BENTONVILLE -- Benton County Judge Barry Moehring will formally present his plan next month for building a courtroom at the county courthouse.
He gave a test run to the Quorum Court's Committee of the Whole on Tuesday and received positive responses from the justices of the peace.
Hiring freeze
Benton County’s Quorum Court also plans to discuss a county hiring freeze in response to the covid-19 pandemic at its Finance Committee meeting June 9.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette
A larger expansion of the courts is no longer an option because of the financial hit the county may take from the covid-19 pandemic, Moehring said.
Earlier this month, the Quorum Court's Finance Committee got its first glance at proposed budget cuts. Elected officials in April were asked to look at 5% cuts. Proposed cuts from the general and road funds tallied $3.47 million, said Brenda Guenther, comptroller.
The cuts will be discussed at the June Finance Committee meeting as part of a possible budget amendment, Finance Committee Chairman Tom Allen said.
A new courts facility has been discussed for years. Voters in March 2019 rejected a one-eighth percent sales tax increase to build an 87,000-square-foot, $30 million courthouse on Northeast Second Street.
The county's later proposals included building courtrooms behind the courthouse downtown. The expansion would have cost $14 million A second option was to build a criminal courts facility near the Benton County Jail on Southwest 14th Street.
The county needs a courtroom 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 new judgeship to assist with the county's increasing caseload.
Horwart's courtroom and chamber will 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. His latest proposal calls for that to be a temporary location until the county adds a courtroom to the courthouse.
The county would demolish the one-story section behind the courthouse that once housed the coroner's office. The county would then build a 5,500-square-foot, two-story addition with a lobby area and restrooms on the first floor. Horwart's courtroom and office area would be on the second floor. Space for attorneys to meet with their clients also would be on the second floor.
The plan also includes a new entrance along with a canopy, Moehring said.
The county would move the law library on the fourth floor of the courthouse to the new addition, he said.
Mothering estimated the expansion would cost $2.8 million, which could come from reserve.
Guenther said the county has $13 million in unappropriated reserve based on the current budget.
The county must also replace the roof on the Courthouse Annex, which houses Circuit Judge Brad Karren's court. A leak in the basement needs to be fixed. A larger awning also would be added to the building, Moehring said. Those projects would cost $231,783.
Justice of the Peace Jerry Snow said it's a reasonable plan, but questioned why the county didn't build a criminal courts facility near the jail.
Moehring told him it would cost much more money since the county would have to add an office area for the prosecutors. He added the county would have to add parking for about 200 cars.
Justice of the Peace James Furgason asked Moehring whether he considered financing the projects instead of paying out of the reserve. Moehring said justices could decide to finance the project.
Justices Joel Edwards and Mike McKenzie praised Moehring's proposal.
Bentonville attorney Seth Bickett, who's on the Benton County Law Library Board, attended the Committee of the Whole meeting.
"I'm excited about the project," he said. "It looks like a good, solid plan."
Bickett said Horwart needs more space than the old courtroom, and he's also pleased there would be more space for the public and meeting space for attorneys.
The law library board is pledging $150,000 for the project, Bickett said.
Moving the library would make it more accessible for attorneys and the public, he said.
Moehring will present his plan to the Quorum Court's Finance Committee meeting June 9 in Circuit Judge Robin Green's courtroom. Moehring said he'll present his proposal with the options of paying for it with money in reserve or short-term financing. He said Furgason's idea about financing the project is an interesting idea.
The justices could vote on the proposal later that month.
Moehring said it's possible the project could be completed by the fall of next year.
NW News on 05/26/2020
The story has been updated to correct the square footage of the courthouse expansion.