The Bradley County Quorum Court met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 20, at 6 p.m. After prayer and the pledge of allegiance, the meeting was called to order. A proposed grant application to reroute truck traffic near Ouachita Hardwood Flooring generated lengthy discussion during the meeting, as residents voiced concerns about public safety, property rights and the potential impact on nearby neighborhoods.
Carol Little, who lives on Pennington Road north of the Warren city limits, addressed the court during the public comment period regarding a proposed Delta Regional Authority grant that could reroute truck traffic serving the hardwood company.
Little said she only learned of the proposal after watching a recent Warren City Council meeting and expressed concern that residents living along the proposed route had not been adequately informed before an Aug. 24 grant deadline.
She urged county officials to carefully consider the proposal before supporting the grant application, citing several concerns.
Among those concerns were increased safety risks for residents and employees near the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center, where pedestrians, golf carts and utility vehicles frequently travel along the roadway. She also raised concerns about possible impacts to private property access, saying trucks waiting outside the mill could block residential driveways, and questioned whether rerouting traffic would simply move the problem from one neighborhood to another.
Little argued the proposal would not eliminate truck traffic on Gannaway Street because local logging and timber businesses would continue using the existing route. She also suggested that inaccurate commercial GPS routing, rather than roadway infrastructure, is responsible for many trucks traveling through residential areas and encouraged officials to work with mapping services to correct navigation data. She asked county officials to delay supporting the project until additional traffic studies, public input, and evaluations of property impacts are completed.
County Judge Klay McKinney explained that Warren officials, along with representatives from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and forestry officials, have discussed pursuing Delta Regional Authority funding to improve truck access to the mill.
He said the current effort is only an application for grant funding and no project has been approved. “If they don’t get the grant, then nothing happens,” McKinney said, adding that federal grant requirements would include additional public hearings and public comment before any project could move forward.
McKinney also noted that portions of the proposed roadway fall under county jurisdiction while others are within the city limits, requiring cooperation between multiple entities if the project advances.
Bradley County Medical Center chief operating officer Leeanna Williams recognized the emergency department after it recently earned three national quality awards through the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program. Williams said the awards recognize emergency personnel for meeting critical treatment benchmarks, including rapid electrocardiograms, imaging and patient transfers.
“They’re meeting metrics as to time and standards of care,” Williams said. “It stresses the importance of rural health care and how time matters.”
Following public comments, the quorum court approved the June meeting minutes and financial report.
In his report, McKinney said the county recently completed approximately six miles of resurfacing through the County Road Aid Program using nearly $500,000 in combined state and county funding.
The quorum court also approved an ordinance authorizing a letter of credit for the Bradley County Landfill as required by the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Division of Environmental Quality.
McKinney expressed frustration over multiple revisions to the required amount, saying the county has been required to amend the letter of credit several times this year because of changing state calculations.
Prosecuting Attorney Frank Spain also appeared before the court to request approval of budget ordinances associated with relocating the Tenth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Spain said the office will move after more than 20 years in its current location to a larger, more accessible building that provides additional parking and improved accommodations for employees and the public.
He told members of the court that salary savings and unused employee benefit funds have accumulated over time and will cover the increased operating costs without requesting additional county funding. The court approved the budget ordinances and appropriations necessary for the move.
Judge McKinney updated the court on a federal grant opportunity. McKinney said the county has submitted preliminary paperwork for a Homeland Security grant that could provide as much as $21 million toward construction of a new county jail if Bradley County is selected.
He emphasized that the application is only the first step and that numerous federal requirements remain before any funding decision is made.
McKinney also explained that if a new jail is eventually constructed, the county could house federal detainees awaiting court appearances under agreements with the U.S. Marshals Service, generating additional revenue without operating a federal prison.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. The next Bradley County Quorum Court meeting will be Monday, August 17, at 6 p.m.
