Preliminary estimates for the cost to build a Carroll County judicial facility in Berryville have run higher than county officials expected, District 11 Justice of the Peace John Howerton said at a quorum court meeting Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Still, Howerton said he believes there remains a path forward for the county to construct a new facility that would house office space for the circuit judge and a larger courtroom than the one currently in use at the Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville.
Initially, the quorum court’s Eastern District Judicial Building Steering Committee — which Howerton chairs — had discussed the possibility of an 8,000-squarefoot building on county- owned land near the Carroll County Law Enforcement Complex off Hailey Road in Berryville. The committee also had discussed a 4,000-foot expansion of the law enforcement complex, which houses the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Carroll County Detention Center.
But after meeting recently with an architect and general contractor and reviewing cost projections, Howerton said two pared-down options are most viable. The first would be a 5,632-squarefoot building that would house a courtroom as well as office space for the circuit judge and staff. The second option is a 4,518-square-foot space with a courtroom and a “day office” for the circuit judge.
Howerton said cost estimates for the first option are $729 per square foot, approximately $4.1 million. The second option would cost $837 per square foot, based on projections, for a total of just over $3.78 million.
Howerton pointed out that the county has been setting aside money for years in a separate fund that now totals approximately $1.1 million. He said the county could borrow the rest of the money for construction from local banks and pay it back with the money currently being deposited into the building fund.
District 3 JP Harrie Farrow, who represents Eureka Springs and sits on the judicial building committee, said the architect and general contractor intentionally built in contingencies for inflation and other factors when they put together the projections, meaning there is a chance those numbers could be higher than the actual costs.
