JP Coger's Washington County UPdate 7/19/26
- Beth Coger
- 26 minutes ago
- 6 min read
UPCOMING MEETINGS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY:
📅 There are no Washington County meetings scheduled as of this publication for the next two weeks. County Services Committee meets next on 8/3/26 at 6:00 PM. Finance & Budget meets 8/10/26 at 6:00 PM.
August Finance & Budget meeting will begin the County's 2027 budget discussions, making attendance especially important for anyone interested in county spending priorities.
WASHINGTON COUNTY MEETINGS FROM LAST WEEK:
1. The Washington County Quorum Court Regular Monthly Meeting was held Thursday, 7/16/26. Watch the meeting HERE.
Read Meeting Outline and Summary HERE
Below are some highlights, but read the Summary above and watch the meeting for full details:
✔ Key Takeaways
↳ The Washington County Quorum Court held a brief July meeting with eleven of fifteen justices present. (Absent: JPs Leming; Ecke; Lyons; and Highers)
An attempt by JP Brad Bruns to add an ordinance to the agenda involving the Buildings & Grounds budget failed because it did not receive the required two-thirds vote. JPs raised questions about whether insurance proceeds were already committed, whether they should remain available for building repairs, and whether the ordinance should first go through committee.
A.C.A. § 14-14-904(h) and Washington County Code § 200.03 (5) requires a two-third vote of the whole number of justices composing the quorum court, both to get an ordinance added to the agenda and a vote to pass the ordinance. Had all fifteen justices been present, the outcome of the vote may have been different.
I wrote last week about the “facilities plan” presentation by Building & Grounds Director Angela Ledgerwood on 6/29/26. With reference to the renovation of 114 N. College (former old jail administration building), Ms. Ledgerwood confirmed during that meeting that, yes, the $2M was still available and, also yes, it represented money left over from the hail storm of 2020 or 2021. She further confirmed that all repairs resulting from the storm had been made.
It is also very important to remember that Director Ledgerwood said this while addressing the quorum court: (beginning at this video @ 1:15:13):
“If you…do not see fit to give me the extra $355K next year, then there’s really no point in moving down the road, but I have two million of it…”
Those comments raise an obvious question. If the project depends upon future funding decisions by the next quorum court, why begin the bidding process now when a new county administration takes office in January?
Update: at 1:13 PM Friday, 7/17/26, the county posted this: “This solicitation has been canceled. We have discovered scope of work issues on the drawings…” Cancellation of a solicitation does not necessarily mean the project has ended. The County may revise the plans and rebid the project at a later date.
BID TIMELINE:
June 29 — presentation
July 10 — bid advertised
July 16 — discussion at Quorum Court
July 17 — bid canceled because of drawing issues
↳ The court voted 9–2 to postpone the proposed PACE ordinance until August so absent justices would have an opportunity to participate.
↳ Following extensive public testimony, the court unanimously approved the Genesis Ranch conditional-use permit. Supporters described the project as a residential treatment facility for adolescent girls facing trauma, addiction, depression, and other mental-health challenges. Several nearby property owners also expressed support. JPs emphasized that Genesis Ranch must comply with all conditions imposed during the planning process.
↳ The court also unanimously approved a Collector’s Office position regrading and three consent-agenda ordinances affecting the Sheriff’s Office, jail budget, and county staffing.
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TRANSPARENCY CORNER AND FOLLOW THE MONEY
Another Arkansas Freedom of Information Act lawsuit has been filed against Washington County (this case is related to alleged FOIA violations at the Sheriff’s Office): Neil Mehta v. Washington County, Jay Cantrell Etal 72CV-26-3011. Read the very detailed Complaint HERE. See Washington County’s Answer HERE. Mr. Mehta filed his Renewed Motion and Brief for Expedited Hearing HERE. Mr. Mehta states in his Complaint that he is not incarcerated and that he resides in Fort Smith, Sebastian County.
