JP Coger's Washington County UPdate 12/14/25
- Beth Coger
- 14 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Week of December 14, 2025
Evidence-Based Decisions • Fiscal Responsibility • Human Impact
📬 REMINDER OF SPECIAL QUORUM COURT MEETING 12/22/25:
There will be a Special Meeting of the Washington County Quorum Court Monday, 12/22/2025, 6:00 PM, Washington County Courthouse. At this time, the special meeting is to hear appeals of the Gulley Ranch Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and the O’Brien Ready Mix CUP.
📅 GOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, WEEK 12/14/25:
🟠 The regular monthly meeting of the Washington County Quorum Court is Thursday, 12/18/25, 6:00 PM, Washington County Courthouse. The meeting will be livestreamed on the county’s YouTube Channel.
Read the complete Agenda here.
📑 Agenda Highlights
💼 Item 8.1: An Ordinance Establishing the Annual Budget for 2026. Here you can find the most recently updated spreadsheet with details about the 2026 Budget.
🚨 Item 9.1: An Ordinance Receiving $542,102 from the Department of Emergency Management Grant from the State of Arkansas DEM.
🏗️ Item 10.1: Amendment to Ordinance 2025-44 (Zoning Ordinance)
Clarifies that appellants—(in Conditional Use Permit appeals)—are responsible for notifying adjoining property owners of hearings and appeals.
This clarification follows notification issues raised in the Gulley Ranch CUP and O’Brien Ready Mix CUP cases.
💲 Item 11.1: Employee Insurance Fund Appropriation
An ordinance appropriating $1,100,000 from General Fund reserves to the Employee Insurance Fund.
The county will pay $1,000 per employee per month for health insurance premiums (up from ~$800).
We are hoping to fully fund projected insurance costs at once rather than in incremental adjustments.
🏛️ Item 12.1 — Eaglecrest Settlement Ordinance ($500,000)
Item 12.1 appropriates $500,000 from unappropriated reserves to settle the Eaglecrest lawsuit. I spoke against this ordinance at the Finance & Budget Committee and voted No. The only other no vote was JP Robert Massingill.
I want to be clear: I support rehabilitation facilities, and a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) cannot be denied simply because residents are receiving addiction treatment. That would be discriminatory and unlawful.
However, in my opinion (I am not an attorney) this ordinance goes much further than necessary. I believe we can still grant the facility “reasonable accommodations” without “...fundamentally altering our local government’s zoning scheme.”
“Not all requested modifications of rules or policies are reasonable. Whether a particular accommodation is reasonable depends on the facts, and must be decided on a case-by-case basis. The determination of what is reasonable depends on the answers to two questions: First, does the request impose an undue burden or expense on the local government? Second, does the proposed use create a fundamental alteration in the zoning scheme? If the answer to either question is "yes," the requested accommodation is unreasonable.”
“What constitutes a reasonable accommodation is a case-by-case determination.”
(See: Joint Statement) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jawd-AD9Xhe0GeCYOF8whlqcvKzSU5Ru/view?usp=sharing
This is the preliminary injunction agreed to by the county and all parties– an agreed order submitted to Judge Brooks by attorneys for all parties. (He did not take testimony or hear evidence). This and the above ordinance prevent the county from requiring Eaglecrest to obtain a CUP. We still have zoning laws, and the county should retain the ability to impose reasonable conditions to protect neighbors, residents, and the facility itself and not, “...fundamentally alter our zoning scheme.”
I fear that passing this settlement as written sets a dangerous precedent, undermines land-use integrity, and opens the door for others to demand similar exemptions.
🌿 Item 13.1: An Ordinance Approving CUP for Wellspring Retreat. This CUP will be located at 12133 Volcan Road, West Fork, Arkansas. This was approved 7-0 by the Planning Board 12/4/25. This is a “...nonprofit, religious retreat center and a nature-based hybrid school.”
🧭 Item 14.1: An Ordinance Approving CUP for The Harriet Project. This ordinance approves a CUP located at 16600 Saddlebock Lane. WC 89, Springdale, AR 72764. This was also approved 7-0 by the Planning Board 12/4/25. This CUP is for a proposed commercial event center. The property previously held a CUP under 2014-008 and the new owner proposes to modify the use of the property.
🏗️ Item 15.1: An Ordinance Approving CUP for Poplin Automotive. This project will be located at 22580 Mason Road, Fayetteville, AR 72703. This CUP, if granted, will bring the property into compliance and it can continue to operate an automotive repair business.
📌 HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST WEEK:
🗳️ Election Commission Update
The Washington County Election Commission met 12/11/25 at 10:00 AM, 2721 S. Brink Drive, Fayetteville, Arkansas. You may watch the meeting here on YouTube.
Beginning at 28:38 in the meeting video, commissioners discussed the early voting location for the March 3, 2026 Primary Election. Traditionally, early voting at the Washington County Courthouse is held in the Quorum Courtroom. However, due to ongoing construction at the Washington County Detention Center, the Quorum Courtroom is currently being used to conduct Rule 8.1 hearings.
An 8.1 hearing, required under Rule 8.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, is a defendant’s first court appearance following arrest and must occur without unnecessary delay. These hearings are essential due-process protections and require substantial courtroom space.
As a result, early voting at the courthouse will be relocated to First Floor, Room 115, with voter check-in occurring in the first-floor hallway near the elevators. I have heard concerns that this arrangement may be less convenient for voters and could impact turnout in a closely contested primary; however, the Election Commission does not control courtroom availability or construction-related relocations.
💰 Finance & Budget Committee Meeting
The Washington County Finance & Budget Committee met on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. The meeting is now available to watch on YouTube here.
I previously summarized the agenda items for this meeting in last week’s newsletter, which you can read here.
This was a fairly short meeting, only 40 minutes.
🔵 DETENTION CENTER SNAPSHOT
Incarcerated People as of 12/11/25 @ 2:39 PM: 706
Female Count: 112
Listed as “unsheltered”: 73
ADC Committed: 177
Federal Prisoners: 74
Pre-trial: 366 (Over Half - 52% - of the entire population
Year to Date Bookings: 9994
Total Inmate Days In Jail: 123,855
Average Days in Jail: 181
Total Inmates That Have Been in Jail Prior: 512
More information on people incarcerated in our jail: Detainee Summary and Inmate Population Analysis
Here is 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 12/14/25)
Request for Qualifications (RFQ) 2025-01. Due: 12/29/25 @ 4:00 PM This RFQ is seeking “...to obtain Architectural Services for floor plan recreation and renovation ideas of existing County owned buildings. Washington County may desire feasibility studies to determine structural integrity and proposed updates.”
I am concerned that this may be an effort by Judge Patrick Deakins to repurpose the former Community Corrections Center (women’s facility) into a Community Rebuilding Initiative program for women. At this time, no funding has been appropriated and no feasibility study has been conducted to evaluate the costs, operational requirements, or long-term impacts of such a use. At this point in time, it appears to me that this proposal (if that's what the plan is) would effectively function as a continuation of jail-bed capacity under another name rather than as a true alternative to incarceration.
I did prepare and bring to the court an Ordinance for a Feasibility Study in June of this year, but the majority of my colleagues on the court did not support it and it never came out of committee.
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].
Washington County Job Openings (as of 12/14/25).
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 / HR | |
Temporary | Open Until Filled | 14/Hr | |
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 | $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.