JP Coger's Washington County Newsletter 1/11/26
- Beth Coger
- Jan 11
- 6 min read
Week of January 11, 2026
_________________________________________________________________________
🏛️ Transparency Corner: Public Records
The audit of Washington County for the year 2023 was published on the Arkansas Legislative Auditor website Friday 1/9/26 and is now public record.
Some notes I made of concerns:
First page of Legislative Audit Cover Letter. “We have identified the following significant risk: “...management override of controls as a significant risk.”
Management Letter: “Other Issues: Unauthorized withdrawals of $28,296, $109,028 and $31,250 were made from a County bank account on 4/3/23, 10/11/23 and 11/16/23, respectively.” “...funds were recovered from the bank."
Note 7, Page 16: Federal Funds Program Compliance: “The County received federal compliance audits for the fiscal years ended 12/31/22 and 12/31/21; however, the reports did not include expenditures related to the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery…Therefore, any instances of noncompliance with SLFRF federal grant requirements…have not been determined.”
I would appreciate receiving questions and comments if you see things in the audit that need further discussion. This is supposed to be discussed - per statute - at next month's quorum court meeting. That has not happened with any audits since I've been on the court, so we'll see.
_________________________________________________________________________
📅 This Week’s County Meetings – (As of this Publication)
🟠 Washington County Quorum Court, Regular Monthly Meeting
Thursday, January 15, 2026 — 6:00 PM 📍 Quorum Court Room, Washington County Courthouse 280 N. College Avenue, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Read the agenda here.
Livestream/Meeting Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/washcoar
What to Expect:
▫️ 15 Minutes Public Comment time. Since this is the monthly regular meeting, the comment time comes at the beginning of the meeting (Item 5). There must also be 12 minutes of public comment time before we vote on any ordinance or resolution.
▫️An Ordinance Ratifying a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Gulley Ranch LLC (2nd reading). This is “Unfinished Business” from the 12/22/25 quorum court meeting.
▫️Resolution Expressing Support for Poultry Producers in the Illinois River Watershed, and Urging Good-Faith Negotiations. This passed out of Country Services meeting Tuesday with a “do pass recommendation” to the quorum court. County Attorney Lester did respond to my request for clarification on data cited in the resolution. Here is his response.
▫️Resolution (endorsing Packaging Specialties, Inc. for “Tax Back Program”) This is per A.C.A. § 15-4-2706(d). We did not see this presentation prior to the meeting. This resolution passed out of committee on Tuesday.
Resolution (to order owner of real property at 19443 Nob Hill (WC389) Loop to “remediate the dangerous or unsanitary condition” within 30 days. The resolution says this is per A.C.A. § 14-14-813. According to the Assessor’s records, the parcel owner is Montgomery G. Nelford of Columbia, Missouri. Notably, the total assessed value dropped from $214,750 (2023) to $34,000 (2024) — a reduction of more than 80%. I’m guessing a fire or some destruction to the property. The resolution would require the owner to correct unsafe or unsanitary conditions within 30 days. This resolution also passed out of County Services on Tuesday to the full quorum court.
_________________________________________________________________________
🟣 MEETINGS FROM LAST WEEK:
Thursday 1/8/25, 12:00 PM, Washington County Election Commission meeting. This was a short meeting which you can watch here on the County’s YouTube Channel. Here’s a condensed summary of what happened at that meeting:
Here’s a summary of that meeting with time stamps so you can easily find content.
_________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, 1/6/25, Combined County Services Committee meeting and Finance & Budget Committee. You can watch the meeting here.
Here’s an AI generated summary of these two meetings.
_________________________________________________________________________
🟢 Washington County Planning Board, 1/8/26. I was late getting to this meeting and they were already on the Desert Sand Commercial Building Final LSD when I arrived. That passed 6-0.
Unfortunately, also, the first part of the meeting did not get recorded and/or posted on YouTube. Here’s a link to watch the meeting as it is posted today.
The Ellis Estates Preliminary Subdivision (3 Documents: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3: 4698 E. Mission Blvd., Fayetteville, Arkansas; single-family residential. +/- 23.67 acres / 2 Parcels Creating 58 Lots. Applicant: Mary McGetrick (Buffington Homes) - Hunter Collins & Conner Threet, Crafton Tull, took up most of the meeting time.
This project is moving forward: The Planning Board approved the preliminary subdivision, so the development clears a major local hurdle (though it may still face an appeal and additional permitting steps).
You can watch the meeting above and/or read the summary here (summary of last part of meeting).
_________________________________________________________________________
🔴 Special Meeting — Washington County Quorum Court 1/8/26. You can watch the meeting here and it was a long one. Vaughn Recycling High Intensity CUP appeal.
Here’s an AI generated time-stamped summary of the meeting. In summary, what happened was we had two separate ordinances: One to APPROVE the CUP and one to DENY the CUP. I made a motion to deny the CUP and JP Ecke made a motion to approve the CUP. JP Ecke had enough votes to move her ordinance on to its second and third readings and it passed that night. However, I did not have sufficient number of votes to move my ordinance on to its second and third readings, so even though one ordinance was passed to approve the CUP, my ordinance to DENY the CUP is on for the February 2026 regular quorum court meeting. Surely there’s a better way to do this!
_________________________________________________________________________
🔵 DETENTION CENTER SNAPSHOT as of 1/6/26:
COVID: 1 positive; 8 exposures → 8 quarantined.
Female jail population: 126.
Federal/USMS/ICE: 82 total; 4 immigration.
“309s”: 39 total (18 males / 21 females).
People sleeping on the floor: 142
Pretrial count: 396 (noted as down somewhat).
Brief clarification from JP Leming: people are “on a mattress,” not directly on the floor. My comment: I’ve seen the so-called “mattresses,” and they are not mattresses. They are cheap pieces of foam rubber and they are on the floor.
More information on people incarcerated in our jail: Detainee Summary and Inmate Population Analysis Here’s the link to the Detailed Charge Report: https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-f-z/sheriff/detention-information/detainee-charge-report
You can check the “Calls for Service” board here.
Here’s a list in alphabetical order to search for people.
_________________________________________________________________________
County Bid Postings (as of 01/11/26):
BID 2026-01 Plastic Tile for Road Department. Bid posted 1/9/26; Questions Due: 1/20/26; Bids due 1/26/26 at 4:00 PM.
Bid 2026-02 Metal Tile for Road Department. Bid posted 1/9/26; Questions Due: 1/20/26; Bids due 1/26/26 at 4:00 PM.
Bid 2026-03 Compact Cargo Van for County Library. Bid posted 1/9/26; Questions Due: 1/20/26; Bids due 1/26/26 at 4:00 PM.
You can view the closed bids here.
View all RFQs and bids [here].
_________________________________________________________________________
Washington County Job Openings (as of 01/11/26).
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 / HR | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $45572.80-$50211.20 | |
Full Time | 02/28/2026 4:30 PM | 24.38 - 26.86/hr | |
Temporary | Open Until Filled | 14/Hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $58,697.60 - $64,708.80 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $16 - $17.62 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.25 - $23.42/hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 - $24.14 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $68,161.60-$75,129.60 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $18hr |
Below is the link for all posted job openings in Washington County. The road department and sheriff’s offices are almost always hiring. The road department is 479-444-1610. The sheriff’s office is 479-444-5700.
Comments