Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

No Decision Made On New Courthouse Annex

No formal decisions were made by the Clark County Quorum Court concerning the annexation of the courthouse.

However, the county's governing body, during its regular monthly meeting Monday night, did agree to changes made in the annexation plans.

Changes to the annexation were proposed by members of the Arkansas Bar Association. These changes were to extend the conference room eight feet and have an 8 by 32-foot conference room behind the bench to give the judge immediate access and privacy.

Additionally, a bathroom was added to the jury room, making two. A private entry was added to the judge's chambers for the judge to enter the courtroom, and two more holding cells with toilet facilities were affixed as well.

These changes will delay groundbreaking ceremonies for the new facility, which were expected to be held sometime this month.

According to Clark County Judge Grady Runyan, the groundbreaking may not be done until mid-July.

Jerry Simmons, an architect with the Twin Rivers Architectural firm of Arkadelphia, talked to the court about the proposed changes.

He said if these changes were done at the same time proposed renovations were done, it would cost $2.5 million. This figure does not include furnishings for the annexed portion of the courthouse.

"As soon as the plans are complete," Runyan said, "we'll let out for bid." The electrical plans are already complete.

Some members of the court have voiced their desire to do the annexation and renovation of the older portion as the same time. However, Runyan said this may not be fiscally possible, and could also scare off potential contractors.

"I don't think that's the way to do it," Runyan said of doing both projects simultaneously. "It will be harder on us.

"We're looking at getting the bids in by early July. I wanted to stabilize the older part first and use grant money for the renovation."

Runyan said he would like to see a gazebo constructed on the courthouse lawn and make the courthouse the central point of activity in the city -- much as it was in the distant past.

He said other counties have done similar things, and hold activities on their courthouse lawns, including elections and band concerts, along with school events.

However, there were no votes taken by the court, as the justices simply discussed the matter at hand and had no objection to the changes made by the Bar Association.