BENTONVILLE -- Benton County justices of the peace on Tuesday gave their initial approval of a proposal to move some county offices from downtown Bentonville to Rogers.
All 13 justices of the peace at the Quorum Court's Finance Committee meeting voted in favor of advancing County Judge Barry Moehring's plan to their next meeting as a Quorum Court on Dec. 20 for final approval.
Moehring presented his proposal during the committee's meeting Tuesday.
The county is running out of space for employees at the County Administration Building at 215 E. Central Ave. Parking also is a concern, Moehring said.
Moehring said the main assessor and tax collector's offices do not have adequate space in the Administration Building. His proposal is to move those offices to 2111 W. Walnut St. in Rogers -- what is called the Rogers Annex, adjacent to the Frisco Station Mall -- where the county Election Commission is currently located.
Moehring's proposal is to lease more space at the annex and renovate the building to be used for the collector's and assessor's offices.
The county revenue office in Rogers that is shared with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration at 1428 W. Walnut St. has limited parking. The 10,500-square foot building, which the county owns, is in good shape, but the parking situation is terrible, and the county will lose six to eight parking spots with the widening of Walnut Street, Moehring said.
Under the plan, the revenue office would move to the annex and the Election Commission -- which also needs more space -- would move to the location at 1428 W. Walnut St.
Moehring said the Election Commission needs more space to store election equipment. The current revenue office will be turned into the Benton County Election Commission where there's plenty of space for the commission and its equipment, he said.
The collector and assessor currently have office space on the first floor of the Administration Building.
Benton County Collector Gloria Petersen and Assessor Roderick Grieve said they did not think it was necessary to have any office presence in the Administration Building. They have offices on D Street in Bentonville.
Grieve oversees 89 employees countywide, including more than 25 appraisers who work at the Rogers Annex office, he said.
The tax collector's office in downtown Bentonville has 16 employees.
The county pays $20,117 monthly for the 21,000 square feet leased at the annex. The new space in the building is 24,300 square feet and will cost $24,563.25. The monthly lease payments will be $44,680.25.
Moehring said the cost of the annex build-out or renovation will be $2.1 million. He said 40% of the cost -- $942,880 -- will be from the assessor's office. The collector's office would contribute $477,440, and $707,160 would come from the general fund. The Department of Finance and Administration will pay $235,720.
Moehring said the lease agreement is for 10 years with three additional five-year extensions, with an annual increase of no more than 3% per year.
He urged the justices of the peace to approve the proposal.
"If we don't lock the space down in that building, they will lease it to someone else," Moehring said.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen, who chairs the committee, said he is familiar with the building and supports the proposal.
Susan Anglin, a justice of the peace, supported the plan but was concerned about not having services of the assessor or collector in the Administration Building.
Brian Beeson, county facilities director, said he expects the work at the annex to be completed by May or June if the work begins next month.
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NoneAllen departs
Tuesday’s Benton County Finance Committee meeting was Tom Allen’s last as a justice of the peace. Allen has served as committee chairman since 2009.
Allen, who did not seek reelection this year, was recognized before the meeting for his 20 years of service as a justice of the peace. He also served four years on the Rogers City Council before being elected to the Quorum Court.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve,” Allen said. “I appreciated the confidence my constituents in District 4 had in me.”
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette