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Polk County weighs building new extension office or buying renovated Arkansas Tech property
Summary
Polk County officials reviewed a $1.03 million estimate for a 5,000 sq. ft. new Cooperative Extension building and discussed acquiring a renovated Arkansas Tech property the university plans to sell, which could house both juvenile probation and Cooperative Extension. Transcript contains several numeric transcription artifacts; price and square‑foot figures are reported as given.
Polk County officials spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing where to locate Cooperative Extension and juvenile probation offices.
Road Department/justice representative Ben Cross told the court a new 5,000‑square‑foot structure built at the road department site was estimated at $1,033,559.91. He presented an alternative: Arkansas Tech is preparing to sell a renovated building across from “Stobies on El Paso” that the university says has been remodeled using COVID‑era grant funds and includes new HVAC, data drops and conference space. The transcript lists that building’s size as "88509 square feet"; speakers also compared relative size and said the university property would be roughly 3,500–3,800 sq. ft. larger than a proposed new build.
An Arkansas Tech representative described the building as having separate wings, a large meeting room that seats about 35–40 people, camera security and ADA parking. Ben suggested the county could move juvenile probation (JPO) and Cooperative Extension into that single building, sell existing county properties, and use proceeds to offset acquisition costs. He said, “We can move juvenile probation and cooperative extension. There's ample room for both.”
Speakers noted repair costs at the current Cooperative Extension facility: an estimated $50,000–$60,000 to fix a west wall plus additional south‑wall and roof issues. One speaker observed a transcripted figure of "$75,800,000" when discussing total renovation cost; that number is almost certainly a transcription error and the committee did not establish a corrected total in the meeting. Appraisals on county properties (Cooperative Extension and JPO) were reported as pending; Ben said appraisals would be done 'as is' and that the county prefers not to invest further in those older buildings before deciding.
Committee members raised community concerns about moving Cooperative Extension farther from town: one commissioner said about 130 children participate in 4‑H and worried that moving to the road department would reduce attendance because the current location is convenient for parents dropping off and picking up. Ben recommended site tours by appointment so members could evaluate the university building and its suitability for county operations.
No acquisition decision was made; Ben said discussion will continue monthly and that, if the county pursues the university property, the earliest availability would be mid‑spring with a likely move in March. Several numeric figures in the transcript (building square footage and an apparent $75.8 million figure) appear inconsistent and were flagged for clarification in committee follow‑up.
