With a campaign theme of, “Hope to Higher Ground,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his second campaign for president Tuesday in the hometown he shares with former President Bill Clinton.

Huckabee embarked on his second presidential run before an overflow crowd at Hempstead Hall at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope. A large media contingent overwhelmed the wi-fi connection set up for the event. State Republican Party leaders and TLC’s Jim Bob Duggar family were in the audience. Huckabee was scheduled to speak at 10:33, and that’s when he walked out onto the stage. The audience chanted, “We like Mike.”

Huckabee recalled his all-American childhood in Hope and talked about how his parents had raised him to believe to do unto others as he would have them do unto him. His first political campaign was for Student Council at Hope Junior High School.

“It seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce that I am a candidate for the United States of America,” he said. “I always believed that a kid could go from hope to higher ground,” he said.

The country’s success he said, “could only be explained by the providence of Almighty God.”

In a wide-ranging, 30-minute speech, Huckabee avoided saying the names “Clinton” or “Obama,” but he did criticize the president, saying, “We were promised hope, but it was just talk, and now we need the kind of change that really could get America from hope to higher ground.”

Huckabee sounded an economic populist tone, saying he would not be the favored candidate of the Washington-to-Wall Street “corridor of power.” He spoke against “power, money and political influence.”

He criticized what he called “unfair trade deals.” He talked about the need for affordable housing and criticized policies that he said have led to stagnant wages for the bottom 90% of wage-earners. He criticized proposals to cut Medicare and Social Security, criticized Obamcare and promised that he would seek cures for diseases. He spoke passionately about ensuring veterans have the resources they need.

He called for a balanced budget amendment and said he would pass “the fair tax” – a national sales tax, which would end “the biggest bully in America, the IRS,” he said. Instead of a minimum wage, he called for empowering people to reach a maximum wage.

He criticized Obama for being too soft on Iran while being too hard on Israel, and he pledged to “conquer” jihadism, saying we would deal with it “the same way we deal with deadly snakes.”

He expressed his opposition to abortion, warned that the country was “criminalizing Christianity,” and expressed opposition to gay marriage.

He said he would fight for term limits for all three branches of government, saying Washington had become like the “roach motel”: elected officials go in, and they never go out. He called for a restrained federal government and for returning power to state and local governments. He said the federal Department of Education has “flunked, and it needs to be expelled.” He called for securing the borders.

Huckabee, who served a decade as governor before winning the 2008 Iowa caucus, enters the race with national name recognition thanks to his previous campaign, his speeches, and his television show on Fox News. His campaign distributed polling results showing him with with high favorable ratings among Republican voters.

Huckabee was preceded in his announcement by his wife, Janet, the former Arkansas first lady. In a video, she talked about how he had stood beside her during her cancer treatments early in their marriage and described the former governor’s response to the influx refugees from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. In her speech, she talked about their first date – at a 24-hour truck stop after she had played a basketball game, and about hard financial times when she was a young stay-at-home mom.

“You see, we have lived the American dream, and everybody ought to have that opportunity,” she said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson earlier recalled that Huckabee had told him 23 years earlier, when Hutchinson was chairman of the state Republican Party, that he wanted to run for office. He praised Huckabee for governing in a bipartisan fashion with a majority of Democrats.

“Mike and Janet, we are here to tell you today that Arkansas is on your side,” Hutchinson said.

Singer Tony Orlando opened the festivities singing “Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old oak tree” and sang a song he had written five years earlier in Huckabee’s honor, “America is my hometown.” Pastor and longtime friend Rick Caldwell led the crowd in a prayer. Boy Scouts posted the colors.

With Gov. Asa Hutchinson in tow, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has announced that it will serve as a leading provider of computer science education and educator training in the state through its “Coding Arkansas’ Future” program.

School officials told Talk Business & Politics that Coding Arkansas’ Future will provide expanded computer science education courses for schools across Arkansas through ASMSA’s digital learning program. ASMSA will also provide training, support and mentoring to teachers across the state in computer science.

Bob Gregory, ASMSA’s dean of academic affairs, announced the new program during the school’s annual Community of Learning Luncheon, which featured Gov. Asa Hutchinson as the guest speaker at the Arlington Hotel on Friday.

“Students will be the beneficiaries of Coding Arkansas’ Future, but we believe the real difference is providing support to the teachers who are the risk-takers, innovators and intellectual entrepreneurs who will help Governor Hutchinson achieve this vision,” Gregory said.

On Tuesday, Hutchinson rolled out details of a “computer coding” tour he plans to use to highlight the initiative at schools around Arkansas. The full schedule is at the bottom of this story.

Hutchinson said he wants to put 6,000 computer coders each year into the Arkansas economy, preparing them better for study at one of the state’s four-year colleges or universities. According to ASMSA officials, the overarching goal of Coding Arkansas’ Future is to guide 10 districts through the first cycle of teaching the state’s new Essentials of Computer Programming course while preparing them to move ahead independently in subsequent years. A new cohort of teachers will begin the process the following year.

“We quickly realized that the state needed an option somewhere in between these two ends of the spectrum,” Gregory said. “For ASMSA, supporting teachers who want nothing less than to engage, challenge and inspire students is the heart of everything we do. Why limit that to just our campus?

Faculty in the program will have monthly planning, strategy and reflection sessions using digital conferencing tools. ASMSA will offer a one-week, residential professional development program in late July for faculty from schools participating in the program. Housing in ASMSA’s Student Center and meals will be provided at no cost to participating districts.

Through collaboration with the Arkansas Computer Science Teachers Association, the goal is to build a professional development network for these pioneering teachers, Gregory said. Among the schools that have already agreed to participate in the program are Hot Springs High School, Rivercrest High School, East End High School, Cossatot River High School and Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter.

In addition to the faculty development program, school districts may also choose to participate in ASMSA’s digital learning program which will offer Essentials of Computer Programming courses taught solely by ASMSA faculty members. The course is included in the STEM Pathways program, which offers several STEM science and math courses at no cost to Arkansas school districts.

To learn more about ASMSA’s digital learning opportunities, click here.

Gov. Hutchinson Computer Coding High School Tour

Wednesday, May 6
Rogers High School
9:00 AM
2300 S Dixieland Rd.
Rogers, AR

Springdale High School
10:15 AM
101 South Pleasant St.
Springdale, AR

Fort Smith Northside High School
1:30 PM
2301 North B St.
Fort Smith, AR

Friday, May 8
Farmington High School
1:30 PM
278 W. Main St.
Farmington, AR

Monday, May 11
Conway High School
9:00 AM
2300 Prince St.
Conway, AR

Mayflower High School
10:15 AM
10 Lesley King Dr.
Mayflower, AR

Arkadelphia High School
2:30 PM
401 High School Rd.
Arkadelphia, AR

Tuesday, May 12
Jonesboro High School
9:30 AM
301 Hurricane Dr.
Jonesboro, AR

Paragould High School
11:00 PM
1701 W Court St.
Paragould, AR

Friday, May 22
Star City High School
TBD
206 Cleveland St.
Star City, AR

A new citizen panel proposed by Fort Smith Director Tracy Pennartz to provide some measure of oversight of the more than $200 million in the city’s street tax program outlays over the 10-year cycle of the tax may soon be a reality.

Talk of a new street tax commission coincides with an upcoming vote on renewal of the 1% street tax for another 10 years.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a May 12 election in which city voters will be asked to vote for renewal of the 1% sales tax for street, bridges and drainage improvements. Part of the ballot also includes a voter question on directing 5% of the tax collections toward construction of a multi-use trail system.

The street tax generates $18 million to $20 million each year. The tax, first approved by voters in 1985, has a sunset clause that requires voter approval every 10 years. The tax was renewed by voters in 1995 with 87.2% voting yes, and in 2005 with 66.3% voting yes.

TRANSPARENCY
Pennartz, new to the board, has pushed for the city’s legislative body to discuss the issue. She said in an e-mail note to The City Wire that a citizen commission would bring transparency to the program and the spending.

"Obviously, I believe this approach merits discussion by the Board to ascertain the advantages of creating a city commission on Streets, Bridges, & Associated Drainage,” Pennartz wrote. “Not unlike the Planning Commission and the Parks Commission, the creation of a city commission can be a viable approach to receiving ongoing citizen input. It also promotes a transparent process of valuation and prioritization of taxpayers dollars. Lastly, I think a City Commission on Streets, Bridges & Associated Drainage could serve as an informational and educational avenue for people to see the results of spending the revenue from the one cent sales tax."

Of the seven-member Board of Directors, five – including Pennartz – appear in favor of creating the commission. Director Don Hutchings did not respond to a request from The City Wire for his opinion on the issue. Director Kevin Settle was uncertain.

“I have not have made my decision yet. I look forward to discussion with the board and hearing from citizens and staff on this subject,” Settle said.

The Board is set to discuss the issue at a June 9 study session.

DIRECTOR COMMENTS
Following are comments from the other Directors.
• Director George Catsavis: “I have no problem with citizens panel to provide oversight of the 200 million street tax program, I would look at it as an advisory board to give input to the directors.”

• Director André Good: In my opinion, I think a citizen panel to monitor and provide some feedback to the board and staff could be beneficial. I am not saying that the Street and/or Engineering Departments are not doing a good job, but what I am saying is personally I have tried to make mental notes when a particular street overlay project is being done and tried to determine how long, how many years later the same overlay or other work was done in the same area. I simply haven't made it a priority to keep those kinds of records. So sure, if a group of citizens would like to volunteer to provide some community input and review of such, I think it could be helpful. The interaction might provoke questions why staff or the department do certain street related things. It could allow for staff to provide feedback to us laypeople to get a full, overall picture. I see this panel as being a monitoring committee, not a micro-managing one.”

