several other personnel requests for consideration by the Quorum Court. Adding three of the the jailers will cost $48,000 this year, with the Sheriff's Office paying for three from the 2016 budget. For a full year, the six jailers will cost $264,315. The new jailers will be needed once a jail expansion opens in January.
What’s next
A $205,250 study on the needs of Benton County ‘s circuit courts will be considered by justices of the peace when the Quorum Court meets at 6 p.m. July 28 in the Quorum Courtroom at the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report