Deck to hold 400 autos, letter states

Two designs considered

BENTONVILLE — The number of spaces in a new parking garage near the proposed downtown courts complex will be 400, according to an updated letter sent to the county.

Michael Kalagias, president of the Libertarian Party, questioned County Judge Barry Moehring at a town hall meeting about the number of spots.

Off-Street Parking District No. 3 and Bentonville Revitalization Inc. sent a letter to Moehring and the Quorum Court last week updating a letter of support the two groups sent in 2016 about building the deck.

Two designs are being considered — one for 386 spaces and the other for 425 spaces, according to the letter. The deck would be on Northeast B Street.

Tuesday is election day for a one-eighth percent sales tax increase to pay for the $30 million courthouse. The tax would last for 54 months and equal a little more than 12 cents on every $100 in sales, Moehring said. The new courthouse would be built on Northeast Second Street.

The county would spend

another $5 million to update the downtown courthouse, including the courtroom on the third floor. The courthouse was built in 1928 and opened with one circuit judge.

Early voting continues Monday. Residents cast 3,746 votes in the first four days of early voting, according to the Benton County Clerk’s Office. That’s a turnout of 2.3 percent of the county’s 161,987 registered voters, said Dana Caler with the Clerk’s Office.

The parking deck is part of third-party funding for the proposed project. Other support includes the donation of land where the building would be built from the Walton Family Foundation and a $2 million grant from the foundation. The three offers terminate Dec. 31.

The original letter of support sent to then-County Judge Bob Clinard and the Quorum Court stated 300 parking spaces would be added at an above-ground parking garage.

Moehring said he was told by parking district and Bentonville Revitalization officials the deck would have about 400 spaces. Moehring said he has not seen the designs being considered.

“During town halls and other speaking engagements, I have simply averaged these figures and have used the phrase ‘approximately 400 parking spaces,’” Moehring said.

The Dewberry study done in 2016 stated 400 spots would be the maximum needed to accommodate the courts, Moehring said. He doesn’t anticipate the county needing that many spots on most days. The exception would be during jury call days.

“We understand that recently there have been questions about some of the information in the 2016 letters, specifically questions on the number of potential parking spaces in the new deck. At the time of those letters the plans for the parking deck were very preliminary, and those plans have been evolving since then which is typical for a project like this,” the updated letter reads.

Kalagias said he brought the issue up because the only number he had heard was in the 2016 paperwork, and that is why he questioned Moehring’s total.

“That point is rendered moot as far as I am concerned,”

Kalagias said. “They answered that with the letter.”

The new letter also states plans for the parking deck will be finalized quickly if the vote passes Tuesday.

The parking district owns a portion of the property where the parking deck will be built, and BRI has the rest of the property under option, pending Tuesday’s vote, according to the letter.

The parking district was established in 1994 by a Bentonville ordinance and is dedicated to the ongoing maintenance and development of parking in downtown. BRI is a nonprofit development organization established by the Walton family several years ago and is dedicated to longterm improvements downtown, according to the letter.

The new courts building would be 87,000 square feet in four stories and a basement. The top story would be finished later with two more courtrooms. The building would have at least a 50-year lifespan, Moehring said. Work would start in the summer if voters pass the sales tax, and it would take about 24 months to complete the project, he said.

The last time the county asked for a special sales tax to build facilities was in 1995, according to county documents. Voters approved a half-percent sales tax to build the county jail. The tax was collected for three years.