• Director Keith Lau: “I think a citizen panel  is a great idea and needed  for a number of reasons. First, a committee/ panel of citizens could do independent research and review of the SBD CIP information, free to express their concerns and or recommendations outside the city administration. It would also allow open debate with different views from multiple citizens representing all of the cities demographic groups. The current debate  for allocations of the 5yr SBD CIP allocation appears to be focused around the opinions of one citizen vs the administration and special interest groups. A panel discussion could bring open and candid debate without all of the sock value political games which are currently being played out in the press and social media. Lastly the city administration and volunteer citizens have spent a huge amount of time effort and money developing a comprehensive plan for the city. A citizen panel could oversee the SBD CIP to make sure it follows the goals of the comprehensive plan.”

• Director Mike Lorenz: “I think Director Pennartz has a great suggestion in creating this panel. It will provide citizen feedback to assist in prioritizing projects as well as help provide a direct citizen connection to how the street tax collections are allocated. It promotes citizen involvement and enhances transparency.”

Do you remember, not so long ago, when the private option was supposed to be the legislative session’s most controversial issue? That was before anyone had heard of “re-homing” or thought much about what a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act would look like.

A lot can change in 82 days – a short session by recent historical standards. And a lot can change when legislators consider 2,200 bills, pass 1,288 of them into law, and vote to spend $5.18 billion for fiscal year 2016, an increase of $133 million over the year before.

When the session began, it was unclear what Gov. Asa Hutchinson would do with the private option – the program that uses federal Medicaid dollars through the Affordable Care Act to purchase private health insurance for lower-income Arkansans. The program had barely mustered enough votes to be created in 2013 and had barely survived the fiscal session in 2014, and it didn’t seem to have the votes this time. But it also brings in a billion federal dollars to the state’s economy, which Hutchinson needed if he hoped to pass the middle class tax cut he’d promised Arkansans during the 2014 campaign.

So he bought time.

During a speech at UAMS on Jan. 27, Hutchinson asked the Legislature to fund the private option for two years while it studied the issue in the context of overall healthcare reform. The idea passed easily in both the House and Senate. Hutchinson’s nephew, state Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, a private option opponent whose stance has become more conciliatory, sponsored Act 46 creating the task force and is co-chair along with state Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville.

TASK FORCES
Appointing task forces and study commissions became one of the most effective tools in Hutchinson’s toolbox. He diffused another controversial issue – the Common Core – by appointing a 16-member review panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin to make recommendations on how Arkansas should proceed with the education standards. The standards have become a lightning rod for some conservatives who believe they are an example of federal overreach.

Originally there were 24 states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a testing consortium meant to compare students across state lines. That number has dwindled to nine, and a bill was advanced by state Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, to require Arkansas to exit the consortium as well. Instead, the bill was amended so that it limits Arkansas to maximum one-year contracts.

Hutchinson also promised to appoint a task force to study highway funding after a bill he didn’t support advanced out of the House Committee on Public Transportation that would have transferred some general revenues to highways. Under Hutchinson’s gentle persuasion, the sponsor, state Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, agreed to kill the bill, but Hutchinson said he would appoint the task force and hinted that a special session on highway funding could be in the state’s future.

TWO TUMULTUOUS ISSUES
There was no way to buy time on the two issues that drew the most attention this session. The first came about when the Arkansas Times broke the story about state Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, informally transferring guardianship of his two young adopted daughters to a former employee of his day care who then sexually abused one of them. Harris continued receiving state payments as an adoptive parent, though he said he forwarded that money to the girls’ new family.

The practice of “re-homing” an adopted child was perfectly legal, but rare. Many called for Harris to resign, which he did not do. Instead, he leveled charges that the state Department of Human Services had failed to provide his family needed support and had threatened him with abandonment charges if he returned the children.

Though Harris did not resign, the Legislature quickly passed a law making re-homing without court approval a felony under Act 1092 by state Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway. Harris voted for the bill. The law does not apply in certain circumstances, such as placing the child with a relative. The bill also clarified that “abandonment” does not apply when a child has disrupted the adoption and parents have exhausted their available resources. Act 1018 by state Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, directs DHS to create rules for post-adoptive services.

Just as the furor over re-homing was dying down, one regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act exploded. House Bill 1228 by state Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, said state government could not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion without a compelling state interest. Opponents saw it as granting licensure to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT
Arkansas found itself at the center of a national controversy along with Indiana, which earlier had passed its version into law. Walmart and Acxiom, both Arkansas-based companies, publicly opposed the bill. The Human Rights Campaign bought a full-page ad in the San Jose Mercury News, which serves Silicon Valley, declaring Arkansas was “closed for business due to discrimination.” Activists shouted “shame on you” at Ballinger and other legislators as they left a House committee room March 30 and then lined the steps leading to the House chamber with signs as legislators prepared for the afternoon session.

With the bill sitting on his desk, Hutchinson, who earlier had supported it, called on legislators to recall it and send him a different one that mirrored the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. During a press conference April 1, Hutchinson said that his own son, Seth, was opposed to the legislation. Looking for a way out of the controversy, the Legislature quickly passed Act 975 by Hutchinson’s nephew, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Benton, which is similar to the federal bill. However, the debate over gay rights, discrimination, and religious freedom isn’t going away.

This was a historic session. For the first time since shortly after the Civil War, a Republican governor worked with a Legislature composed of Republican majorities – 64-36 in the House, 23-11 in the Senate, with one vacant.

Republicans were determined to demonstrate that they could govern, and as part of doing that, they followed the governor’s lead on issue after issue – the private option, Common Core, the highway funding bill, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Meanwhile, Hutchinson had no trouble passing his signature campaign proposals – a 1% income tax cut for Arkansans earning between $21,000 and $75,000, and a requirement that high schools teach computer science courses.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
For a while, it appeared that legislators might not refer any proposed constitutional amendments to voters, until Hutchinson made it clear he supported one that would allow him to keep his powers when leaving the state, rather than them being transferred to the lieutenant governor, and another that would increase the fund that Arkansas uses to attract economic superprojects, such as auto plants.

Those proposals now will be on the ballot, along with a third that would increase county officials’ terms from two to four years.

Asked about his run of success this session, Hutchinson said April 9, “The strength of the governor is from the respect of the office and the recognition that we need to have a leader, and also the desire to have the governor succeed. And so that’s impressed me, and that’s not a Republican thing. That’s a Republican and a Democrat thing. Democrats who opposed me, they not only said it, but they showed it in actions that it is important for Arkansas that the governor succeed.”

This also was the first session where legislators operated under Amendment 94, the so-called “ethics amendment” passed by the voters in 2014, which among other provisions was supposed to limit gifts by lobbyists to legislators. Instead, lobbyists took advantage of a provision in the amendment allowing them to provide legislators gifts such as meals as long as they were planned events serving official government bodies.

The amendment also extended term limits for legislators from three two-year terms in the House and two four-year terms in the Senate to 16 years overall – up to 18, in fact, for some. Speaker of the House Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, who before the amendment would have been term-limited, recently announced he is running for re-election to that post. His fellow Beebe High School alum, Senate Majority Leader Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, has not yet announced if he also will seek re-election to his position.

The ethics amendment also led to a pay raise for legislators. The Independent Citizens Commission created by the amendment increased legislative salaries from $15,869 to $39,400 and also increased the salaries for all statewide elected officials except the lieutenant governor. The governor’s salary, for example, will increase from $87,759 to $141,000. Legislators did agree to do away with a $14,400 office expense account used by many as a supplemental salary. They still will receive daily per diem expenses as well as mileage reimbursements.

WORKFORCE LEGISLATION
The Legislature also passed what Hutchinson described as “foundational” changes to the state’s workforce education efforts. Among those was Act 892 by state Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, who in 2014 switched her vote on the private option from a “no” to a “yes” in exchange for a promise from then-Gov. Mike Beebe to focus on the workforce issue.

English – along with others such as the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce – argue that the state’s education system must better prepare students for jobs that exist in the workforce. Act 892 creates the Office of Skills Development within the Department of Career Education to award workforce training grants to public and private organizations.

It also establishes a Career Education and Workforce Development Board composed of representatives from various industrial sectors, along with nonvoting members from various state agencies. The board will create a comprehensive program for career education and workforce development and will supervise all vocational, technical and occupational education programs. It and the State Board of Education together will administer state and federal adult education funds.

Hutchinson also sought to make foundational changes to the state’s prison and parole system. With 2,500 state prisoners housed in county jails because of prison overcrowding, the Legislature passed reforms that, among others, will transfer prisoners to a county facility in Texas, require eligible prisoners to enroll in Medicaid for drug and mental-health treatment, fund re-entry programs for prisoners leaving prisons, and create alternative courts for certain types of offenders. Funding was increased to add parole and probation officers. Meanwhile, Act 1096 by state Rep. Douglas House, R-North Little Rock, sets lethal injection protocols that may pave the way for the state to execute inmates for the first time since 2005.

EDUCATION LEGISLATION
Public education received a small funding increase, to $2.12 billion. The financially troubled Arkansas Scholarship Lottery will now be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration rather than the Lottery Commission as a result of Act 218 by state Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana. To save costs, Act 1105 by Hickey directs freshman lottery scholarship winners’ awards to be cut in half, to $1,000, while sophomore awards will be increased from $2,000 to $3,000.

Another noteworthy education law passed this session was Act 377 by state Rep. Bruce Cozart, R-Hot Springs, which lets the Department of Education grant waivers allowing schools that fall below the 350-student minimum to avoid consolidation. Also, Act 525 by Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, removed the requirements for the state’s education commissioner to be a 10-year educator, paving the way for Hutchinson’s handpicked choice, former state Sen. Johnny Key, to occupy the post.

As always, social issues attracted a lot of attention this session. Act 1231 by state Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, requires the state to use private funds to build a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. Arkansas passed six laws restricting abortion, including Act 139 by state Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, which prevents doctors from performing abortions via telemedicine.

State Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, and state Rep. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, made several efforts to separate the state’s current same-day commemorations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Gen. Robert E. Lee. When the session began, Arkansas was one of three states that celebrate the civil rights leader and Confederate general on the same day. It still is.

Finally, Act 137 by state Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, and Ballinger prevents local governments from creating their own anti-discrimination laws protecting gays and others. It passed easily early in the session, though Hutchinson let the bill become law without his signature because he was concerned it usurped local control. At the time, few had heard of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but a lot changed during that 82-day session.

Arkansas real estate agents were busy in March. Home sales in Arkansas’ four largest markets rose an impressive 15.33% in March after being up 2.4% in February and down more than 2% in January. For the first quarter of the year, home sales in the four markets are up a healthy 7.83%.

First quarter home sales totaled 4,639, up from 4,302 in the same period of 2014, and up 11.09% compared to the same period in 2013. For the first quarter, home sales are up 5.33% in central Arkansas, up 7.91% in the Fort Smith metro, up 8.28% in the Jonesboro metro and up 11.22% in Northwest Arkansas.

The total value of first quarter home sales in the four markets was $768.563 million, up 16.34% compared to the same period in 2014 and up 15.76% compared to the 2013 period.

The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report captures home sales data in the state’s 14 most populated counties within its four largest metro areas — Central Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, Jonesboro/Northeast Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas. The report, which records closed sales, accounts for between 70% and 75% of total Arkansas home sales.

Helping to boost the sales value more than 16% in the quarter is an uptick in average sales price. The average price for homes in the four markets was $165,674 in the first quarter, up 7.89% compared to the first three months of 2014, and up 4.21% compared to the same period in 2013.

The only downside to the March report was days on market. The average days on market during the first quarter was 105.89, up slightly from the 105.21 in the same period of 2014, and up from 104.91 in the same period of 2013.

There were 21,447 homes sold in Arkansas’ four largest markets in 2014, up 3.8% over 2013 and up 17.33% over 2012. The total value of home sold in the four markets during 2014 was $3.554 billion, up 3.24% over 2013 and up 18.97% compared to 2012. Gains in the number of homes sold in 2014 certainly varied by market. Sales totaled 9,904 in central Arkansas, up 2.32%. In the Fort Smith region, which has an economy not yet on stable footing, home sales were up a surprising 14.33% for the year.

MARCH NUMBERS
March home sales in the four markets totaled 1,918, up 15.33% compared to March 2014, and up 12.16% compared to March 2013. The average price per home in the four markets during March was $169,856, up 7.3% compared to March 2014, and up 4.31% compared to March 2013. The total value of sales in the four markets during March was $325.783 million, up 23.76% compared to March 2014 and up 17% compared to March 2013.

There were 882 homes sold in central Arkansas, up 16.51% compared to March 2014, and up 9.7% compared to March 2013.

March home sales totaled 667 in Northwest Arkansas, up 14.02% compared to March 2014, and up 7.75% compared to March 2013.

Jonesboro area home sales totaled 197, up 24.68% compared to March 2014 and up 34.01% compared to March 2013.

In the Fort Smith area, home sales totaled 172, up 5.52% compared to March 2014, and up 22.86% compared to March 2013.

Sales value gains were also impressive in all four markets. The total value of the sales during March were up 22..75% in central Arkansas, up 23.59% in Northwest Arkansas, up 40.22% in the Jonesboro area, and up 16.45% in the Fort Smith region.

THE REGIONAL PICTURE: January-March 2015
Central Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-March 2015: 2,136
Jan.-March 2014: 2,028
Jan.-March 2013: 1,991

Fort Smith area — Home sales
Jan.-March 2015: 423
Jan.-March 2014: 392
Jan.-March 2013: 333

Jonesboro area — Home sales
Jan.-March 2015: 484
Jan.-March 2014: 447
Jan.-March 2013: 392

Northwest Arkansas — Home sales
Jan.-March 2015: 1,596
Jan.-March 2014: 1,435
Jan.-March 2013: 1,460

The top five counties in terms of January-March 2015 home sales:
Benton — 976, up compared to 903 in January-March 2014
Pulaski — 967, up compared to 919 in January-March 2014 
Washington — 620, up compared to 532 in January-March 2014
Craighead — 395, up compared to 346 in January-March 2014
Saline — 353, up compared to 345 in January-March 2014

Link here for a PDF document of the March 2015 data.

SIGN OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY
“What a month! Everything looks really good from the units to the prices,” said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

Deck said the improved housing market report for March is indicative of the strength of Arkansas’ ongoing economic recovery – a recovery that began in 2009 but has only recently gained noticeable momentum.

One of the signs that the economy is improving, she said, is that unemployment in the state has improved. According to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, the unemployment rate in Arkansas improved to 5.6% from 6.4% a year ago. In real numbers, that means 1.26 million Arkansans have jobs in March 2015 compared to 1.21 million workers a year ago.
 
Deck said one thing to watch is mortgage rates, which have stayed low for a few years because of the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping rates low for the purpose of strengthening the economy. If the Fed determines the economy is strong enough to stand on its own, then it may raise short term interest rates and those could cause mortgage rates to increase as a result.
 
According to Mortgage-X, the average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage at the first of May was 3.5%. Of the mortgage bankers polled around the nation by that site, 32.1% believe mortgage rates will remain unchanged over the next 90 days, while 42.9% believe rates will rise slightly over the next three months.
 
Deck said one danger about the current recovery that could impact sales in the future is a sense the recovery is tenuous. Wages have not increased significantly and that worries some workers.

Building permit value totals in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren are up almost 30% during the first four months of 2015, boosted by several large commercial projects in Fort Smith during the period.

Permit values in the three cities during January-April were $70.088 million, up 29.3% over the $54.205 million in the same period of 2014.

The early 2015 numbers were pushed higher in March when a $22 million permit was issued in Fort Smith for construction of the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Located on 27 acres at Chaffee Crossing, the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is expected to open in the fall of 2016. Obviously, without the osteopathic college permit, the first quarter permit value would have trailed 2014 activity.

Other large Fort Smith commercial projects permitted in the first four months of the year include:
• $3.83 million for a Walmart Neighborhood Market at 8600 U.S. 71 S.;
• $2 million for the first phase of the Greg Smith River Walk along the Arkansas River and beginning near downtown Fort Smith;
• $1.6 million for work on the River Valley Sports Complex at Chaffee Crossing; and
• $1.522 million for work at Sparks Health System
• $1.4 million for work at Mercy Fort Smith.

FORT SMITH PERMIT PICTURE
The city issued permits valued at $68.096 million in the January-April period, up 28.9% compared to the same period in 2014.

However, April permit values were weak compared to April 2014. The city issued 183 permits for a total value of $12.125 million during the month, well below the 22 permits valued at $21.748 million in April 2014.

Permit values for new home construction in the city totaled $2.065 million in April, below the $3.688 million in April 2014. But the first three months of the year were busy for new homebuilders. For the first four months of 2015, new home permit values total $12.802 million, up almost 19% compared to the $10.763 million in the same period of 2014.

New commercial construction also was off the pace in April. Permits during the month totaled $4.983 million, down from $11.869 million in April 2014.

GREENWOOD, VAN BUREN PERMITS
Building permit values in Greenwood totaled $416,982 on four permits in April, below the $746,320 on eight permits in April 2014. Permit values during the first four months of the year total $3.621 million, well ahead of the $1.767 million during the same period of 2014.

A majority of the permit values in Greenwood are for residential construction.

Van Buren permit values totaled $1.574 million in April thanks to $1.468 million permitted for residential construction – new and remodel – in the city. The April total is much higher than the $667,400 in April 2014 permit values.

But Van Buren permit values for the first four months of 2015 are down more than 96% compared to the same period of 2014. A $4 million Legacy Heights addition and $3.567 million Van Buren police station were permitted in the first quarter of 2014, which makes for the tough comparison.

For the first four months, Van Buren permit values total $5.308 million, down from the $10.429 million in the same period of 2014.

2014 BUILDING PERMIT VALUE TOTALS
Building permit value gains in Fort Smith and Van Buren helped push regional permit values up almost 6% in 2014 compared to 2013. Several taxpayer-funding projects – water park, police station and schools – helped boost the 2014 regional numbers.

For the year, Fort Smith permit values were up 6.61% and Van Buren permit values were up an impressive 85.7%. Greenwood had a 4.4% decline in permit values compared to 2013.

Fort Smith
2014: $189.445 million
2013: $177.687 million
2012: $136.248 million

Greenwood
2014: $7.918 million
2013: $8.283 million
2012: $8.609 million

Van Buren
2014: $16.813 million
2013: $9.049 million
2012: $9.983 million

Combined total for the three cities
2014: $214.176 million
2013: $195.019 million
2012: $154.840 million

Voting, voting on mustaches and the odds on Huckabee losing an arm-wrestling contest to Hillary are part of this week’s The Video Wire.

The Video Wire is a collaboration between The City Wire and Things To Do In Fort Smith.

A federal classification upgrade of the Arkansas River from “Connector” to “Corridor” status will raise the river’s visibility in the shipping world and could help bring more federal dollars for river system maintenance and enhancements, said port operator Marty Shell.

The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) was upgraded under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s America’s Marine Highway Program. According to a press release from the Arkansas Waterways Commission, the upgrade, which the release said was announced Monday by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, places the system in the same category as other major inland waterways and could lead to future port and waterways expansion projects. The Mississippi River is also a marine highway. 

The Arkansas river system is 445 miles long and stretches from the confluence of the Mississippi River to the Port of Catoosa near Tulsa, Okla. The controlled waterway has 18 locks and dams, with 13 in Arkansas and five in Oklahoma. The river also has five ports: Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Fort Smith, Muskogee, Okla., and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma. 

