County purchasing building to house juvenile programs, services
St. Francis County is planning to purchase a building on East Broadway to house juvenile services for the county.
The purchase was approved Tuesday by Quorum Court justices on a recommendation from the Court’s building and grounds committee.
Justices adopted a pair of ordinances dealing with juveniles. One ordinance allows for the building to be purchased, and the other appropriates funds for the purchase.
The structure is located at
1825 E. Broadway.
In December 2019, St. Francis County voters approved a onecent sales tax to fund construction of a new county jail. That measure also included providing services to the county’s juveniles.
According to the ordinance, adequate office space is not available in the courthouse or in any other structure already belonging to the county and that there is no area available for rent in the county that would offer the suitable space.
The ordinance also reveals that the building is owned by Mid-South Power Sports, Inc., an Arkansas Corporation, and that one of the stockholders of that entity is SFC Sheriff and Collector Bobby May. “The Quorum Court recognizes that there is a conflict as recognized by the St. Francis County Code of Ethics, however, the St. Francis County Quorum Court finds that the property is uniquely suited to the purposes of SFC Juvenile Offices and there is no other property for sale currently in the county which would suit these purposes.”
SFC Judge Gary Hughes said the county is able to purchase the structure for $200,000, which is under the amount for which it appraised.
"The purpose of this first ordinance, regarding the purchase of this building, is to expose that one of the owners is Sheriff Bobby May," said Hughes. "We would have to do the same thing if one of our Quorum Court members or their family owned part of the building. We have negotiated the price of $200,000 for this building, which was appraised for over $300,000."
The second ordinance appropriates the funds from the collection of the one-eighth-cent sales tax. Justices appropriated $210,000 to fund the purchase of the building. The appropriated funds would pay for the building, closing costs and a small amount of exterior cosmetic work, according to Hughes. Hughes also noted that the county has collected about $230,000 for juvenile programs since tax collections began in May last year.
(Continued from Page 1) First Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Kathie Hess told justices that the building is perfect for the county's intended use.
"This building was built in a way that makes it seem as though it was designed for children," said Hess. "When you walk in and look to the left, there is a huge space that is perfect for children and groups. Once we get back to life as we love it after this coronavirus stuff, it will be a great multipurpose area for kids where we can offer all of the things I have brought before you all in the past as well as help them with assignments and after-school studies."
Hess said she is excited to see plans in motion to bring juvenile services into the county.
"There are offices at the front of the building where we could have instructors who will teach drum and keyboard lessons," said Hess. "We will have a person from the college come and give creative writing lessons for those who do not wish to express themselves through music. There are three sets of bathrooms, which is excellent for this program because we want to keep this building as occupied as possible. You can all probably tell that I am extremely excited for this building to be purchased so that we can get it occupied and get ready for our juveniles to start coming to see us."
Justice Jimmy Long asked if these services were only for children within the county or if the county would be paying for children from surrounding counties to use these services.
"These services are being put in place specifically for the juveniles of St. Francis County," said Hughes. "There is a possibility of children from other counties coming here, but it would not be on the county's dime.”