A $170,000 invoice to cover the initial costs of an energy saving program for Jefferson County caught some members of the Quorum Court by surprise Tuesday, particularly since they had been led to believe that the energy savings would pay for the program.
During committee meetings, County Judge Gerald Robinson said he had received the invoice from Sterling National Bank, which is financing the work being done by Johnson Controls Inc., (JCI) on the courthouse and other county buildings.
Robinson said he asked the bank for an extension on the payment, which was denied, and said he was told that if the payment was not received by April 1, the county would be in default.
The $170,000 payment will be taken from the county’s reserve fund, Robinson said.
“I made the decision to do a court order (to transfer the money from the reserve fund),” Robinson said. “We were fortunate that we had it in reserve.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Justice of the Peace Dr. Herman Ginger, who was one of two members of the Quorum Court to oppose the county giving the contract to Johnson Controls last year, said: “The problem is, we were not told of this. We were told this would be at no cost to us.”
Justice of the Peace Danny Holcomb, who, with Ginger, opposed the Johnson Controls contact, said: “We were told there would be no money out of pocket.”
The issue of the energy savings project has been around for several years, and both Johnson Controls and another company, Engie, made proposals to the county’s legislative body during the administrations of former county judges Mike Holcomb and Dutch King, as well as in 2017 after Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV took office.
Justice of the Peace Ted Harden, who is the chairman of the court’s Budget and Finance Committee, said that the energy savings will come into play after this first six-month payment and “there will be no cost to us after this.”
Robinson, who said he was not aware of the details of the agreement before getting the bill, said: “We just have to move forward from here to fix things.”
“If we do not have the savings in a year, they (JCI) will write us a check,” Harden said.
The county’s legislative body will vote on the legislation to pay the invoice when they meet Monday at 5:30 p.m.
Also on the agenda Monday is a proposed ordinance declining the donation of property to the county that was accepted last year.
The property, located at 5201 W. Barraque St., was previously used by Entergy Arkansas and was acquired by Pine Bluff Investment Property, LLC. It was donated to the county late last year under the administration of former County Judge Booker Clemons, who was appointed to replace Wilkins, who had resigned in March.
During committee meetings, Robinson said that although the Quorum Court had approved accepting the property, the legal paperwork to authorize the transfer of ownership was never done.
Another transfer of funds from the county reserve fund to pay for a vehicle for the Coroner’s Office is also on the agenda Monday.
Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley said that a previous vehicle, a 2003 GMC Yukon XL, was wrecked on March 13. He wants to replace that vehicle with a 2016 Ford Expedition EL at a cost of $22,829.