The White County Budget and Finance Committee indefinitely tabled the proposed courts building project this week, even after County Judge Michael Lincoln dropped the asking price to $17.5 million.
The committee voted 3-2 Tuesday night to table the proposal instead of moving it forward to the full Quorum Court. The justices of the peace voting to table it were Bobby Burns of Beebe, Mike Cleveland of Searcy and Allen King of Pangburn.
County Treasurer Janet Hibbitts said the decision means the proposal is sidelined until someone who voted to table it makes the decision to bring it back. White County Judge-elect Lisa Brown said that is her understanding, too, that “only a JP who voted to table can bring it back up,” but she was waiting for clarification.
Brown said she believes the project eventually “will be revisited … just not sure when.”
The cost of the project had ballooned to $26 million with contingencies due to increases in size and construction costs, but the new amount discussed Tuesday involved a 25 percent reduction in the footprint of the facility, which would be built on land already roped off on Benton Street, not far from the White County Law Enforcement Center.
A reduction in square footage from 33,900 and the removal of a Quorum Court building from the design plan led to the amount coming down to $17.5 million,…