County officials remove park from courts study

BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s officials agreed Thursday to remove Dave Peel Park in downtown Bentonville from the list of possible locations for a new courts building.

The Benton County Quorum Court voted unanimously to reduce the scope of a study aimed at a new courts building, removing the city park from the list of possible locations.

County Judge Bob Clinard told the justices of the peace he had spoken with Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin earlier this week about considering the park location as one potential site for a courts building.

“Justice of the Peace Susan Anglin came to my office and asked me what he thought,” Clinard said of McCaslin’s view of the county considering the use of the park site. “He respectfully asked that we remove that site from consideration.”

Anglin, justice of the peace for District 9, asked Circuit Judge Doug Schrantz how he and the other circuit judges viewed the downtown locations, including the park.

“The land mass there is big enough to meet current needs and allow for future expansion,” Schrantz said of the park site. “We don’t feel that’s true of the other two downtown locations.”

Schrantz said McCaslin and others who favor keeping the courts building downtown need to understand the choice involved.

“What is more of a priority?” he asked. “Having it downtown and not having a park or having a park and not having it downtown?”

Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee, said he thinks the county can consider the park site despite McCaslin’s request.

“If we didn’t take heed of that and we went ahead and included the park in the study, what harm has been done?” Allen asked.