Marty Shell, owner of Van Buren-based Five Rivers Distribution which operates the port facilities in Van Buren and Fort Smith, said the upgrade is part of an overall effort in recent years to “move our river system forward and leave it in a better state for future generation for jobs, growth, and economic development.” Shell also said the upgrade improves the chance to get federal dollars to deepen the river system to 12 feet. The system is now dredged for a nine-foot depth, although many parts of the river are at 12 feet or more. A deeper channel allows a larger load on barges.

This is the third piece of good news for the MKARNS in recent months. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers changed the system’s designation from a moderate-use to a high-use system, the same classification given to the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Previously, the Corps had announced that its budget included a $3 million study of the “Three Rivers” area, which is the confluence of the Arkansas, Mississippi and White Rivers. A major flooding event in that area could shut down the system for up to a year. Half of the $3 million is funded by the federal government. State legislators agreed to fund the other half during this year’s legislative session.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation Waterways division and the Arkansas Waterways Commission partnered to apply for the status upgrade.

"We appreciate the entire Arkansas Congressional delegation who supported this application as well as Oklahoma's entire delegation and Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins in Kansas. We also received support from public and private users of the waterway and the Metropolitan Planning agencies in both Arkansas and Oklahoma,” said Gene Higginbotham, executive director, Arkansas Waterways Commission.

It’s tempting to simply credit an improved national economy for improved finances at the trucking operations of the four publicly held companies based in Arkansas. But that temptation fails to account for labor contract changes, management shifts, auto sales, driver pay, driver shortages, federal regulations, bottlenecks at West Coast ports, energy markets and nasty winter weather. And that’s the short list.

Further complicating the analysis is that Fort Smith-based ArcBest, Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Tontitown-based P.A.M. Transportation and Van Buren-based USA Truck are wholly dissimilar in structure and operations.

ArcBest, through its ABF Freight subsidiary, is in the less-than-truckload sector with an emerging global logistics operation. J.B. Hunt is no longer a trucking company. It’s a logistics/freight solutions company, with its trucking division generating around 6% of total revenue. Despite attempts to diversify its customer base, around 40% of business for P.A.M. Transportation is tied to the U.S. auto industry. Of the four companies, USA Truck is the one that remains more of a common carrier trucking company, although its logistics business has grown in recent years.

Brad Delco, a trucking and transportation industry analyst with Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., said an improving U.S. economy “certainly” helped the four companies, but each company had to make changes unique to their operations to tap into improving economic trends.

ARCBEST (NASDAQ: ARCB)
Two big changes at ArcBest have been the $180 million acquisition of Ohio-based Panther Expedited Services in June 2012, and a new labor contract approved in the summer of 2013 with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The deal with Panther helped vault ArcBest into the higher margin logistics sector, and the labor deal is estimated to save the company up to $65 million a year.

The company has posted two consecutive years in the black. Full year net income in 2014 was $46.177 million, up 192% compared to the $15.811 million in 2013, and a wide swing from the $7.7 million loss in 2012. Total revenue during 2014 for the publicly held company (NASDAQ: ARCB) was $2.612 billion, up 13.6% compared to 2013.

As to company’s effort to generate more business from its non-trucking side, so far so good. In 2014, the company’s four non-trucking subsidiaries – Premium, FleetNet, ABF Logistics, and ABF Moving – generated $25.776 million in operating income, or about 34% of the total. Delco said the company is likely to “remain focused” on growing the non-trucking businesses.

ArcBest CEO Judy McReynolds isn’t comfortable with the changes. She’s set a 2015 revenue goal of $3 billion. Acquisitions could be part of that growth. The company has little debt, and as of Dec. 31 was sitting on almost $205 million in cash or holdings easily converted to cash.

J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT (NASDAQ:JBHT)
Trucking, the division that launched the company, began to struggle for several years after the Great Recession. In December 2013, the company decided to refocus on the segment and mades management changes toward that goal. December 2013. Shelley Simpson, chief marketing officer and president of Integrated Capacity Solutions, was placed into a “strategic leadership role” with the trucking segment.

The company’s truck segment posted fiscal 2014 revenue of $385.603 million, below the $391.086 million in 2013. However, operating income for the segment was $24.223 million, a big jump over the $3.658 million in 2013. Company officials said rising rates and “rapidly declining fuel prices” helped boost income in the segment.

Overall, J.B. Hunt Transport Services boosted its 2014 revenue to $6.165 billion, a 10.4% increase over fiscal 2013. Net income for the year was $374.792 million, up 9.46% compared to the 2013 period.

In the first quarter of 2015, operating income for the trucking segment was $8.5 million, up 248% over the first quarter of 2014. Under Simpson’s tenure, and with the help of lower fuel prices, this once laggard segment has raised rates, increased rates per loaded mile, reduced maintenance costs, lowered insurance rates and reduced claims expenses.

P.A.M. TRANSPORTATION (NASDAQ: PTSI)
Times are definitely better for this company, which reported annual net income of $13.491 million for the 2014, a steady bump up from the $5.914 million reported a year ago. And with 2012 net income of $2.179 million, the company is on a three-year run of positive earnings.

But it’s been tough to recover from the national freight recession that began in late 2006. The company posted a 2011 loss of $2.857 million, a 2010 loss of $655,000, a 2009 loss of $10.847 million, and a 2008 loss of $18.765 million.

P.A.M. CEO Daniel Cushman has moved diversify the customer base, move more freight to and from Mexico and grow brokerage services. However, the company has between 35% and 40% of its business tied to the auto sector, and is the most likely among the four to be tied to national economic trends.

Auto sales have improved in recent years. There were 16.53 million cars sold in the U.S. in 2014, much better than the recession low point of 10.43 million in 2009, and the first return above 16 million since the 16.154 million car sales in 2007.

USA TRUCK (NASDAQ: USAK)
In late 2012 the USA Truck Board of Directors reached out to Harvard graduate Robert Peiser to chair the Board and get the company back in the black. Peiser, known in corporate circles as someone able to rescue a company for future growth or acquisition, hired John Simone in early 2013. He had a reputation in the trucking and logistics sector for tidying up troubled operations.

Peiser and Simone began making wholesale changes to USA Truck’s corporate philosophy, management and strategy. Officials with the long-haul trucking and logistics company announced 2014 net income of $6.033 million, a more than $15 million swing from the $9.11 million loss in 2014, and a gain that ended five consecutive years of losses.

The company’s trucking segment is still struggling, however.  The trucking division posted a $3.532 million operating income loss in 2014 – although it was a big improvement over the $17.66 million operating income loss in 2013.

Driving the gains are the non-asset side of USA Truck’s operation. The company’s Strategic Capacity Solutions (SCS) – logistics and freight brokerage – division posted operating income of $20.775 million, more than double the $9 million in 2013.

The company announced April 6 that Simone was on indefinite leave from the company to deal with a “serious medical condition.”

2015 FORECAST
Delco is bullish on the sector for the remainder of 2015. Driving the sentiment is “meaningful supply constraints” within the transportation sector, with those constraints more a product of driver availability than access to equipment.

Delco also sees wage growth and lower fuel prices resulting in more consumer spending, which is always good news for the freight industry. Also, federal regulatory changes are likely to make it more challenging for the freight industry to respond to growing demand, which will in turn allow freight companies to charge and maintain higher rates.

John Larkin, transportation analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, has said driver shortages are the biggest concerns for trucking CEO’s going into 2015. He projects the driver shortage to widen to 240,000 by 2020. He cites increased demand and retirements of veteran drivers along with declining interest from younger generations as the primary cause for the shortage.

Like Delco, Larkin said tighter federal regulations don’t help and it’s getting increasingly “more difficult to recruit honest, safe and reliable truck drivers.” He said just 5% of applicants industrywide meet all the requirements to be a commercial driver.

Strokes and lung cancer are what caused USA Truck CEO John Simone to in early April take an indefinite leave of absence, according to a statement issued Thursday (May 7) by the Van Buren-based trucking and logistics company.

When Simone’s leave was announced, the company cited a “serious medical condition” as the reason. Tom Glaser was appointed interim chief operations officer to lead the company. Glaser is a member of the USA Truck Board and served as the company’s COO from January 2013 to June 2013. He returned to the company as a Board member as part of an early 2014 agreement between USA Truck and investment firms Baker Street Capital and Stone House Capital Management.

Simone, 53, was hired by USA Truck Board Chairman Robert Peiser in early 2013, and was instrumental in returning the long-haul carrier and logistics company to profitability. The company reported Feb. 11 that 2014 net income was $6.033 million, a more than $15 million swing from the $9.11 million loss in 2014. The swing ended five consecutive years of losses.

The company is off to a good start in 2015. First quarter net income for Van Buren-based USA Truck was $1.116 million, a big improvement over the $1.589 million loss in the first quarter of 2014, and the 10th consecutive quarter in which the once-troubled trucking firm improved its financial performance.

In Thursday’s statement, Simone said the lung cancer was discovered while searching for the cause of strokes, or “cerebral vascular accidents.”

“While looking for the cause of the CVAs, they discovered lung cancer, which is very rare in non-smokers. I have been undergoing chemotherapy, and radiation treatments are planned in the future,” Simone said in his statement (See the full statement below.) “The treatments are expected to continue for several more weeks. It is too early to have complete visibility on timeframe for completing treatments or a definitive prognosis, but my doctors and I are optimistic.”

COMPLETE STATEMENT FROM USA TRUCK CEO JOHN SIMONE
Dear Colleagues and Fellow Stockholders:

I wanted to update you personally on the status of my medical leave and the timing of my expected return. Although my communication with you has been limited for several weeks, please know that USA Truck, and all of you, have been in my thoughts as I have concentrated on my treatments and recovery.

During March, I experienced cerebral vascular accidents (CVAs), or strokes, which primarily affected my speech (much improved since then). My doctors have not identified any other lasting effects, and they expect me to make a full recovery from the CVAs.

