A shift in courthouse locations for Mississippi County could be on the horizon, if plans go as expected for justices of the quorum court.
The court's property committee met Friday morning to discuss the rapidly deteriorating condition of the Blytheville courthouse roof, which has been leaking over the past few seasons and has caused extensive damage to the inside of the structure, including standing water in some offices and constant leaks in the courtroom. Justices have been expressing concern over the course of this year that continuing to invest money into both of the county's aging courthouses is wasteful. However, the issue of consolidating the county seat, the public vote that would entail, and securing new courthouse facilities have remained only a discussion up to this point.
During Friday's meeting, the property committee passed a resolution to bring the discussion to the full court, with an intention of pursuing county ownership for part of the ANC Burdette campus, for use as a courthouse. This would require transference of property ownership from ANC to the county, per legal council, and would also require a public vote to transfer the county seat to Burdette. Because this process could take several years to complete, justices have agreed that the time to act is immediate.
"When the collector and the assessor's offices were talking about moving to Burdette, I was hoping that discussion would open the eyes of the public," said committee chair Justice Fred Fleeman. "If you don't think we need one courthouse instead of two, you've got your head in the sand."
"It's going to inconvenience people who are used to just running to the courthouse in Blytheville or Osceola to take care of business, but we're going to save so much money, and be able to do more for the county's citizens," said Justice Bill Nelson.
Justice Robert Earl Davis commented that with one courthouse facility, staff could also be reduced over time, resulting in more savings for the county.
"You wouldn't have to lay anyone off, but as people quit or retired, we can just not replace them," he said. "We have people hollering that they need more employees, but here we have less and less people in Mississippi County, we need to start cutting back on employees, there's a lot of savings there."
In the meantime, bids are going to be accepted for a new roof at the Blytheville facility, which justices agreed cannot be avoided any longer. Contractors are being asked to present bids with a full plan for a new roof and gutters, which have been approved by a structural engineer.
sharris@blythevillecourier.com