The Carroll County Quorum Court held one of its shortest meetings in recent memory on Tuesday, Aug. 19, with no one volunteering to speak during public comments and minimal discussion of a pair of agenda topics sponsored by District 11 Justice of the Peace Caroline Rogers.
Public comments have been abundant at quorum court meetings for more than two years as critics and supporters of Scout Clean Energy’s Nimbus Project voiced their opinions. At the Aug. 19 meeting, however, no one answered County Judge David Writer’s call for public comments.
Rogers, an outspoken opponent of the Nimbus Project who was elected to the court in November 2024 and took office in January, sponsored agenda items for discussion of the court’s policy for addressing grievances and the Nimbus Project’s fire safety plan. Both those discussions were short-lived, however, as fellow JPs mostly remained quiet on those topics.
Rogers said she wanted to re-introduce a proposed ordinance to establish a formal policy for addressing grievances. As Rogers described it, the proposed ordinance would require the grievance policy to be followed after the receipt of a grievance by any of the county’s elected officials. The grievance would then be placed on the agenda for the next quorum court meeting to be discussed by JPs.
District 6 JP Craig Hicks pointed out that JPs have limited authority over other elected officials.
“We can’t make the judge grade a certain road or make the sheriff use a certain tow company,” Hicks said. “We better be careful not to overstep our boundaries.”
District 3 JP Harrie Farrow noted that the idea of a formal procedure for handling grievances has been discussed multiple times.
“We’ve talked about that ad nauseam,” Farrow said.
Rogers made a motion to send her proposal to deputy prosecuting attorney Steven Simmons to be placed on the agenda for a vote at the quorum court’s next meeting, but the motion failed when it did not receive a second.
Later in the meeting, Rogers again raised concerns about Scout’s plan for addressing fire hazards related to the Nimbus Project. She again received little support from her fellow JPs. “I’m not clear what you wanted to come out of this,” Farrow said. “It says ‘recap,’ so I thought you were going to give us some new information or something. Why did you put it on the agenda this time?”
Rogers replied that when she raised the issue previously it was suggested that she ask Dave Iadarola, Scout’s project manager for the Nimbus Project, to speak to the quorum court regarding the project’s fire safety plan.
Rogers said she asked Iadarola four times to speak to the court and his answer was “a polite no.”
“So if you ask them some more times you’re just going to keep putting it on the agenda,” Farrow said. … “I mean, I’m not clear. If you’re going to put on a discussion, my suggestion would be to have an actual point and reason and something new or some new strategy or idea of how to proceed, rather than kind of just going over stuff that isn’t new or … I don’t know how to respond to you. I’ve always been concerned about the fire situation. I’m not finding this discussion useful for that.”
Earlier in the meeting, road foreman Jim Kelley told JPs that about roads and bridges in need of repair. He said three bridges maintained by the county are in “dire need” of repair. Those are located on County Roads 741, 803 and 625. He also pointed out mechanical problems with Mack trucks purchased by the county in 2024.
Other Business
In other business, JPs approved resolutions appointing Suzanne Childers to the Eureka Springs Library Board and Harper Goodwin to the Carroll County Airport Commission as well as an appropriation ordinance designating $15,580 to replace the roof on the Carroll County prosecuting attorney’s office.
At the request of District 10 JP Jerry King, the court tabled a proposed resolution sponsored by King to repeal an earlier resolution, approved by the court in June, authorizing sales tax incentives for Messer LLC during the construction phase of its $70 million facility in the Berryville Business Park. According to King’s proposed resolution, Writer had chosen not to sign the resolution, although the county judge does not have the authority to veto a resolution.
King said he had received some new information on the issue and wanted to study it further.
The next regular meeting of the Carroll County Quorum Court is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the courtroom of the Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville.