Order No. 2026-087 - County Approves $404,328 for New IT Servers
Washington County has approved Order 2026-087 authorizing the purchase of five Dell PowerEdge R670 servers for the County's Information Technology Department from Heartland Business Systems at a cost of $404,328.10. The purchase was made through the TIPS cooperative purchasing program, allowing the County to purchase rather than conducting its own competitive bid process.
According to the purchase documents, the new equipment includes five enterprise-class Dell servers with Intel Xeon processors, 64GB memory modules, solid-state drives, network adapters, and five years of Dell ProSupport Mission Critical service.
Contract No. 2035-35f - Nabholz / Wiljo Interiors of Arkansas received Change Order No. 6 in the amount of $4,000, increasing the contract from $529,060 to $533,060—a 0.76% increase.
According to the change order, the additional cost is for special-order ceiling tile material needed to match the existing ceiling tile as work is completed on the Washington County Covid Mitigation Project.
Standing alone, this change order is relatively small. However, it is one of numerous change orders issued during the Covid Mitigation Project. Collectively, these changes have significantly increased project costs beyond the original estimates presented to the Quorum Court (and that was $20M plus!`-)
I shared additional information with my fellow justices regarding Director Ledgerwood's June 29 presentation, including specific video timestamps addressing several questions raised during last week's meeting. I am sharing that letter HERE.
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📊 Washington County Jail Data Dashboard
⚖️ Detention Center Data. Read the most recent Inmate Population Analysis HERE.
Snapshot Date: July 17, 2026
Individuals Incarcerated in WCDC: 735
Homeless/Unsheltered: 72
White Males: 352
Black Males: 125
Male (Other): 148
White Females: 82
Black Females: 12
Female (Other): 9
Average age of All Inmates: 38
Average Days in Jail: 175
Read the Detainee Summary HERE.
This is why our jail is crowded: 369 of the people incarcerated in Washington County Detention Center are pre-trial. This means they have been arrested and/or charged, but they have not been found guilty. If they had the financial resources to post bond, many could obtain their release while awaiting trial.
This is why I will always advocate for real pretrial services (the judge’s CRI is not pretrial services) and for a real Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee. Read the 2020 Criminal Justice Assessment Study HERE.
🔎 Public Data Resources
Detailed reports are available here:
Detainee 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.
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🧾 County Bid Postings (as of 07/19/26): None
The following notice is posted on the county’s website under Purchasing:
This solicitation – Bid 2026-16 - CD Set PDF HERE. Project Manual HERE. Renovation of 114 N. College, Fayetteville, Arkansas – has been cancelled.
“Canceled: July 17, 2026 at 1:13 PM CDT
Details: “We have discovered scope of work issues on the drawings for this bid that need to be resolved before continuing. We apologize for this inconvenience.”
Cancellation of a solicitation does not necessarily mean the project has ended. The County may revise the plans and rebid the project at a later date.
In my opinion, the cancellation raises questions about whether the project was moving forward before the plans had been fully vetted. The County's notice states that "scope of work issues on the drawings" had been discovered. I believe this reinforces my concern that major capital projects should proceed only after complete public review and coordination with affected officials.
Bid 2026-15 - Fire Alarm System Replacement - Juvenile Detention Center. See Bid Tabulations HERE. Awaiting award.
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🧑💼Here are the Washington County Job Openings as of 07/18/26. Click on any link below to start application process.
Full Time | 07/31/2026 4:30 PM | $21.25-$23.42 | |
Full Time | 07/31/2026 4:30 PM | $30.70-$33.84 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 / HR | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $20.58 - $22.68 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | 24.38 - 26.86/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 | $23.71 - $26.13hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | 19.95-21.98 | |
Full Time | 07/22/2026 4:30 PM | $23.71 / HR | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $58,697.60 - $64,708.80 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 - $24.14/hr |
View and apply for job openings HERE. Please share this list! ___________________________________________________________
— Beth Coger
Justice of the Peace, District 9
Washington County Quorum Court