Commissioners push property committee to make a plan before moving volunteers, driver's testing and other offices

Residents and some commissioners urged Benton County to adopt a deliberate plan for how county offices are assigned across several county-owned buildings rather than making informal "moves" that can displace long-standing volunteer operations.

John Lattie, speaking for Benton County volunteers, told the commission the volunteers perform varied duties across county facilities and asked commissioners to "consider us a little bit" in budget and space decisions. "There's 70 active members and somewhere around about 140 members altogether here in Benton County," Lattie said.

Several commissioners responded with concerns about a proposed plan that would relocate volunteer operations into a room at the senior citizens' center to save an estimated $1,300 a year. One resident warned that placing volunteers and senior citizens in the same space could be problematic, and commissioners said the property committee should study building assignments before any moves. "We just need to let the property committee look at what goes where," Commissioner Arnold said. "Let us come up with a plan to decide who goes where ... bring it back to the commission."

The discussion also covered an offer from the state for a full driver's testing facility. Commissioner Nunnery said the state had asked for a room and would move a full facility if the county gives them space; others raised parking and traffic concerns if the testing center were located in a smaller courthouse-adjacent building. "If you have been over to Paris to that testing center, you're gonna find about 40 to 50 cars parked up there," one commissioner said, urging the commission to consider parking availability and circulation before committing to a location.

Commissioners and staff discussed alternative county-owned spaces that have been suggested for relocation, including the old mayor's office, the old liquor building and other county-owned buildings. Commissioners recommended the property committee meet more frequently to inventory building space and produce recommendations on optimal locations for county services, maintenance needs and possible moves.

The commission scheduled an additional property committee meeting and directed that committee to return recommendations to the full commission. Commissioners emphasized they did not want piecemeal moves that might create maintenance or code compliance problems or reduce service quality for volunteers or residents.

The county also received an immediate operational concern: electrical problems were reported in the basement of a building housing offices, and a commissioner asked county maintenance to inspect and repair the issue before further relocations to that space.

The discussion concluded with agreement to address assignments through the property committee and to avoid unilateral moves without a plan and committee recommendation.