While looking for the cause of the CVAs, they discovered lung cancer, which is very rare in non-smokers. I have been undergoing chemotherapy, and radiation treatments are planned in the future. The treatments are expected to continue for several more weeks. It is too early to have complete visibility on timeframe for completing treatments or a definitive prognosis, but my doctors and I are optimistic.

Needless to say, this dual challenge multiplied the number of tests, appointments, and treatments to the point a medical leave became necessary. The warm wishes and messages from many of you were much appreciated and are helping keep up my spirits along the way.

Several weeks into the treatments, I am feeling much better. My strength is returning, my speech is improving, and I am looking forward to returning to active involvement in the business. My doctors have not finalized their recommendations on my ability to travel or return to USA Truck in a full time capacity. I intend to return as soon as medically advisable, and I am hoping that will be sometime this summer.

I would like to thank my colleagues at USA Truck for their support of me, but even more for their continued efforts on behalf of the company. The depth and breadth of our team has never been greater, and this has been clearly displayed over these past several weeks. I am grateful and humbled, but not surprised, by their dedication and performance.

Sincerely,

John M. Simone

Arkansas highway officials have again pulled construction projects out of the bid process because of uncertainty with federal funding. To date, 70 road projects totaling an estimated $282 million have been delayed, with 11 of those in the Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas areas.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department announced Thursday (May 7) that nine projects were pulled from a June 9 bid opening. The agency announced March 24 the withdrawal of 56 projects with a value of at least $112 million.

“Not only have we been forced to withdraw $282 million from our bid openings in 2015, but there are only 24 days remaining until obligation authority expires for MAP-21,” AHTD Director Scott Bennett said in a statement. “We operate on a cash basis and are not willing to take risks that would jeopardize the progress of any of our Federally-funded projects. To do otherwise is not being fiscally responsible.”

The delays, which are also occurring in other states, is the result of inaction by Congress to address a shortfall in the federal Highway Trust Fund. The fund is on average the revenue for 52% of all highway and bridge capital investments made each year in the states. Money for the fund is set to expire May 31 unless Congress acts.

At risk in Arkansas for Federal Fiscal Year 2015 is 120 projects with an estimated construction value of $490 million. The absence of a long-term reauthorization bill places 130 projects at risk in Arkansas for Federal Fiscal Year 2016 with an estimated construction value of $520 million.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the highway account part of the trust fund ended March with a balance of $8.125 billion. The fund paid out $2.542 billion for highway projects. The mass transit part of the trust fund ended March with a balance of $2.679 billion, and paid out $918 million in the month.

POLITICAL PRESSURE
Also on Thursday, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) launched a radio campaign in states and Congressional districts of House and Senate leadership. According to a statement from the two groups, the radio spots will urge “key members of Congress to stop playing games with federal transportation funding and find a permanent solution for the federal Highway Trust Fund (HTF).”

The radio blitz is designed to put pressure on the members prior to a May 31 funding deadline for the trust fund.

“With just weeks to go, congressional leaders have still not reached agreement on a course of action. The continued uncertainty is causing states to delay or cancel transportation improvement projects,” noted a joint press release.

Members of Congress targeted with the radio spots are: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

FORT SMITH, NWA PROJECTS DELAYED
Following are the announced road project delays in the Fort Smith metro and Northwest Arkansas.

Northwest Arkansas
Benton County
Sulphur Springs-Spavinaw Creek overlay project
Springtown-Highway 279 overlay and shoulder work

Carroll County
County Road 704-west of Highway 103
Highway 62-Indian Creek overlay project

Madison County
Washington County Line-east overlay

Washington County
Razorback Road-Garland Ave.

Fort Smith region
Franklin County
Highway 352-Rock Creek overlay project

Johnson County
Highway 315 South overlay

Logan County
West of Highway 393-Yell County Line overlay

Sebastian County
Highway 10-Flat Rock Creek overlay

Scott County
Polk County Line-Highway 71 overlay

University of Arkansas at Fort Smith student Casey Millspaugh’s life was changed by a business card.
 
Millspaugh was a senior business student at UAFS when Bill Hanna, president of Hanna Oil and Gas, visited one of Millspaugh’s classes as a guest speaker. He left business cards and told the students to call him if they ever needed anything. Millspaugh did.

“I saw it as a business leader in the community reaching out to students and to the university to help them,” Millspaugh said. “And I realized the value in that, and what could become of that, and I wanted to know more from him.”

The two of them began to meet, initially as a way for Millspaugh to have a mentor in the business world. But the relationship blossomed into conversations that spanned both their professional and personal lives. Now, Millspaugh said, they communicate five to seven times a week.

He didn’t realize it at the time, but this experience would provide him the answer for a problem he wrestled with three years later. Millspaugh, who was now a 29-year-old UAFS graduate and account executive at UPS, had seen the brain drain firsthand, having watched many of his friends who grew up in Fort Smith and graduated from UAFS leave the area for other job opportunities.

But Millspaugh began to realize that those opportunities his friends sought out were also available in Fort Smith. For him, the question became: How could he get the best and brightest of Fort Smith’s youth to stay in the city and work long, fulfilling careers?
 
Then Millspaugh found a connection. The bond Millspaugh had with Hanna was unique, but what if it didn’t have to be? What if other students at UAFS could have the same opportunity? Millspaugh went to Rick Goins, alumni director at UAFS, with an idea for a new program that would pair business leaders in the community with university students in a mentor-mentee relationship to strengthen the bond between UAFS students and Fort Smith.

To date, 15 students have completed the UAFS Mentor Connections program.

“The university changed the direction of my life for the better, and I feel that it’s my responsibility to help the university,” he said. “The area I saw where I could pay them back is by helping connect the university to the community. The Mentor Connections program is just the first baby step in my personal objective.”

“My mentorship has changed my life, and it’s going to continue to change my life,” he added. “And I wanted it to change other people’s lives as well.”

The Alumni Office launched the program in the fall, and it spanned the full school year. The roster of mentors includes Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders; Ivy Owen, executive director of Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority; and Jim Walcott, president of Weldon, Williams & Lick.

The mentors and mentees meet once a month in a variety of settings – coffee shops, the mentor’s office, a quick lunch spot, dinner at a restaurant – and they talk about both professional and personal subjects.

A unique aspect of the program is the addition of a recent UAFS alumnus to each mentor-mentee team. The alumnus works to facilitate the relationship between the two, but also gets the added benefit of being mentored as well.

“The alumni make the uncomfortableness a little more comfortable,” Millspaugh said. “The alumni have the experience of setting meetings and interacting with decision makers in their company, and they’ve been in the professional world a little longer than the students.”

The mentor program offers multiple benefits to the students who participate, but the most important benefit mirrors the purpose of the university itself: to prepare students for a future in the workplace. The mentorship also focuses on less tangible lessons.

“It’s to help them understand what it’s going to take to transition from school to the real world,” Goins said. “We hope to build self-confidence in these students, and what I foresee five years down the road is that we’re going to have a substantial number of well-connected and engaged alumni.”

Cole Sullivan of Rogers, a finance major set to graduate in May, was pleasantly surprised to make such a connection. After being approached by the interim dean of the College of Business, he agreed to participate in mentoring program – and then discovered his mentor would be Judy McReynolds, CEO of Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp.

“I was shocked. At the [program’s inauguration] ceremony when Rick revealed it, I couldn’t believe it,” Sullivan said. “ArcBest is a big employer down here, and to be able to sit down with her, it was just kind of unreal.”

Whereas other students might have leveraged a relationship with a CEO into a job opportunity, Sullivan chose another route: He didn’t tell McReynolds when he applied for and landed his student worker position as a pricing support analyst with the ArcBest subsidiary ABF Freight.

“I wanted to do it on my own,” he said. When he walked into her office wearing his ABF nametag, he caught her by surprise.

“She glanced at it and did a double take and asked, ‘Are you working here now?’” he said with a laugh.

McReynolds had high praise for Sullivan.

“Cole is a pleasant, hardworking young man, and I enjoyed getting to know him,” McReynolds said. “It is nice to see a student with his work ethic and approach succeed.”

In March, ABF Freight offered Sullivan a full-time job, which he’ll start after graduation. He hopes it will be the beginning of a long and fruitful career in the Fort Smith area.

“When I moved down here to attend UAFS, I was still set on transferring after two years. But this past year, even before I was offered the job with ABF, I said, ‘I’m going to stay in Fort Smith,’” he said. “This feels right, and I think it’s a combination of my experiences at UAFS that have really molded that idea of Fort Smith for me.”

But the mentorship has been as eye-opening for the mentors as it has been for the students.

“I’m 54 years old, and a 54-year-old’s perspective on life is different from a 24 year-old’s,” said Hanna, who is serving as a mentor to UAFS student Chukuwekere Ekeh of North Little Rock. “You lose sight of certain things, and you become somewhat set in your ways. But Chukuwekere and Casey, they’re inquisitive and full of questions, and it makes me be that way when I’m around them.”

To reinforce this notion, Hanna related the story of his first meeting with Ekeh.

“We sat there, and I’m trying to pour out all my knowledge, and at the end of our session Chukuwekere says, ‘I want you to read a couple of books,’” Hanna said. One was a speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1910, and the other was “Who Stole My Cheese?”

The CEO was taken aback, unsure if Ekeh realized who was the mentor and who the mentee. But Hanna read the speech and the book, and was affected deeply by the latter.

“I shared copies for all my staff, my wife and my sons. It just became something that we all latched onto,” he said. “Looking for oil and gas is what I do, and the book was all about the resources you live off of and what happens when they’re not there. It really resonated with me.”

Legislative leaders are asking members about their availability for a May 26-28 special session, the day after the Memorial Day holiday.

The special session would center on a potential economic development superproject involving Lockheed Martin in Camden, Arkansas. The aerospace and defense contractor is in the running for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) being developed by the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps as a successor to the popular Humvee vehicle, which has been in service since 1985.

