BENTONVILLE -- Benton County needs to address an aging Road Department building on Southwest 14th Street, a county official told the Budget Committee on Thursday night.
Bryan Beeson, facilities administrator, presented three options for the committee to consider -- leave the building as is, renovate it or add on to the 9,600-square-foot welding shop and move the department administration to the nearby Public Services Building.
Emergency disaster declaration
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring signed an emergency disaster declaration Thursday for the severe weather and flooding Sunday. Portions of the county received an average of 12 inches of rain that caused flash flooding and closed nearly 80 roads in unincorporated areas.
The declaration requests public assistance for roads and bridges from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and allows ADEM to reimburse the county and participating cities for 35% of the cost to repair structures to pre-disaster conditions.
To qualify for assistance, the county must meet a damage amount of at least $849,942. As of Thursday, the county and cities estimated the total at $1.1 million. The amount may change pending ongoing assessments.
The county, Highfill, Gentry, Bella Vista, Elm Springs, Cave Springs and Sulphur Springs have done preliminary damage assessments.
Source: Benton County
The building was constructed in 1964, and there have been three small add-ons to get to its current 7,800 square feet, Beeson said.
Renovation would cost about $250,000 and would include a new roof, HVAC, electrical upgrades and remodeling work for the plumbing, ceilings and bathrooms.
Justice of the Peace Mike McKenzie said he was against renovating the old building.
"It's a terrible building, sort of a nightmare," he said. "It would be a waste of money to try and fix it."
The 4,800-square-foot extension to the welding shop would cost about $170,000, according to the presentation. Three drive-through bays also would be added to the shop. The old building would be torn down, but the concrete slab would remain and be used as an outside spot to work on vehicles, County Judge Barry Moehring said before the meeting.
The county would save money under that option because much of the work would be done in house, Moehring said.
The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Community Risk Reduction and the Planning Department are in the Public Services Building.
"It's well past time to do something at the Road Department," Moehring said. "There are potential mold issues, and the bays have outlived their usefulness."
A new pod at the jail and plans for a court expansion also were part of the facilities presentation.
The pod would be a duplication of H pod, which houses female prisoners. The new pod would hold about 100 misdemeanor prisoners, according to the presentation.
The court proposal would be a "medium-term solution" and there would be no new tax or long-term bonding, according to the presentation. The proposal would also use existing facilities either for operations or revenue, according to the presentation.
The Quorum Court already gave Moehring the OK to get design work done on both projects.
Residents voted down a one-eighth percent sales tax increase March 12 to pay to build an 87,000-square-foot, $30 million courthouse on Northeast Second Street. The tax would have been for 54 months.
The Road Department's 2020 plan also was discussed Thursday night.
The tentative plan calls for 22.4 miles of road work at a cost of $1.6 million. Most of the projects are asphalt overlay, according to the presentation by Jay Frasier, who oversees the department. Moehring said additional miles could be added to the plan.
Road Department capital requests total $2.5 million, according to county information. Documents also show a projected $800,000 in revenue from the sale of old equipment.
Bridge projects for next year include Osage Creek bridge, Robinson Road bridge, Coon Hollow bridge, Columbia Hollow bridge and Wagon Wheel bridge, county engineer Josh Beam said.
Budget hearings were to continue at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Committee of the Whole meeting in the Quorum Courtroom on the third floor of the County Administration Building in downtown Bentonville.
General News on 10/16/2019