QUORUM COURT — DISTRICT 2 : Neal running for re-election , challenged by former appointee
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/65065/
Micah Neal, 33, of Springdale is running for his fourth term on the Washington County Quorum Court, representing District 2. He is challenged by David Quin, 57, a Springdale resident who once served a short stint as a justice of the peace.
Both are Republicans and the winner will be determined May 20 because they face no Democratic opposition. District 2 includes the west part of Springdale.
Neal said he is running for re-election because “ We’ve got some big issues coming up, like the jail, and I would like to help the sheriff with that and have some input. ”
He said, “ I’ve really grown to enjoy what I do in helping people and listening to people. As long as I continue to enjoy that and my schedule allows, I’d like to keep representing Springdale at the county level. ”
Neal is owner / manager of Neal’s Cafe in Springdale and a member of First Baptist Church in Springdale. He and his wife, Nicol, live in Springdale. She is a speechlanguage pathologist for Children’s Therapy Team in Fayetteville and works for Richard Roblee, a Fayetteville orthodontist. The couple have two sons.
Quin works as a cashier and does some retail sales at Cracker Barrel in Springdale. He and his wife, Sheri, a teacher, have one son. Quin is a member of the Gospel Light Baptist Church in Rogers, where he serves on the board of trustees. He also teaches American History at Ecclesia College in Elm Springs, which is a private, four-year college.
He has some experience on the Quorum Court, having been appointed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve nine months of an unexpired term in 2001. He said encouragement from some friends to “ step back in” prompted him to run this time. That partially had to do, he said, with them knowing he lived in the country and city. “ They liked how I handled issues when I was on the Quorum Court, ” he said
Key issues The Washington County Detention Center is probably Neal’s biggest issue, he said. He said it was his idea to get a study done at the detention center to determine how methamphetamine use affects the jail population. He said he came up with the idea when he and fellow JP Steve Zega attended the National Association of Counties conference in Washington, D. C., a couple of years ago.
Neal noted a statistic from the study showing that 80 percent of women booked into the county detention center used methamphetamine within 12 months prior to their arrest, he said. He said even more study is needed to determine what to do in education and how to train officers in dealing with meth users in jail.
Neal said the detention center was built for 100 women, more than three times what the old jail held. The detention center is consistently running more than 100 women, which brings up the need for a new pod at the detention center — something that probably will be looked at in the next year, Neal said.
“ That’s something the sheriff and the new judge will have to take the lead on, ” he said. “ We’ll listen to their recommendations and decide how we want to fund it or if we want to fund it. I think that’s the most pressing issue right now. ”
Neal also brought up the expected loss of at least $ 1. 5 million in sales tax revenue in 2011 due to population estimates being affected by increasing city annexation in the county. He talked about continuing to provide quality county service while taking that hit.
He said the next major issue is the courthouse, and discussion on what to do about courthouse space issues has been delayed with many meetings. Neal said he does not know if County Judge Jerry Hunton will let this issue be handled by the next judge in a few months or if he will take control during the end of his term and “ hand it over” to the next judge.
Quin said, because he has not been attending all of the meetings concerning courthouse space issues, his view is to listen and talk to people who are intimately involved and working in the courthouse. He said he would like to look at available spaces that the courthouse already has and what spaces can be condensed or altered.
Right now, he said, the funds are not there to build a new courthouse on Joyce Boulevard, a suggestion that Neal has previously made. Quin said he is against new taxes.
“ It’s debatable whether we’re in a recession. I hear ‘ yes’ and ‘ no ’ on that issue, but I don’t want to increase taxes to the residents in the city or the county, ” he said.
He cited high and rising fuel prices.
“ It’s becoming very tight, ” he said.
Zoning The Quorum Court passed an ordinance Nov. 8 that zoned all incorporated portions of the county agricultural. Commercial and multifamily developments, or housing developments with densities above one unit per acre, are required to go before the Washington County Planning Board to make the case for a conditional-use permit. Neal led the charge on getting countywide zoning passed. “ I believe everybody has property rights, not just people that sell their property, ” he said. “ We have a very intelligent planning board that can help the property owners come to a compromise, when need be, on different development. ” Neal said countywide zoning is working, and most projects have been approved by the county planning board. He said variances may be granted to people who want to develop on less than an acre if the county planning board sees fit to give it, “ and they’ve done that. ”
If the zoning ever became more oppressive or unrealistic, he said, “ I would step in and try to lead the court in dismantling it. ”
Asked why he makes and will make a good JP, Neal said, “ I listen to the people and I’m very much in touch with community leaders in Springdale, ” he said. “ I’m very fortunate in that I get to visit with the business and community leaders on a daily basis in Neal’s Cafe, where I work, in my family’s restaurant. I’m in a unique situation. ”
When zoning came up, Neal said he went to the Springdale City Council “ and I got a unanimous resolution from the Springdale City Council saying, ‘ Yes, we want zoning in the county. ’ My constituency is for this. ”
The issue of countywide zoning played a part in his running for the District 2 seat, Quin said. He said he is against it.
“ I’m one of those — being in the country — let the country folk handle that because they are the ones that have the most interest in what goes on with their property, ” he said.
As with almost any ordinance that is passed, he said, “ It is impossible to repeal it. What I would like to do is tweak the countywide zoning partially. ”
But Quin said he favors allowing homes to be developed on half an acre because land values have “ increased dramatically. ”
“ You’re now looking at thousands of dollars for an acre, ” he said.
Springdale Asked about why he is a better candidate than his opponent, Neal said, “ I believe that Springdale has just as big a say in county issues as people out in the county and my opponent thinks that county people ought to make county decisions. Springdale ought to have a voice in what’s going on in Washington County because we pay just as many taxes, or more, as people out in the county. ” He said the land outside of Springdale now will one day be part of the city, which is why the city deserves to have a voice about what happens on it.
Country and city Asked why he would be a good JP, Quin said, “ I will listen to what people say. I will not come in with any preconceived ideas. “ Because of living both in the country and the city, I’m familiar with both aspects of what goes on — the impact the Quorum Court has on country people, ” he said. He also said he believes he is more fiscally conservative than Neal. “ If you keep track of what’s going on, some of the proposals that he has espoused do involve tax increases to get them passed, ” Quin said.
Quin gave as an example Neal proposing a new courthouse to be built on Joyce Boulevard that would be centrally located between Springdale and Fayetteville. He said the county is looking at having about a $ 15 million surplus and estimates on building a new courthouse are “ somewhere between $ 20 million and $ 30 million. ”