In January 2012, the U.S. Army announced three companies – Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh and AM General – as finalists for a 27-month pilot engineering and manufacturing program. The three competitors were required to provide 22 JLTV prototypes for testing 12 months after the EMD contracts were awarded.

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps have established a “not to exceed” vehicle cost of $250,000, and announced that approximately 55,000 JLTVs would be procured by the two services. It is anticipated that the JLTV program will also draw significant interest from the international military vehicle marketplace as well, officials have said.

All told, the project could be a multi-decades, multi-billion dollar shot-in-the-arm for South Arkansas. Officials have spoken publicly about the superproject for months.

The special session would be used to cobble together the incentive package and other aspects of showing state preparedness for the superproject. However, other items are being considered for the special session call. Those additional items include:
Moving Arkansas’ Presidential primary to March;

Moving all political primaries to March;

Moving up or delaying the fiscal session to not run in conflict with a change to political primaries; and

Combining some state agencies in an effort to streamline or reorganize state government.

No agreement has been reached yet on the final call for the special session. A spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson says the governor will address the special session at Monday’s (May 11) Political Animals Club meeting in Little Rock. The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Grand Hall of the Governor’s Mansion.

A test by Wal-Mart Stores to offer access to affordable health care that involves 17 Care Clinics inside Walmart U.S. supercenters is going well, according to the company, with 22% of clinic visitors being Walmart employees and dependents.

The burgeoning cost of health care affects millions of American consumers each month. Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores set out to test its muscle in this area about a year ago launching Care Clinics in underserved markets identified by the retailer in Texas, South Carolina and Georgia.

Jennifer LaPerre, senior director with health & wellness for Walmart U.S., told The City Wire that the 17 Care Clinics are being well received in the areas where they are located. The clinics, owned by Wal-Mart and operated through a partnership with QuadMed, are still in a test phase. LaPeere said 22% of the patients have been Wal-Mart workers and their dependents, with the remainder being customers.

The Wal-Mart Care Clinic model provides a wide range of primary care services as well as acute and chronic care capabilities for a $4 office charge among its workers and dependents who carry the retailer’s health insurance. For everyone else the cost is $40. This is a fraction of the typical $160 to $240 routine office visit cost outlined by Blue Cross Blue Shield in early 2014. 

LaParre said one of Wal-Mart’s key strategies with the test was to disrupt prices in markets where they had a high density of workers in conjunction with areas of provider shortages and under- and uninsured populations tapped into medicaid. 

“This model has a dual purpose, to serve our associates and dependents but also our customers both of which are satisfied with our Care Clinics,” LaParre said in a phone interview with The City Wire.

ACUTE CARE, CHRONIC ISSUES
She said another aspect Wal-Mart hopes to accomplish with this service is a more expanded care of options than some of their retail competitors – like Walgreens or CVS Care Mark – to include acute care operations.

“Our broadened scope of primary care includes annual checkups, vaccinations, immunizations and physicals but also encompasses acute care for sore throats, coughs allergies and sinus issues and provides a level of care for chronic health issues like diabetes, hyper-tension or high blood pressure,” she said.

LaParre said 30% of the population has chronic conditions and yet 47% of the patients that Care Clinics see do not have a primary care provider. She said 70% of health care spending today is for chronic conditions.

“We know we are providing a service that is truly needed,” she said.

LaParre did not rule out that Wal-Mart could bring its Care Clinic test home to Northwest Arkansas and the Natural State. She said Wal-Mart has plenty of workers in the region and state who could benefit from this service. That said, LaParre said the retailer also has a strong relationship with the health care providers in the region that it wishes to maintain. She also said Wal-Mart will continue to look for low-cost service strategies for its employees, their dependents and its customers in Arkansas.

CLINIC RESULTS
The first Wal-Mart Care Clinic opened 54 weeks ago, so LaParre said the tests are still quite young.

A 2010 study by HSC indicated it could take up to five years for in-house clinics to make a positive return on investment. LaParre said the experiment is not about a quick return on investment but a benefit that helps employees and customers, and helping the retailer become a health and wellness destination.

Sarah McKinney, corporate spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the clinics are positive for driving trips to the stores and saving people money which can be spent on other essentials.

More importantly, Wal-Mart has 500 million reasons to aggressively test these company-owned heath care clinics in its retail stores. With 1.1 million Americans working at Wal-Mart, the retailer said in August 2014 its health care costs were expected to cost $500 million for the year. That was $110 million more than planned as more of its workers signed up for company-sponsored plan following the enactment of the Affordable Health Care law. 

Last year the national average total health care cost per employee topped $12,000, rising 5% from the year before, according the National Business Group on Health. Employers typically cover 75% or more of that total cost as a benefit to their workers. That number was based on surveys from several hundred employers across the country.

The economy across the Natural State is looking up which has helped hoist consumer sentiment measured by Arvest Bank’s semi-annual survey. This spring report released Tuesday (May 12) shows the index measuring Arkansas consumer sentiment rose to 79.1 in March, up from 68.1 in October and 67.4 in June 2014.

The survey also includes consumers in Oklahoma and Missouri, including Kansas City. While Arkansas’ consumer sentiment has risen consistently since the survey began last summer, the rate of exuberance continues to lag levels registered by consumers in Missouri and Oklahoma.

Missouri respondents returned a consumer sentiment index reading of 85.2 in March, 77.4 in October 2014 and 68.6 last June. Missouri registered the highest sentiment reading this spring, just shy of the national level at 85.3 which is compiled by the University of Michigan.

Oklahoma’s sentiment reading was also higher than Arkansas at 84.8 in March, up from 72.6 in November 2014 and 76.4 in the June study, according to the report.

In Arkansas, the largest gains among consumers surveyed in March came from three specific groups. Among respondents with no children the index jumped from 59.7 in October to 92.9 in March. The most optimistic group surveyed were young Arkansans ages 18 to 24, this cohort’s index rose from 92.4 in October to 113 in March. Another notable increase – from 66.5 to 90.8 – came from Arkansans who are unemployed.

“The state’s improving employment and income situation, along with lower gasoline prices at the pump, gave consumers a boost in both perceived current conditions and near-term expectations,” said Kathy Deck, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

Arvest data has reflected Deck’s assertion, showing less total dollar spend in the fuel category, while deposits in consumers’ checking and savings accounts generally have risen.

“The increase in the Arkansas index is a sign that people are feeling better not only about their personal financial situation, but also have some confidence in the economy of the region as a whole,” John Womack, president and CEO of Arvest Bank in central Arkansas, said in the index report. “As their confidence grows, they will feel better about buying needed items for their families and maybe taking on some personal debt. Knowing this helps us to prepare to meet their financial needs in a way that works best for them.”

Improved consumer sentiment has played a role in improved home sales in the first quarter of 2015 in state’s four largest regions, according to recently released Arkansas Home Sales Report. The report is produced by The City Wire. First quarter home sales totaled 4,639, up from 4,302 in the same period of 2014, and up 11.09% compared to the same period in 2013. For the first quarter, home sales are up 5.33% in central Arkansas, up 7.91% in the Fort Smith metro, up 8.28% in the Jonesboro metro and up 11.22% in Northwest Arkansas.

Deck said the strength of Arkansas’ ongoing economic recovery that began in 2009 but has only recently gained noticeable momentum.

One of the signs that the economy is improving is that unemployment in the state has improved, she said. According to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, the unemployment rate in Arkansas improved to 5.6% from 6.4% a year ago. In real numbers, that means 1.26 million Arkansans have jobs in March 2015 compared to 1.21 million workers a year ago.
 
Deck said one thing to watch is mortgage rates, which have stayed low for a few years because of the Federal Reserve’s policy of keeping rates low for the purpose of strengthening the economy. If the Fed determines the economy is strong enough to stand on its own, then it may raise short term interest rates and those could cause mortgage rates to increase as a result.
 
According to Mortgage-X, the average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage at the first of May was 3.5%. Of the mortgage bankers polled around the nation by that site, 32.1% believe mortgage rates will remain unchanged over the next 90 days, while 42.9% believe rates will rise slightly over the next three months.
 
Deck said one danger about the current recovery is that wages have not increased and that worries some workers.

With one of the worst-kept economic development secrets officially out in the open, former Arkansas jobs chief Grant Tennille said the possible expansion of Lockheed’s Camden operation to manufacture a new military vehicle will have benefits far beyond that city’s industrial park.

Tennille, who served under Gov. Mike Beebe as executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said ancillary effects of a new state-of-the-art military vehicle being built in Camden will be greater than the 600 or more new jobs from the production.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday (May 11) that a Special Session of the Arkansas Legislature will convene May 26 to authorize use of Amendment 82, the state’s superproject amendment. That legislation allows the state Legislature to approve up to 5% of the state’s general revenue budget to be used for bonding of large-scale economic development projects. The session would center on a potential economic development superproject involving Lockheed Martin in Camden, Ark. The aerospace and defense contractor is in the running for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) being developed by the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps as a successor to the Humvee vehicle, which has been in service since 1985.

If Amendment 82 incentives are approved, it will be the second time in less than three years the law will be used. Legislators in early 2013 approved a $125 million bond issue to support a $1.3 billion investment by Big River Steel to build a steel mill near Osceola in east Arkansas.

JLTV BACKGROUND
The push for a new vehicle came in 2006 from Congress following several years of reports from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan in which the Humvee was not adequate for many combat operations. The Department of Defense first issued contracts in October 2008 for JLTV development.

The 2016 fiscal year Department of Defense budget includes $456.9 million for procurement funding of the next JLTV. The U.S. Army plans to buy 49,909 JLTVs by 2040, and the U.S. Marine Corps plans to buy 5,500 JLTVs by 2022.

According to a March 9, 2015 report from Congressional Research Service, the Army will pick a winner by “late summer” 2015.

