Hello Washington County Friends, Here's your latest update on important meetings, county developments, and services — plus opportunities to stay involved!

🏛️ County Meetings This Week

🔸 County Services Committee📅 Monday, April 28, 2025 | 🕔 6:00 PM📍 Washington County Courthouse | 280 N. College Ave, Fayetteville🔹 In-person meeting only.📺 Watch live: Washington County YouTube Channel

Agenda Highlights:

Juvenile Detention Center Report (Pages 2–8)
Sheriff’s Report (Page 9)
New Ordinance Proposal: Sponsored by me — requiring the County Judge to give 5 business days' notice before bringing forward appointments to boards or committees. As it is now, we only learn about nominees when the judge brings it up in our regular meetings. Appointments to county boards and committees are important. They should not be rubber stamped. Advance notice supports a fair and more transparent process.
🏛️ This promotes transparency and fairness.

Read the entire County Services Agenda here.

🔸 Washington County Planning Board Meeting📅 Thursday, May 1, 2025 | 🕔 5:00 PM📍 Washington County Courthouse

Here is the complete Planning Board’s agenda for this meeting. You may click on each agenda item in blue to see the applications, maps, and other documents connected to each agenda item.

For a public meeting that has such high community interest and for which many people are likely to attend, it seems unusual that there are three (3) Variance Hearings; two (2) Conditional Use Permit hearings; five (5) Land Development hearings and one (1) Large Scale Development that will be heard before the zoning ordinance.

For those who are interested in the following last two (2) agenda items, you will need to be there early to get a seat and you will sit through the entire Planning Board meeting before these items come up (this assumes there will be a quorum of PB members to have the meeting - there wasn’t last time):

(1) the public hearing required under A.C.A. § 14-17-207 on the proposed new zoning ordinance, rules and regulations; and

(2) “Explanation lead (sic) by the County legal team to explain the latest court ruling regarding the EagleCrest Recovery CUP Project.”

🚨 Programs/Services Cut Since January of 2023: A Closer Look

Residents have asked — here’s a snapshot of major services lost:

HIV Clinic Eviction:
- Clinic saved thanks to community partnerships; now located on MLK Blvd.
Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU):
- Closed; ours was one of 5 in the state — the only one shut down.
NWA Community Correction Center (Women’s Facility):
- Nationally recognized model now shuttered. Facility remains vacant.
Ozark Regional Transit (ORT):
- Rural transportation funding cut. Impacted medical/court access.
Environmental Department:
- Entire department dissolved quietly, despite a $255k budget for 2024.
Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CJCC):
- Suspended after lawsuit and court victory ensuring transparency.
Job Evaluation and Salary Administration Program (JESAP):
- Meetings ceased. Employee compensation transparency diminished.
Washington County Law Library Board:
Provided legal resources for attorneys and a Legal Help Desk staffed by pro bono attorneys that helped poor people with legal problems. (Read last week’s update for more information and stay tuned, as this situation is still developing)

At its core, government exists to serve the people. In Washington County, our most important responsibility should always be to improve the lives of the individuals and families who call this community home. Every decision we make — from how we allocate resources to how we plan for the future — should be rooted in compassion, fairness, and a genuine commitment to public service.

Washington County's strength has always been its people: hardworking, resilient, and hopeful. By making helping people our highest priority, we honor that strength and ensure that the future we build is one where everyone has a real chance to succeed — not just a lucky few.

We can choose to be a county that leads with empathy, transparency, and courage. That choice starts now. Read more detailed information on the above programs and more.