County moves on from Peel Park for site

Officials agree to remove it from court locations list

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.

Clinard pointed out the county would spend $27,500 more to include the park when that site has “very little chance for the city to approve it.”

Shirley Sandlin, justice of the peace for District 8, said leaving the park out of the study now doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the site out of the final decision.

“We can always add it back in if things change and things have been known to change,” Sandlin said.

The county has been considering a new building to house the circuit courts and related offices for several years. A study in January 2014 identified three sites — two downtown and one on Southwest 14th Street near the county jail.

Clinard favors the 14th Street location. The Public Safety Committee endorsed a downtown building project early in 2015, and the Finance Committee explored financing options for a downtown building. Work on the proposal was delayed after six circuit judges sent a letter to Clinard and the Quorum Court opposing both downtown plans as inadequate.

The Finance Committee voted July 7 to continue the study to focus on three options: Southwest 14th Street near the jail, a new building on Second Street downtown across the street from the courthouse and expanding the courthouse into the area between it and the County Administration Building. Adding plans to use the old courthouse increased the cost of the second phase of the study from $119,500 to about $178,000. The Committee of the Whole voted July 12 to add the Dave Peel Park location as another potential building site, boosting the cost by $27,250 to $205,250. Removing the park location from the study brings the cost back down to $178,000, according to Brenda Guenther, comptroller.