“The winning contractor would build approximately 17,000 JLTVs for the Army and Marines during three years of low-rate initial production, followed by five years of full-rate production,” noted the CRS report. “The first Army unit would be equipped with JLTVs in FY2018, and the Army’s complete acquisition of JLTVs would be completed in 2040. The Marines would begin acquiring their 5,500 JLTVs at the beginning of production and would be completed by FY2022.”

Grand Prairie, Texas-based Lockheed's vehicle is competing against Oshkosh and AM General.

South Bend, Ind.-based AM General was the lead contractor supplying the high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee) for U.S. Armed Forces at U.S. allies since 1985. AM General has delivered more than 250,000 of the vehicles to armed forces in the U.S. and to those of U.S. allies.

‘QUICK APPROVAL’
Tennille, who worked on the project up until Gov. Hutchinson’s economic development team took office, expects relatively “quick approval” from the Legislature compared to the process involved with Big River Steel. Not only did competitor Nucor – which has operations and connected suppliers in Arkansas – oppose Amendment 82 support for Big River, but Big River was not a company prior to funding of the new mill. Lockheed is an established company and there is no opposition from another company.

“Obviously, you not only have a company that exists, but is a global operation ... Lockheed Martin is no slouch,” Tennille said.

He also said the project will be popular, noting that building the “next generation of a vehicle for our fighting Americans” is something “Arkansans will eat up with syrup on it.”

Another project detail that will be popular with Legislators is that Lockheed requires suppliers to have a facility within 125 miles of Camden, Tennille said, adding that a JLTV program “will have hundreds of suppliers.” And the more than 500 jobs with salaries averaging at least $50,000 a year also will be something Legislators will want to secure.

“I think this will capture the public imagination in a way that the steel mill never did,” Tennille said.

FUTURE RECRUITMENT IMPACT
If Lockheed’s JLTV program is selected, the resulting workforce training and market reputation will help the state recruit other production facilities in the auto, defense and aerospace industries, Tennille said.

He said the investment in and development of workforce training “will be massive” and will include public schools, two-year and four-year colleges. Lessons learned in what Tennille predicts will be “a lot of collaboration” between different layers of educational institutions will prove an example of what is possible to state leaders and decision makers outside Arkansas.

In addition to the workforce will be that Lockheed will build and operate for several decades one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the country. Tennille said Lockheed’s JLTV is a “big old massive truck with a number of different configurations, one of which is a command and control vehicle which will have more technology in it than the space shuttle.” Combine that with a supplier network and the deal just gets better.

“Within a year, we will have one of the most sophisticated vehicle assembly facilities in the United States. ... And we will have a supply chain spread out from West Memphis, over to Little Rock down to Hope and over to Texarkana,” Tennille said.

All of that gives Arkansas a “huge advantage” in the recruitment of other auto assembly plants and advanced manufacturing operations.

“That’s been the whole ball game, for us, from the beginning” to have that added dimension, Tennille said.

LOCKHEED SELECTION
Prefacing his remarks that nothing is certain in the government procurement process, Tennille said there are several reasons he is optimistic Lockheed will get the nod to build the JLTV.

First, the Department of Defense often prefers larger companies with greater resources to build new systems. Tennille said that gives the edge to Lockheed.

Also, if war or hot spots around the globe require more JLTVs, Lockheed has other facilities around the nation and globe that could be ramped up. Tennille said Oshkosh and AM General would have “capacity issues” with respect to boosting production.

Tennille also said Lockheed’s Camden plant “has a good reputation” after many years of producing missile components and launching systems. He said the Camden operation in 2012 won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for manufacturing excellence.

“In that (defense contracting) industry, Camden is at the top of the list,” Tennille said about the plant’s reputation.

A Whirlpool vice president said Tuesday (May 12) that a successful redevelopment plan for the company’s shuttered manufacturing plant and associated 95 acres will likely require “strategic demolition” and a plan to “repurpose” the property into smaller parcels.

Jeff Noel, vice president of communications for Whirlpool, was in Fort Smith to update the Fort Smith Board of Directors on redevelopment plans for the property and on pollution mitigation on and around plant property.

Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool Corp. closed the refrigerator manufacturing plant in June 2012, which at the time employed about 1,000, but was home to more than 4,500 jobs at its peak. Later that year it was made public that trichloroethyclene – a cancer-causing chemical – was found in and around the plant. Whirlpool has been working to monitor and remove the chemicals, with oversight of the work handled by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. ADEQ issued its first remedial action plan December 2013.

PROPERTY REDEVELOPMENT
As to redevelopment of the 95 remaining acres and the 1 million square foot manufacturing building that remains on the Whirlpool site, Noel told the Board that it is not likely to find a single buyer who will use the entire site.

Columbus, Ohio-based Spartan Logistics acquired the 620,000-square-foot warehouse facility adjacent to the large manufacturing facility. Spartan and its associated companies provide “one-stop shopping” to many Fortune 500 companies with package handling, light manufacturing, packaging assembly, inventory controls, shipping and other needs.

Company founder Ed Harmon said the entire space is now occupied by four companies who employ up to 300 people.

Noel said Tuesday that “strategic demolition” and dividing the property into 12 or more parcels would “create a 95 acre industrial park” and may be the best opportunity for returning jobs to the area. He said Whirlpool is eager to work with city staff, area chambers of commerce and other groups on a “plan of action” for the property.

“Over the course of the next year we need to get a buyer,” Noel told The City Wire after the meeting when asked if Whirlpool had a timeframe for trying to sell the property.

Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the idea of “chopping it (Whirlpool property) up into different uses.” He said the challenge with the redeveloping the property is that it is near neighborhoods, is a large facility and has the stigma of a pollution history.

“Those things don’t necessarily help us in marketing the property. ... So the key is to find a strategy, with the right owner, to make the property attractive,” Allen said.

QUARTERLY POLLUTION REPORT
Noel said the TCE mitigation effort is progressing well. He and Mike Ellis, with ENVIRON, the company hired by Whirlpool to manage mitigation efforts, outlined key points in the process. Those are, according to a report from Whirlpool:
• Chemicals to breakdown TCE have decreased TCE concentrations in groundwater by approximately 69% in Area 2 and 3, 70% in the Neck Area and 66% in Area 1, during the first quarter of 2015;

• The first quarter reductions represent improvements of 14%, 15% and 16%, respectively, since the fourth quarter of 2014;

• The TCE plume beneath the neighborhood to the north of Ingersoll Ave remains separated from the plume beneath the Whirlpool property;

• 86% of monitoring wells in the south plume and 79% of wells in the north plume exhibit either little or no TCE or a decreasing or stable TCE concentration trend;

• The overall areas of the south plume and north plume have decreased approximately 3% and 5%, respectively, since the fourth quarter of 2014 monitoring;

• There continues to be no known TCE impact to offsite soils, surface water or sediment, and health exposure risks remain unchanged; and

• Risk estimates based on groundwater and soil vapor data continue to show no health risk from TCE vapors.

Noel said 48 of the 50 property owners in the original plume area have settled with the company, and he expected one more to settle Tuesday. Settlement talks with two non-profits in the area are “productive,” he said.

Homeowners in the settlement receive 100% of their property devaluation plus 33% of the devaluated amount. For example, one homeowner had a $90,000 property value prior to the TCE pollution, with that value lowered to $43,000 after the pollution was known. Whirlpool paid that person $64,000 to cover the $47,000 loss plus 33% of the loss.

Fort Smith Director Tracy Pennartz asked Noel several questions about the settlement. After the meeting, Pennartz told The City Wire she was uncertain about the fairness of the settlement, but said “if they (homeowners) are satisfied, I’m satisfied.”

Tucked discretely away at one of the busiest intersections in Fayetteville more than 630 workers are turning out an average of 55,000 pair of prescription eye glasses each week at Wal-Mart’s largest optical lab in the country. That equates to 2.5 million pair of glasses a year or one ihree pair that are ordered at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club vision centers around the country.

The local plant is operating at around 70% capacity following a recent $10 million investment in new equipment and technologies provided by Carl Zeiss and Satisloh.

Carmen Bauza, senior vice president of OTC health and wellness, baby, paper goods and chemical at Wal-Mart, said the infrastructure investment was needed to broaden the scope of the retailer’s optical services. Wal-Mart also is expanding its vision centers in at least 80 stores. The first remodel is underway in the new Walmart Supercenter at Elms Springs Road in Springdale. 

The plan includes relocating the vision centers near the pharmacy area for added convenience where that is possible.. She said the retailer is also looking to carry more frame styles and brands that will cater to the Millennial generation’s trendy fashion sense. 

“We needed to add to the plant’s capacity because we are going to sell more eyeglasses this year,” Bauza said during an open house held in the Fayetteville Optical Lab on Tuesday (May 12).

The local optical lab is the most modern Wal-Mart facility following the recent upgrades. Wal-Mart also operates two smaller labs in Crawfordsville, Ind., and Dallas, according to Scott Pickering, senior director of the Optical Lab. Pickering said upgrades this year are planned for the other facilities. The retailer also works with two partner labs on some orders. He said contact lens orders come directly from product suppliers which is the most cost-efficient solution for customers.

Uli Krass, executive for Carl Zeiss Vision North America, said labs around the world have made eye glasses much the same way for 80 years. He said recent advances in methods and materials were used by Wal-Mart to modernize the Fayetteville lab.

STABLE JOBS
The Fayetteville plant is managed by Tommy Hyde, who’s been on the job for two decades. Hyde told The City Wire that the operation has little turnover and is the second largest employer in Fayetteville. It operates 24 hours a day using multiple shifts from employees working a 3-day week. 

Pickering said the average wage for the skilled jobs is above $15 per hour, and a majority of the training is done in-house. 

“There are no other optical labs in this region, so when we bring in new equipment we send our associates to the suppliers for training. That includes our maintenance staff who makes sure all the equipment is up and running. Since we are open 24 hours a day, good maintenance is crucial to our operation,” Pickering said.

