Quorum Court approves emergency jail repairs, Casey House renovation funds

Quorum Court approves emergency jail repairs, Casey House renovation funds

The Baxter County Quorum Court met Monday evening to approve the county’s 2025 budget and consider several compensation increases for county officials and boards.

Budget Committee Chairman Dennis Frank reported a brief meeting earlier in the evening where the committee moved to pass the 2025 budget on to the full Quorum Court for approval. The court subsequently approved the budget ordinance.

The court approved increasing compensation for the Baxter County Planning Board from $45 to $100 per meeting, bringing the board’s pay in line with other counties. The compensation level had not been addressed since 2004, with the increase adding approximately $2,500 to the budget.

The Quorum Court voted down a proposal to increase its own compensation from $375 to $450 per meeting. The increase was proposed to bring compensation in line with other Class 4 counties, but concerns were raised about the timing of such a raise.

“I just happen to be a retiree on a fixed income,” Baxter County resident Hap Meyers told the court during discussion. “All I would ask is before this body moves to increase any of their own compensation, that you all take it in mind. There’s folks out here that make decisions every month to buy gas for the car, food for the table, or the prescription drugs. But many, many cannot do all three.”

Another resident noted recent statistics about food insecurity in the state.

“I just heard on a radio coming over here this evening in a new study just released – one in five Arkansas adults, one in four Arkansas children face starvation hunger on a daily basis.”

Justices also authorized $50,000 for the jail maintenance fund to begin replacing a faulty control board that operates jail doors. Sheriff John Montgomery explained the urgency of the situation to the court.

“Our control board system that opens and controls every board, intercom systems with every cell, etcetera, it bit the dust,” Montgomery said. “I managed to get part of it back working, so the new part of the jail is working. The old part, they have to use a key, which is not good in a lot of ways.”

Montgomery told justices the estimated cost is $300,000-$500,000 and will take approximately five months to complete. “When the whole system was down, we were down for about 10 hours. You just cannot believe – I won’t say it was a catastrophe but it was very bad,” he said.

During the discussion about the Casey House renovations, Kevin Bodenhamer of the Historical Society addressed the court about the need for funding.

“The Casey house is located down here at the fairgrounds. That was the site of our very first County Courthouse in 1873,” Bodenhamer said. “That structure belongs to Baxter County. We got with the same group that helped us years ago put together the Wolf house at Norfork. That project was like six hundred thousand dollars to restore it.”

The court approved setting aside $100,000 in the 2025 budget for the project, which needs a new roof and foundation work. The architect estimates project costs at $214,172. The county owns the Casey House and will be responsible for one-third of the cost, with the balance coming from grant funds.

“It’s going to be a project that may take several years to get it done, kind of like we did the Wolf house,” Bodenhamer said. “During the fair, when the kids are back, we bring them down to the Casey house, they go through it. They learn about the early history of Baxter County, the people who were here. That building was put on the national register of historic places in the 70s.”

A $75,000 appropriation was approved for the county coroner to begin preparing a site next to the CID building for a proposed new coroner facility.

Sally Hall spoke on behalf of the Baxter County Conservation District, requesting $4,000 to supplement operations. The funding would qualify for matching funds from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Division.

“Conservation districts are stewards of our environment. We are community-based hubs of natural resource expertise in funding. We are local people solving local problems,” Hall said.

She noted the district works with various agencies to assist landowners through education, technical assistance and financial assistance in areas including prescribed burns, fire breaks, feral hog eradication, wildlife habitats, and blade restoration.

The Conservation District also sponsors several community events, including participation in the local farmers market, the Baxter County Fair, and the fishing derby at McKay Park. Hall highlighted their recent work with local schools, including an essay contest for high school students interested in conservation careers and Earth Day activities for elementary students.

The Baxter County Treasurer reported sales tax revenue was up 6.8% over the same month last year, amounting to about $34,000 for the County General fund. The quarter percent jail sales tax was up approximately $15,000 over last year.

The meeting concluded with Bodenhamer announcing the opening of a new historical museum at 300 Bomber Boulevard.

“Thursday going down here to our new historical Museum at 300 Bomber Boulevard, we are having our grand opening at noon,” he said. “It’s 5,000 square foot. Come through it, take a look at it and see what we’ve been doing trying to preserve, protect and defend our history of Baxter County.”


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