ROGERS, Ark. — After the Memorial Day Weekend tornadoes tore through parts of Northwest Arkansas, many locations were damaged or destroyed, causing long closures. The Rogers Revenue Office was one of them, causing the Bentonville Revenue Office to overflow in business.
"We had substantial damage to our facility along with the rest of the building," said Jim Hudson with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
"We had water intrusion from open ceilings, damaged air conditioning units, and damaged computer equipment as well. And we had the ceiling tile falling in, so it was an unsafe environment," said Hudson
Two and a half months later, after heavy renovations and roughly $2.2 million in repairs, the building is restored.
"We had to completely replace the roof and all 22 HVAC units, as well as interior lighting, ceiling tile, and carpet," explains Benton County Facilities Manager Bryan Beeson.
According to the DFA, the Rogers office completed 7,000 transactions in April and 5,100 in May before the tornado hit.
The DFA announced the office will now reopen effective Aug. 7.
As for the costs, officials say Benton County took care of most of the upfront costs while also getting assistance from their insurance provider. However, FEMA was instrumental in providing assistance as well.
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