This year the Fayetteville lab location celebrates 20 years of growth, from just 150 workers making an average of 1,500 pairs of glasses daily around 1995, according to Ben Israel, optometrist and early partner with Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton’s beginnings in vision care sales. (Israel sold his interest in 1995 following Walton’s death.) 

Wal-Mart has since continued to grow and expand its optical business working with more than 3,000 optometrists who operate eye clinics in its stores. Bauza said the retailer continues to look for new opportunities to expand this business segment in more of its stores, but finding partner optometrists is an essential element.

According to the Vision Impact Institute research, 3 out of 4 people in the U.S. have vision correction, and of those people, 71% wear glasses and 22% wear contacts, which is all the more reason for Wal-Mart to invest in this segment, according to retail analysts.

MAKING SPECTACLES
Once an eye doctor enters a patient’s prescription into the Wal-Mart system, the order is transmitted directly to one of the retailer’s optical labs. The lenses go through three separate phases inside the lab which takes about nine hours to complete. 

While a pair of glass can be made in one work-day, the routine turnaround time in the Fayetteville facility is three days – the optimal operating pace the retailer says allows it to keep prices low and quality high with existing staff.

The first phase involves taking a plastic or polycarbonate puck-like lens and affixing a plastic grip block to the back to help move through a long conveyer system. In phase one the machinery processes the backside of the lenses according to the prescription.

Wal-Mart said part of the new technology used in this plant is sustainable. Metal is replaced by plastic reusable grips. Pickering said the new technology also allows the facility to make no-line bi-focal lenses, which in the past were handled by a supplier.

When the first phase is complete, the plastic block grips are removed and the lenses are are cleaned and inspected. Phase two applies an anti-reflective coating for improved optics. The lenses move into a machine in a controlled climate clean room, which takes up to eight hours to complete. This is also where protective scratch coating is applied with a heat process.

Between phases two and three the lenses are married with the frame selected by the customer. The frame is added to the basket containing the lenses and the prescription details. In the final phase the lens is finished, cut to the shape of the frame, mounted to the frame and await final inspection. This is the most labor intensive step and where most of the employees work. 

A machine cuts the lenses to fit, and a worker cleans the lenses and mounts them into frame. They are checked again for quality and accuracy. The complete order is bagged and shipped to the appropriate store. 

The City Wire asked Pickering how far the retailer was prepared to go to provide trendy frames such as wearable tech-eye fashion. He said Wal-Mart is watching Google, but there are no plans to delve into that area. Pickering did admit that with Wal-Mart’s scale and tech muscle it’s not out of the realm of future possibility.

Fort Smith voters overwhelmingly renewed a 1% street tax for city infrastructure, but rejected a plan to divert 5% of the street tax revenue for construction of a 35-mile multi-use trail system. Based on early voting results, Crawford County voters were on track to renew a 1% sales tax by a large margin.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved Jan. 20 a May 12 election in which city voters will be asked to vote for renewal of the 1% sales tax for street, bridges and drainage improvements. Part of the ballot will also include a voter question on directing 5% of the tax collections toward the multi-use trail system. A Trails & Greenway Committee developed the plan that seeks to add 35 miles to the city’s trail system.

Unofficial final results showed that 6,267 votes were cast, with 80.16% voting for the 1% renewal, and 55.69% voting against the 5% plan for trails.

Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Smith Regional Council have endorsed renewal of the tax and the 5% portion for trails and greenways.

The street tax generates $18 million to $20 million each year. The tax, first approved by voters in 1985, has a sunset clause that requires voter approval every 10 years. The tax was renewed by voters in 1995 with 87.2% voting yes, and in 2005 with 66.3% voting yes.

Pushing for the Fort Smith street tax renewal and trail tax plan was the “Keep Your Penny Rolling, A Project of Citizens for Continued Progress” committee. As of April 30, the group raised $64,750 for the campaign, with $37,500 of that coming from the Fort Smith Regional Council.

Fort Smith-based Williams Crawford & Associates was paid $39,781 as of April 30 by “Keep Your Penny Rolling” for campaign marketing and promotion.

Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders, who served as chairman of the “Keep Your Penny Rolling” committee, was happy the 1% tax was renewed, but obviously disappointed with the second half of the vote.

“I’m disappointed that we failed to take advantage of the opportunity ... to improve our economic development capabilities and provide a service” for the younger demographic that the city and region needs to retain and recruit, Sanders told The City Wire.

TRAIL PLAN OPPOSITION
Jerry Fleming, chairman and spokesman of the “Save Our Streets in Fort Smith” committee opposed the 5% redirection of the street tax. He said early in the effort that the group hoped to raise $2,500 for a limited campaign. As of April 30 the group raised $2,675 in cash and non-money contributions. Joining Fleming on the committee officer list are David Armbruster, treasurer, and Donald Dickey, director.

Fleming said he was not against the trail system, but was opposed to the funding mechanism. He said prior to the vote that if the 5% plan fails, he would attempt to work with those he opposed to find a funding plan.

Fleming thanked “everyday working people” for the result on the 5% vote.

“I think it is a turning point for our street infrastructure which is already suffering due to diversions, and I’m very pleased about that,” Fleming said Tuesday night.

He emphasized that he hopes the city finds money to build the trails because he supports the trail system but did not support the funding mechanism.

“Now we need to turn our attention to this trails priority. ... I’ll help in every possible way to find funding for that trails system and to get that going,” he said.

CRAWFORD COUNTY VOTE
Early and absentee tallies in Crawford County showed more than 83% supporting renewal of a 1% countywide sales tax. With almost 91% of precincts tallied, the margin was 78.2% for tax renewal and 23.18% against.

Rusty Myers, co chair of the County-Wide Sales Tax Renewal Committee, said the vote indicates that voters "clearly" saw the need to continue the tax revenue.

“Voters clearly recognize that this revenue stream is not just important but critical to the operations of the local governments and fire departments in the county. I think this vote is also an expression of appreciation for the good job local governments, county and city personnel and volunteer fireman are doing in providing worthwhile services,” Myers said in a statement to The City Wire. “The countywide sales tax provides monies that are essential to the provision of important public services, and the vote was essential to the continuation of those services. We sincerely appreciate the residents who turned out to vote.”

The Crawford County sales tax was first approved in 1999 by a narrow margin of 2,571 for and 2,502 against. It was renewed in 2007 by a much wider margin of 3,592 for and just 884 against.

Money from the tax is distributed to cities within the county based on population. Following is the eight-year distribution total to the cities and county.
Alma: $4.09 million
Cedarville: $1.092 million
Chester: $109,040
Dyer: $822,048
Kibler: $832,566
Mountainburg: $572,963
Mulberry: $1.411 million
Rudy: $70,980
Van Buren: $17.758 million
Crawford County: $22.728 million

The “County-Wide Sales Tax Renewal Committee” in Crawford County collected $4,849 in March, spent no money and ended the reporting period with a $7,899 balance.

There was no known opposition to the Crawford County tax renewal effort.

Eureka Springs voters on Tuesday (May 12) voted to keep an ordinance approved by the city council in February that sought to prevent employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The unofficial vote was 579 for ratification of the ordinance and 231 against.

The Eureka Springs City Council on Feb. 9 approved Ordinance 2223 on the third reading and without support of the city attorney.

The opening line of the ordinance notes that the city “seeks to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all persons to be free from unfair discrimination based on real or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, familial status, marital status, socioeconomic background, religion, sexual orientation, disability and veteran status.”

Supporters of the ordinance and officials with the Human Rights Campaign pushed for the its passage in response to Senate Bill 202 then under consideration in the Arkansas General Assembly.

SB 202, which was hotly debated in the state Legislature, went into effect without the signature of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had said he would not veto the measure despite reservations. Also, SB 202 was designed to prevent the type of ordinance Eureka Springs voters ratified on Tuesday. The Eureka Springs vote could be a legal test of SB 202.

The Human Rights Campaign issued this statement following the election: "Arkansas cities are leading the way and we hope that Governor Asa Hutchinson is taking notice. Where leadership has failed Arkansans on the state level, local municipalities like Eureka Springs have taken the initiative to ensure that all their residents are rightfully protected from all forms of discrimination.”

Conservatives led the push for the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act, which would “improve intrastate commerce by ensuring that businesses, organizations and employers doing business in the state are subject to uniform non-discrimination laws and obligations,” said Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, the original sponsor of SB 202.

Hester pushed for the legislation following controversy over passage of an ordinance in Fayetteville that would have banned discrimination in housing, work and public accommodations involving sexual orientation or gender identity. The ordinance was later repealed by Fayetteville voters during a special election in December.

Those promoting repeal of Ordinance 2223 said federal law already provides for employment protection and housing protection.

“Unlike the claims made by the proponents of Ordinance 2223, current EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) regulations already allow an individual to file an employment based discrimination claim against an employer based on gender identity. It has been declared for all federal jobs and EEOC complaints on a state level have also been heard,” noted the Repeal2223 website.

The repeal group also attacked leaders and attorneys with Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.

“They work to shame and intimidate anyone who stands against them. They are organized, well funded, and have one singular purpose. They do not care about any other protected rights or how these SOGI (Sexual Orientation Gender Identity) laws, while intended for good, may also negatively affect a local community,” noted the repeal group.

The “Keep Eureka Fair” group advocating for support of 2223 said the ordinance would not require – as some alleged – churches to perform same-sex marriages or any other service that went against their beliefs.

“The NDO does not require any religious or denominational institution or association to host any ceremony, including but not limited to weddings, funerals, confirmations or baptisms, for any individual or group in its chapel or sanctuary,” noted the group’s website.

They also countered the concern that the ordinance would require churches to hire those who did not share their beliefs. The group noted: “The Ordinance states, in part, that ‘[n]othing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit a religious or denominational institution from selecting or rejecting applicants and employees for non-secular positions on the basis of the applicant’s or employee’s conformance with the institution’s religious or denominational principles.’”