BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace voted unanimously Tuesday to expedite work on War Eagle Bridge and proceed with a needs analysis of the county's justice system.
The Committee of the Whole voted to spend $99,500 to have the design work on repairing the War Eagle Bridge, built in 1907, done in a five-month period. County Judge Bob Clinard said he had spoken with Great River Engineering of Springfield, Mo., consultants on the project, and received assurances the design work can be done in that time.
Bridge work
Benton County spent more than $640,000 in repairing to War Eagle Bridge in 2010 but state inspectors found critical deficiencies in 2013. The county has reduced the bridge’s posted weight limit to 3 tons while preservation options are being considered. Brenda Guenther, comptroller, said the county has $300,000 set aside in the 2016 budget for work on the bridge.
Source: Staff Report
Clinard said proceeding with the design work will allow the county to seek bids for the construction work. He said doing the design work in five months could allow time to get most of the bridge work done before the annual spring craft fair in May 2017. The proposal was sent on to the Feb. 25 meeting of the Quorum Court.
The committee also endorsed spending $80,000 on a needs analysis for a new courts building, sending the proposal on to the Quorum Court as well. The analysis will project growth out to 50 years and estimate the growth in the number of circuit judges, prosecutors, public defenders, circuit clerks and other staff needed to keep the system running and the space needed to house the courts system.
Benton County has worked on plans for a courts building for the past few years. A study in January 2014 identified three sites -- two downtown and one on Southwest 14th Street near the jail and Road Department. Clinard favors the Southwest 14th Street location. The Public Safety Committee endorsed a downtown project early in 2015 and the Finance Committee has been exploring financing options for a downtown project.
Work on the proposal was delayed in September after the county's six circuit judges submitted a letter to Clinard and the Quorum Court opposing both downtown plans as inadequate. The letter, citing concerns over security, access for the public and judicial system employees, parking and expansion, prompted the decision to seek a consulting firm to help with the project. Clinard selected the consulting team of Perkowitz & Ruth, Cromwell, Dewberry to work with the county on the project. The needs analysis, the first phase of the study by the consulting group, should take about two months to complete, Clinard told the committee.
The panel voted down a proposal by Brent Meyers of District 14 to require justices of the peace receive at least two days advance notice of any agenda items being brought before committees or the Quorum Court. The proposal was rejected with 2 votes in favor and 12 votes against it.
Meyers said too often the justices of the peace are asked to consider items without adequate time for study. Meyers' proposal would have allowed a majority of any committee or the Quorum Court to override the objections of member if the group chose to consider an item with less than the required notice.
"There's been too many times items have come up that are of major consequences," Meyers said. "It's pass it now and read it later." Tom Allen of District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee, said committee chairmen are supposed to exercise an oversight role for their committees.
"The chairman of each committee is supposed to approve the agenda," Allen said. "If the chairman doesn't think it's been properly approved, he doesn't have to put it on the agenda."
Kurt Moore of District 13 and chairman of the Committee of the Whole, said he was wary of having too many restrictions on agenda items at the committee level. Moore said rules already in place have time constraints for Quorum Court meetings.
"My main concern is this is taking it down to the committees," Moore said. The committees being a looser structure, things often do come up."
Susan Anglin of District 9 said she doesn't think the county needs more regulations.
"I think it's a good thing that we're having this discussion," Anglin said. "We have rules already. We have plenty of rules if people will just be cautious with what they bring."
NW News on 02/10/2016