Benton County officials value town halls
BENTON COUNTY — Benton County Judge Barry Moehring plans more townhall meetings in locations around the county.
Moehring said the turnout exceeded his expectations at the first three meetings in Gentry, Sulphur Springs and the Prairie Creek area. The fourth was Aug. 21 at the NEBCO Community Building in Garfield.
“Sulphur Springs by a landslide had the largest turnout,” Moehring said. “Gentry and Prairie Creek were about the same.”
Channing Barker, the county’s communications director, said 111 people attended the meeting in Sulphur Springs, while she counted 32 in Gentry and 55 in Prairie Creek.
Moehring said residents have raised expected topics.
“A lot of the questions and comments were about county roads,” he said. “In each of those instances, we took down their information and entered a ticket on the problem where we can track what’s being done.”
Some questions in Prairie Creek dealt with boat ramps and septic systems, Moehring said, adding that each meeting included questions for the Sheriff’s Office.
“But there was definitely a predominance of questions on county roads,” he said.
Pat Adams, justice of the peace for District 6 and chairman of the county’s Transportation Committee, has attended all of the meetings. Adams said the number of questions or complaints about county roads is what he expected and mirrors his experience in three terms on the Quorum Court.
“I’d say I get very few calls on anything else,” he said. “Over the course of five years, I’ve gotten a few calls about law enforcement. But it’s almost always about roads. It may be about tires dumped on the side of the road or a corner that needs to be bush-hogged so they can see around it. Then there’s lots of people who will tell you their road was promised to be paved years ago or they were first on the list this year and why hasn’t it been paved?”
Adriane Carr, in her first term as District 12 justice of the peace, said she hasn’t yet gotten a high volume of calls or questions from constituents, so she sees the town hall meetings as beneficial.
“It’s mostly been when I’ve been in conversation with someone,” Carr said of her constituent feedback. “I think it depends on the district you serve and how long you’ve been on the Quorum Court.”