Higgins Gives Brief Reports on Working Committees
In the second of four back-to-back Committee meetings on May 10, Chairman JP Randy Higgins (R, Dist. 2) commented on two working committees he attends; however, the Courts & Public Safety Committee took no formal action.
Community Animal Shelter Development Committee
Higgins spoke mainly about the Community Animal Shelter Development Committee during the 7-minute meeting, echoing some of his previous remarks about the March site visit by Animal Shelter Planners of America and resulting needs assessment underway.
Reporting on meetings they’d had on April 5, May 3, “and today,” he mentioned “design options” and said
…One of the questions was how married are we to the building that is out there now. It has some attributes that are, that are positive and some attributes that are negative so, you know, we certainly want … if we want the most efficient and effective with the money that we have …
If we, if we can use big parts of that building we absolutely want to. If we have to do other things, we will consider those as well… What we don’t want (is) to put a square peg in a round hold in things that won’t work…
He said County Judge Jim Baker had approved a geotechnical soil report as well as a topographical survey, required for both the animal shelter project (as well as the proposed jail project).
Early on, Higgins explained, “I’m not really going to get into the meeting of all that because it’s going back and forth… I mean, the goal of this is to get it to the point where we can bring a presentation to the Quorum Court through this Committee….”
JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 6) asked about plans to fund ongoing operations for the animal shelter — a topic JPs raise almost every time the proposed shelter appears on the agenda — and Higgins eventually said, “It’s not all about the County paying for it with tax dollars….”
Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee
Higgins said the needs assessment for the jail “is a little behind the animal shelter,” adding that the animal shelter assessment is a part of the overall jail needs assessment.
Court Fines & Fees Collections
Higgins also reported first quarter 2022 revenue of $95,674 from the court fines/fees collection program implemented last year through the County Attorney’s office, and total $113,265 collected since inception.
Videos edited from original video on Faulkner County’s YouTube channel.)
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