Washington County officials delay decisions on covid-19 spending

The Washington County Courthouse is seen in Fayetteville in this undated file photo. (NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo)
The Washington County Courthouse is seen in Fayetteville in this undated file photo. (NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County's justices of the peace on Monday put off a decision on providing money for non-governmental entities that might want to assist in any covid-19 relief efforts.

The Quorum Court's County Services Committee voted to table consideration of providing funds to non-governmental entities until decisions are made about priorities for county spending. The committee had discussed designating a set amount for non-government requests and setting up an application process for those funds. No action was taken on that issue.

Butch Pond, justice of the peace for District 15, said he wanted more clarification on what the money can be used for.

"I'm uncomfortable starting to distribute money to non-government entities until we know what the rules are," Pond said.

Evelyn Rios Stafford, justice of the peace for District 12, said the county needs to consider its potential liability if covid-19 relief funds are improperly used and the county government is called upon to repay the money.

"We need to do some risk-analysis," Stafford said. "Whatever we put toward NGOs shouldn't be more than we're willing to eat."

The justices of the peace also discussed, but took no action on a proposal to work with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, based in Harrison, to set up and administer a program to distribute American Rescue Plan money to non-governmental entities. Joe Willis, executive director of the District, said the group is working with other counties and cities in the area to set up a process to review and approve applications and to administer the use of any funds distributed.

Washington County has received $23 million in American Rescue Plan funds this year and anticipates receiving another $23 million next year. The money is part of a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package approved by Congress earlier this year.

The committee also tabled until its December meeting action on a request for $4.7 million in federal covid-19 aid money on equipment for rural fire departments in the county. An ordinance appropriating the money for new self-contained breathing apparatus for the Rural Fire Association was presented to the committee Monday. According to the ordinance, most of the breathing apparatus now in use are more than 20 years old and do not meet current safety standards. The older models are also not compatible with new designs, making it necessary for all of the older models to be replaced.

The Quorum Court has approved spending about $500,000 from the federal aid money on a pair of building projects, with $250,000 earmarked for architectural work on expanding the Washington County Detention Center and another $250,000 for architectural work on expanding the Juvenile Justice Center. Some justices of the peace have said they support the use of the American Rescue Plan money to complete those projects, if they are approved for construction.

According to information from the Sheriff's Office, the expansion plan would add 230 beds to the Detention Center in two medium security building additions. There would not be a full jail pod built in this proposal.

The largest single part of the expansion plan is a 130-bed addition for women detainees that would add from 14,000 to 15,000 square feet of space at a cost of about $5 million to $6 million. Another expansion would add 100 beds for men in 11,000 to 12,000 square feet of space at a cost of $4 million to $5 million. Expanding the jail intake area would cost another $2.5 million to $3 million and expanding the medical space at the Detention Center would cost $750,000 to $1 million.

The information presented by the Sheriff's Office was characterized as "planning level" costs and not estimates of the final cost.

The expansion of the county's Juvenile Justice Center facility to add courtroom space and enlarge the lobby. Circuit Judge Stacey Zimmerman, one of two judges who handle juvenile cases, has told the justices of the peace more than 40,000 people came through the lobby of the facility in 2019 and the county added a second juvenile judge in 2021 to handle the growing caseload.

In an earlier proposal, which was put on hold in 2020, Zimmerman had told the justices of the peace the county needs to add a second courtroom and office space for the second juvenile judge and expand the lobby area. The expansion would have doubled the size of the 13,000-square-foot juvenile court facility. The cost of the expansion at that time was estimated to be about $5.5 million.

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American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan provides $350 billion in federal money for eligible state, local, territorial and tribal governments nationwide, according to infomration from the federal government. Washington County will receive $46 million, half in 2021 and half in 2022. Benton County will receive $27 million a year over the next two years.

Source: Staff report

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