Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
County eyes new mobile command
Plans to sell vehicle halted
BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s Finance Committee on Thursday halted officials’ plans to sell the its mobile command vehicle.
County Judge Barry Moehring and Robert McGowen, emergency services administrator, told justices of the peace the 12-year-old vehicle is rarely used for emergencies and costly to maintain. The vehicle was custom built and paid for in part with grants from the federal Department of Homeland Security and the Walmart Foundation.
Sheriff Shawn Holloway said his office wants to have the capabilities of the command unit, but acknowledged it’s too large for some circumstances. Holloway said he hasn’t done any research into smaller vehicles.
Justices of the peace asked Moehring to delay the sale until Holloway can consider his options and bring more information back to the Quorum Court.
“I think more information is in order,” Mike McKenzie, justice of the peace for District 1, said. “It’s worth exploring more.”
The county paid $366,109 for the vehicle in 2007, according to Brenda Guenther, county comptroller. The county did some upgrades in 2013 costing about $54,000.
“The purpose of the [vehicle] is to provide facilities and equipment necessary to conduct field incident command for large, long-duration incidents and special events,” McGowen told the justices of the peace. It’s kept in a state of readiness and is available to respond to any request without notice.
The vehicle has built-in radio, satellite and telephone data and voice communication systems. It also has a weather-monitoring system and a 42-foot mast with cameras. It even has a conference
room with seating for seven people.
The unit has been deployed four times since November 2016, when it was used in a search for a missing woman near Siloam Springs, McGowen said. It was used in the same area in another search for the same woman in February 2017 and in July 2017 near Decatur in another search for a missing woman.
It also was parked near the War Eagle Craft Fair for use as a radio repeater. Otherwise, McGowen said, the vehicle has been used at various events as a cooling station and for “show and tell” school outings.
The county had the vehicle appraised as part of the process for selling or disposing of property, Guenther said. The vehicle was appraised at $120,000.The county advertised the unit and received a $240,000 bid from Polk County, Mo. McGowen said the county could accept that bid and buy two command trailers with the same capabilities and have money left over to buy other vehicles and equipment it needs.