If Benton County officials ever needed exit interviews as voters left after casting their ballots, it was Tuesday, March 12, 2019. A simple two or three question interview would probably have told the Quorum Court and the county judge what people were saying in the coffee shops.
Question No. 1: Do you ever have occasion to go to any of the Circuit Court facilities? A "yes'" to this should be followed with a sincere desire to see if it is possible that the location of the courts in downtown Bentonville is an inconvenient place to go if you live near Maysville, Garfield, Siloam Springs or War Eagle. Downtown Bentonville is nice for a Saturday afternoon stroll and to visit the Farmers Market. However, I doubt the families visiting the courts when the inmates make their court appearances need the amenities downtown offers. Probably very few people visit the courts for social functions.
Question No. 2: What do you know about the actual cost of building a new court house in downtown Bentonville? This might answer the question about how much information was useful to the voters when it came time to vote. Consider these possible followup questions. Has anyone actually seen a realistic detailed breakdown of the cost of the "overall proposal" to build a court's building downtown? Do the voters actually know what the proposal really consists of? How much was the proposed sales tax actually expected to produce over the 54 months? With an early estimate of $45 million, was that just the court building or the entire remodeling of downtown? The newspaper reported a 400-car garage for parking and a $2 million gift from the Walton Family Foundation. Were these two items part of the $45 million estimate or on top of the price of the court building? In the newspaper's wrap-up on Thursday, March 14, 2019, County Judge Barry Moehring said "a new tax is what the voters were mainly against." He also said the "location of the building was a secondary issue." If a less expensive building can be located on Arkansas Highway 102 near the jail and it is more convenient for the frequent visitors to the trials, doesn't that answer both questions?
If one were to sample a few of the voters and get specific information from them, the elected county officials might get in touch with the 62 percent of the voters who said "no" to the proposal. How can the current county administration explain the report that 69 percent of the voters were 55 and older? Do some of these people remember a vote on funding of a new jail and an administration building in the early 1990s? It was deemed to be too much money at one time and was defeated in a vote of the people. The events that surrounded the campaign to sell the idea to the voters brought a major change to the Quorum Court in 1994 when new faces filled half of the seats.
The people of Benton County saw a change in the county judge's office a couple of years ago. Is it possible the new courts' building and not the condition of the roads was the real issue in spite of what was used as a campaign slogan? The major source of money for that campaign came from Bentonville. There were campaign signs on almost every street corner in the city. The current county judge has done a great job of reorganizing the Road Department and the county seems to be running more efficiently under his guidance -- but we don't have a new court's building.
Perhaps the big winner in this election has been the Libertarian Party. They got a lot of publicity during the administration's campaign to sell the downtown building proposal. From newspaper reports, someone from that political party addressed funding and the location alternatives at the Town Hall meetings. Were the voters the only ones listening? The downtown location might be very beneficial for the Bentonville residents and businesses but the State Hwy. 102 location surely would be more suited to the needs of those who are more likely to use the facility -- and easier on the the taxpayers.
As someone well over 55 I make very few visits to downtown Bentonville. However, it would appear locating the court building near the square would make traffic much worse in the area even with a 400 car "free" parking garage. As a group of responsible elected officials, shouldn't the citizens expect the county leadership to adhere to the vote (voice or otherwise) of the general county population and build a less expensive building where it will be more functional and cost effective ? The voters just expressed themselves at the polls as they are asked to do. Will the elected officials do the same?
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County and has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace.
Editorial on 03/20/2019