The first meeting of the new Faulkner County Courthouse Taskforce took place Tuesday, as committee members continued discussion about the future courthouse location.

Members of the taskforce are Justices of the Peace Ancil Lea, Dianna Kellar, Mark Bailey, Randy Ingram, Lauralee Wilcox-McCool, Jimmy Bryant, Johnnie Wells and Dan Thessing, who was voted in as chairman of the courthouse.

"So far, we have been in negotiations (with Robinson Center Church of Christ) and those fell through," said county administrator Jeff Johnston.

Thessing, who also serves as chairman of the building committee, said those members went through a tour of the church recently and were impressed with the facility.

"The main sanctuary is (12,000) square feet and they have also tendered an offer to us," he said.

Thessing also said it was 65,000 square feet total, with 100 more parking spaces than the courthouse now has. He then presented a visual model of the courthouse, comparing the amount of usable space to that of the church.

"If you go with the Second Baptist Church, you still have room to expand," he said, alluding to the extra acreage on the church's property.

Nothing has been finalized yet, stressed Faulkner County Judge Preston Scroggin, who said the county is still in talks with the Robinson Center.

County attorney Stephan Hawks said the offer for Robinson Center was $1.7 million, but the church resubmitted one for $1.65 million.

"They would be out no later than August 1, 2010," Hawks said.

Robinson Center has less square footage than Second Baptist, which submitted a price of $3.95 million. The former would require extra renovations as well, said Hawks, including an elevator.

"Robinson was 20,000 square feet and 3.85 acres," Hawks said. "It's $74 a square foot," versus $68 a square foot at Second Baptist.

The price to renovate the Faulkner County Courthouse would cost $5.7 million, Johnston said.

Kellar looked at all the prices, and stressed she wanted the new location to allow room for growth.

"I want us to buy the most we can at the best price we can for future growth," she said.

JPs decided the best option was to meet with the county's department heads and decide what kind of space is necessary.

"Let's try to solve that problem for at least 10-15 years and make sure before we move them in that we're not going to get cramped up again," Wells said. "Then we'd know what we need for the future and can make our decision."

(By Jerrica Ryan, Log Cabin Staff Writer.)