Benton County looks at loan options for courthouse expansion

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County is paying two recent loans and will add another for a court expansion.

The Quorum Court last month agreed to finance the $3.1 million court project. Justices of the peace considered financing half and paying the other half from reserve.

The county decided in 2018 to finance election equipment and a radio system.

It borrowed $2.47 million for election equipment, said Brenda Guenther, comptroller.

The equipment included 475 ExpressVote machines, 65 DS200 tabulators along with two laptop computers for programming ballots and tabulating results, and the software needed to program and tabulate, said Kim Dennison, election coordinator.

The radio system was budgeted for $3.75 million and the county financed $2 million, Guenther said.

The radio system will be for the Sheriff's Office and jail, the Road Department, emergency services, the Coroner's Office and the rural fire services, which will distribute the equipment among the smaller fire departments.

All of the smaller law enforcement agencies in the county will transition to the radio system, which is planned to go live by September, County Judge Barry Moehring said. The county also bought seven consoles for its dispatch center.

Both are five-year loans. There is a balance of $247,020 on the election equipment and $1.6 million on the radio system, Guenther said. Payments are due once a year.

The payment for the election equipment has been made this year. November is the due date for the radio system payment, Guenther said.

The state reimbursed the county for half the cost of the election equipment in 2019, Guenther said.

The Quorum Court could decide to pay off one or both of those loans. The Finance Committee meets Tuesday night where the item is set to be discussed.

Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore mentioned paying off the loans at the June meeting of the Committee of the Whole. The county is looking to pay off the higher-rate loans and secure a new loan for the court expansion at a lower rate, Guenther said.

"What's the downside?" Moore said to paying off the two loans. "There is no payment penalty."

The money would come from reserve. The county has $13 million in reserve, Guenther said.

Justices of the peace also will hear about interest rates related to court expansion financing, she said.

The county is working on the loan process and has received some competitive rates -- possibly as low as 1.6% -- to consider, Guenther said.

A new courtroom is needed for Christine Horwart, who was elected in March and will be the county's seventh circuit judge. She takes office Jan. 1. The Arkansas Legislature added the judgeship to assist with the increasing caseload.

"If all goes according to plan, construction would begin very early next year and go until around September," Moehring said.

Included in the court expansion cost is $231,783 to repair the courthouse annex where Circuit Judge Brad Karren holds court, according to documents. The annex is across the street from the main courthouse.

The plan is to have the whole project wrapped up before the end of 2021, Moehring said.

The expansion would add 5,500 square feet to the downtown courthouse. The county would demolish the one-story section behind the courthouse once housing the coroner's office. A two-story addition is planned on the site with a lobby area and restrooms on the first floor. Horwart's courtroom and office area would be on the second floor.

Until the work is completed, Horwart's first courtroom and chamber would be in a small area in the courthouse last used as a courtroom in 2012. The room doesn't have a jury box and has a small gallery, Moehring said.