I had asked that this issue be placed on the agenda so that the Committee and citizens could get an update from Judge Clinard and the County Road Department.
Also in attendance were Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards, Centerton Road Superintendent Rick Hudson and the Bentonville Public Schools Facilities Director, Paul Wallace.
Also in attendance were Centerton Mayor Bill Edwards, Centerton Road Superintendent Rick Hudson and the Bentonville Public Schools Facilities Director, Paul Wallace.
What we learned is that the City of Centerton and Bentonville Public Schools are moving ahead rapidly on developing needed roads and other infrastructure for BHS West.
The County's current plan is to wait until 2016 to move forward on building the roads and include funding for this purpose in the 2016 budget. In the meantime, the County Road Department has moved ahead on securing right-of-way and other preliminary steps that will be needed to move forward.
However, an overall plan for how the County is addressing the needs of BHS West was not presented.
Members of the Committee, myself included, expressed concern that the County was not moving fast enough and that we needed concrete (no pun intended!) action soon on this issue, particularly in conjunction with the work being done by Centerton and Bentonville Public Schools.
During the meeting, I asked that a detailed plan for the County's portion of the BHS West roads be presented at the next Transportation Committee meeting.
Additionally, the Committee took an informal "straw poll" vote to gauge interest in accelerating the work into 2015 instead of waiting until 2016. That vote was unanimous.
The ultimate decision will rest with the recommendations of Judge Clinard but clearly the Quorum Court wants to see a detailed plan and a way to get work done sooner rather than later. If you're interested, here's a link to an article that appeared in the paper about this issue. I'll post more information here as it becomes available.
During the meeting, I asked that a detailed plan for the County's portion of the BHS West roads be presented at the next Transportation Committee meeting.
Additionally, the Committee took an informal "straw poll" vote to gauge interest in accelerating the work into 2015 instead of waiting until 2016. That vote was unanimous.
The ultimate decision will rest with the recommendations of Judge Clinard but clearly the Quorum Court wants to see a detailed plan and a way to get work done sooner rather than later. If you're interested, here's a link to an article that appeared in the paper about this issue. I'll post more information here as it becomes available.
On a side note, the NWADG recently ran an editorial about how committee meetings are run in Washington County. Several good points were made but one in particular called out the fact that in Washington County, members of the Quorum Court are paid $200 when they attend committee meetings -- even committees that they are not members of.
In Benton County that's not the case. Benton County Quorum Court members only receive per diem (lower than Washington County I might add - $150) for attending meetings for committees that they are members of. We have many members who attend various committee meetings (like the Transportation Committee meeting referenced above... I'm not a member and several JPs were in attendance who are not members) and we have an agreement that any and all can attend and participate regardless of whether or not they are a formal member. They just cannot vote on ordinances or resolutions in the committee meeting itself. And they do not get paid a per diem for their participation.
As always, let me know your thoughts!
Thanks,
Barry
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