Breaking ground and making history

Breaking ground literally and figuratively, Pea Ridge city officials and school officials will join for the groundbreaking of the new City Hall/School Administration building at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9.

All former city and school officials -- mayors, council members, school superintendents and School Board members -- are invited to join Mayor Jackie Crabtree and school superintendent Rick Neal at the historic event.

The 15,000-square-foot building is to be built at 977 Weston St., on a 16.2 acre lot purchased by the school district in early 2015 from the Raymond Foster estate for $200,818. The new building is expected to cost $2.2 million, the cost of which is to be shared equally by the city and the school district.

"This joint project is made possible by the willingness and foresight of the City Council and School Board members looking at the future of our city and school," according to a press release by the mayor.

Neal proposed the plan to city officials last June and it was approved by both City Council and School Board members in the following months. The large scale development plan was approved by Planning Commission members at the Dec. 1, 2015, meeting. City officials approved the city's share of the funding at the December council meeting.

The building will facs Weston Street, with city offices on the south side and school offices on the north. A courtroom is planned for the center of the building. There are 60 chairs in the current courtroom downtown, according to court clerk Sandy Button, who said there were more than 150 people scheduled to appear in court this past week.

The new courtroom will be able to seat about 150 people. The Pea Ridge division of Benton County Circuit Court currently is in session twice a month.

City Hall is at 227 E. Pickens St., about half a mile east of the high school and across the street from the original school campus and the current Intermediate School. Crabtree, who's in his 22nd year as mayor, said City Hall has occupied that building since long before he became mayor. Five employees work in the approximately 3,000 square feet at City Hall, Crabtree said. Their space will more than double in the new building. There also will be offices available to the police, fire and street departments, even though all three departments have their own facilities.

The School District's central office consists of five people. They share less than 2,000 square feet at the high school, Neal said. The district's space will more than triple at the new facility.

Don Zimmerman, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League, said he's not aware of any similar projects.

"I think that's a real great example of efficiency and wise utilization of the resources of both the schools and the city," Zimmerman said.

The Municipal League generally encourages cities and school districts to work together, Zimmerman said.