QC attempts to call for another special election for new courthouse

A series of ordinances and resolutions were introduced to the full Mississippi County Quorum Court (QC) that would have called for a special election to be held on March 14, 2017 so that Mississippi County voters could decide whether or not an ordinance should be approved that would change the current 0.5 percent hospital tax, due to sunset in 2020 be changed to one that would be equally split by the hospital and the county for the purpose of building a new Blytheville Courthouse and would continue until the year 2047. The construction of the new Blytheville Courthouse would have been funded through a maximum of $22.5 million in newly issued bonds.

The Quorum Court has 11 seats, but only eight justices were present. Justices Rick Ash, Sylvester Belcher and Joe Lewis were absent. Therefore, motions required at least a three-quarter margin (eight justices) voting "YES" for passage. However, the series of votes regarding these ordinances and resolution all ended up as 7-1 votes because District 10 Justice of the Peace Ken Kennemore of Osceola cast solitary "no" votes.

Therefore, last night's attempt will be considered as the first reading of the measures and will once again return for discussion at the December meeting.

White, before introducing the series of ordinances, summarized the current situation with the courthouses and pending litigation to those in attendance. He explained how in April the QC called for a special election to be held on August 9, 2016 for the purpose of building a new courthouse in Blytheville but that the City of Osceola successfully filed suit to stop the special election from happening.

White also explained that Circuit Judge David Laser had issued several points of concern with the earlier ordinance; including the fact that the county published it only in one of the county's newspapers and what he saw as limitation to where bond issue money can be spent.

"Circuit Judge David Laser had several points that he made in his ruling...now we appreciate the Supreme Court and in fact we want a ruling, because some of the issues that he brought up has opened a can of worms even regarding other taxes like economic development and the hospital tax," White said. "[But] there is a likely possibility that the Supreme Court will not rule at all. They could rule that the issue is now moot because we have passed the original date of August 9. So, we are simply asking to repeal the original ordinance, wipe the slate clean and fix all of the things that Judge Laser said was wrong back in July. We'll try to fix every little issue that he had in his ruling...we are simply asking for a special election of the county voters to see what the people want. I don't know what they will say, but the courthouse in Blytheville is in dire condition. We desperately need a new one."

White also explained that though the new proposal seeks a maximum bond issue of $22 million, that didn't mean that they anticipated spending that much. He said the cost estimate was closer to $18 million, but that they were advised to add a buffer in case of overrides, etcetera.

"We just want everyone to be able to vote. If the people say yes then okay...and if the people say no, then the issue is dead. We have problems with both courthouses, but if you just take a look at the one if Blytheville..." White continued. "None of the ordinances will have any impact on the Osceola Courthouse. Not a word in there is about consolidation. There is nothing in there about closing the Osceola Courthouse. This is just about building a courthouse in Blytheville that can get us into the next century. We don't need a patch, we need a fix."

White also said that some have argued that it is taking money from the hospitals, but he disagrees.

"As it is now, the hospital will get $15 million dollars over five years. But with the new proposal, they will receive $45 million over 31 years and a long-term fix. It will provide security for both hospitals, not a 5-year patch.

Kennemore wasn't buying it though. So he voted "no" multiple times. His votes did not defeat the measures, but it certainly did slow them down.

When asked after the meeting why he voted "no" Kennemore said, "Even though there is nothing in there that says that the Osceola Courthouse will be closed, if this passes it will close. If they build that 53,000 square foot courthouse in Blytheville, Osceola will eventually close. We have two 30,000 square foot courthouses right now. We could still compromise. We could sit down, scale back the size of that one [in Blytheville] and bring some money down to this courthouse [Osceola]. They say the courthouses are too old, but they are not as old as the State Capital. Also, we can compromise. We don't have to have full services down here, with everything being done online now, most people don't have to go to the courthouse for much now unless they just want to. We can negotiate on what services," Kennemore said.

Rest assured, this issue is far from done. The measures will once again be read, for the second time, during their December meeting.

thenry@blythevillecourier.com