JP Coger's Washington County UPdate 11/2/25
- Beth Coger
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
🔶 Get Involved: Contact Your County Representatives
Good government depends on informed and engaged residents — and your voice matters. If you have thoughts, questions, or concerns about county decisions, reach out directly to your Washington County Justices of the Peace and other elected officials, the County Judge, Sheriff and others. Let them know you’re paying attention and that you care about how county business is conducted.
📬 Find your representatives and their contact information here:👉 Contact Washington County Elected Officials
Even a short message — a question, a thank-you, or a request for clarification — makes a difference. Engagement builds accountability.
Inquiries Into County Matters – Clarification and Updates
In last week’s newsletter, I listed several investigations currently underway in the county. A number of readers reached out to me, under the impression that I was the one initiating those investigations. Just to clarify — I am not. My role was and is simply to report on these developments so that residents stay informed about what’s happening in county government.
The County Judge’s orders cite “A.C.A. § 124-23-103” as giving him the authority for these inquiries. However, there is no such Arkansas statute with that citation.
My apologies for not making that clearer in the first place--that the judge was doing the inquiries — though I must say, the mix-up has led to some very interesting conversations.
Here are the documents I covered in last week's report:
🟠 Washington County Meetings This Week
Washington County Quorum Court – County Services Committee📅 Monday, November 3, 2025🕕 6:00 PM📍 Washington County Courthouse (in-person only)🎥 The meeting will be livestreamed on the County’s YouTube Channel.
Since this is a committee meeting, the public comment time is at the very end of the agenda, just before adjournment; however, there will also be a 12 minute public comment period before we vote on any ordinance or resolution.
Read the full agenda here.
Agenda Items of Note (Highlights & My Commentary)
Item 8 – OzarksGo Q&A / Resolution in Support of County Court Order This resolution supports an order under the Industrial Development Revenue Bond Law (A.C.A. § 14-164-201 et seq.) to assist Ozarks Electric et al. in a major development project. It authorizes the issuance of Revenue Bonds up to $400 million (or as otherwise requested) and includes support for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreement under A.C.A. § 14-164-701 et seq.
Item 9.1 – Ordinance Amending Ordinance 2019-04
See the proposed changes here. It is not immediately clear whether this amendment will apply solely to the full Quorum Court agenda or also to committee agendas. I’d appreciate your thoughts after reviewing it — please send in comments or insights.
Originally, JP Lyons had drafted this ordinance "Establishing the Reporting Hierarchy for Shared Services Departments."
There was pushback to that from JP Lisa Ecke, Chair of County Services: "I am curious as to whether this ordinance was vetted? And if so, by whom?"
JP Lyons: "Not sure what you mean vetted."
JP Bruns: "This is the most ridiculous email I have received since being on the QC. Nothing needs to be "vetted." We need to quit playing sneaky behind the back politics and get back to work for the good people of Washington County. The administration obviously isn't going to change so I challenge us as the QC to put a stop to this and get to work.!!!" Folks, I'm with JP Lyons and JP Bruns on this one.
Item 12.1 – Resolution on Housing Federal Inmates Read the proposed resolution here. This measure would direct the Washington County Sheriff and the Washington County Judge to cease renting our jail beds to the federal government at the county detention center. View the most recent contract here.
Frankly, this change is long overdue. The Quorum Court already passed Resolution 2020-01 asking then-Sheriff Tim Helder to terminate the federal contract — but it was never acted upon. I fully support JP Rivera Lopez’s renewed effort to end the practice and will be backing it 100%.
💬 Your Voice Matters
If you review any of these items, I’d love to hear your thoughts. County policy decisions like these affect all of us — and informed input makes a real difference.
🔵 Detention Center Snapshot
(Reporting period: September 16 – October 15, 2025)
As of October 31, 2025
Total incarcerated: 701
Listed as “homeless”: 81
Breakdown by status:
Pretrial individuals: 419
State prisoners: 177
Federal prisoners: 89
Operational statistics:
Calls for service: 2,299
Detention center intakes: 888
Transfers to state prison: 29
Daily average high count: 761
📊 These figures highlight the continued strain on county detention resources — with pretrial detainees making up a significant portion of the population.
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 11/2/25)
Bid 2025-16 RFP for “Painting Service” Exterior at 100 N. College Avenue. The site of the former women’s prison. Due date: 11/10/25 at 4:00 PM. Opening date 11/12/25 (no time shown).
Bid 2025-15 This is actually seven solicitations for various categories, materials, services, hardware, all at the 100 N. College Address. Responses are due 11/13/25 at 4:00 PM. Opening date 11/14/25 (no time shown). Note: This requires a “Mandatory In Person Conference Date” at the site, 100 N. College Avenue, at 2:00 PM, October 30, 2025.”
Extensive renovations have already begun on the former women’s prison. Where is that money coming from?
You can view the closed bids here.
View all RFQs and bids [here].
County Job Openings (as of 11/2/25).
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