Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

NCSO pondering move; Court agrees on need

To move or not to move, isnt really the question for the Nevada County Sheriffs Office. Its a necessity.

The NCSO has simply outgrown its current building and needs to expand to have enough space for offices and administration.

This was discussed at the Aug. 8 meeting of the Nevada County Quorum Court. Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown said the county deeded the building across the street from the NCSO to the Southwest Arkansas Development Council in 1988.

The SWADC occupied the building, operating the senior citizen center out of it until the Hamilton-Blakely Senior Center was built a few years ago. It moved out, leaving only the Literacy Council to occupy the two-story structure.

However, the Literacy Council representative, Kris Abercrombie, is only there a few hours a week to handle local clientele. According to Brown, officials with the SWADC have said the county could use the building, as long as it made room for the Literacy Council.

This would help save the jail, Brown said. We get written up on every inspection for lack of storage and office space and need to do something about it.

Brown has also talked to 9-1-1 coordinator Dale Booker about moving those offices as well. When the county education commission or the election commission meets, Booker has to vacate his office in the courthouse. According to Brown, Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell and Booker have looked at the other building and agreed they could use the extra space.

Should the move be made, the county would have to help pay the utility bills. Some of this, Brown said, could come from the 9-1-1 budget.

According to Brown, not all NCSO offices would be moved. The radio dispatchers and jailers would be left at the current facility, while the sheriff, deputies and bookkeeper would be moving, along with the 9-1-1 coordinator.

In addition, Brown said, there are times when circuit and district court are scheduled at the same time and theres not enough room for both in the courthouse. One of these, most likely district court, could be held where the dining room was at the former senior center.

The Literacy Council would be moved to air conditioned offices upstairs, but, Brown said, there are times when Abercrombie could need space downstairs. This would be when handicapped people couldnt get to the second floor. The room would also have to be private. We could find a place for her when its needed.

This would also postpone the need for a new jail.

In other business, Floyd Clark, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, updated the Court on the goings on in his office.

At this time Clark is working with a company wanting to locate in Prescott and put in a distribution company. However, the company wants a 50,000 square foot building constructed for it. But, Clark said, the company would serve several other out-of-state companies from here.

Prescott and Nevada County get hits from the Arkansas Department of Economic Development about possible new industries. Each, Clark said, is responded to based on the requests and needs of the prospect.