There was a lot of discussion on the Study that I posted Friday. The study itself was not talked about much though.
There does seem to be a lot of negativity in Arkansas City. A lot of finger pointing, and a lot of people worried about who is getting credit - or blame as the case may be.
My aim in this blog is to turn that around.
We can change Arkansas City.
But we have to do things differently.
The city commission had an important role, but they are not the deciding factor in all this.
Do we want to change the city ?
in what way ?
how do we get there ?
Posts
11 comments:
I don't intend to point fingers, but how do we change things without the commission.
I'd like to see homes cleaned up and painted. I'd like to see more stores come to town. I'd like to see more activities in town (conventions, fairs, shows, etc...). There is only one way to make any of these things happen. Someone has to take the initiative. Whether it is an individual willing to lead all the way, or the commission willing to take some action.
I guess the commission would have to crack down on homes that weren't painted, and missing windows downtown. I don't see that people would be willing to clean up willingly.
The other ideas of shows, fairs and conventions could be led by individuals. I think the chamber is supposed to bring those things to life, but from what I can see, small groups and individuals are the ones that make that happen. How can we help them to bring more of these things to town?
It seemed for a while that we were on the right track. Businesses re-opening and refreshing along Summit. New shopping center and car wash. More new stores supposedly coming into the new shopping center. Now a new meat market.
Are we still working that direction? Can we get department stores and other retailers back into town? It seems the commission is against bigger stores. Can we attract smaller stores, and would they be able to give us the things the bigger stores could? Is there any way we can attract the bigger stores without going through the commission?
We need a shoe store. I would like to see a craft and hobby store. More restaurants would be nice. People have been talking about wanting an Applebee's for so long that maybe we are missing all of the other sit down restaurants out there. How can we bring them to town without the commission. Maybe some of the business owners who were telling us how bad Lowe's would be can tell us what we can have and how we can get them.
What we need is someone with a little experience to step up and tell us how to get it done. Is there someone at the College? Can Cowley First help us? Can the chamber find some knowledgable people and form a committee?
I'll believe that things can be done, I just don't think we have anyone around that knows how. Or those that do know how don't want these things to be done.
I like the idea of more shows and fairs. There are some great ones now but they don't get much attention. Isn't the hog show this weekend? Wasn't there a train show a few weeks ago? Isn't there a big quilting or craft show during Arkalalah? We need to find a way to draw more attention to these things.
I've suggested to the Convention and Visitors Bureau bringing other things like the Renaissance Fair. There is a program already established in Kansas, we would just have to get Ark City on their list. It could be an annual event that could draw people in from all over the state.
We have a lot of great things now. Arkalalah, Prairiefest, the Car Show. It would be great if we could have some big event like this every month. Maybe other people have ideas of what things could be as big of a draw.
There used to be events downtown that would be nice to bring back. Sidewalk sales, open late one night per week, customer appreciation sales, and other things where all of the businesses worked together.
As a downtown business I'd love to see some of these things happen. As a commissioner I would do whatever I can to help. But I'm guessing these things will require people from the community to work together to make them happen.
Some of these things could happen very quickly if there is interest. I don't have time to do it, but I'll help anyone that would like to head up any of these projects. Just let me know what I can do.
Patrick McDonald
I think you guys have some very good ideas. If everyone would work together instead of always complaining we could see wonderful things happen in Ark City. I noticed that the Chamber receives $70,000 from the City each year. I don't really know what they do with that money but if they were in the spotlight more we could see that they are not just sitting on their hands but actually trying to better the city. Most people don't see the behind the scenes work and if it was a little more open more would know people are trying.
I would use my user name but I forgot what it is and don't know how to find out.
We are kidding ourselves to think that big changes can be made without depending on the City Commission. Everything of any consequence has to go through them, one way or another.
Step one is to get them on the progress train.
I disagree that Ark City was on the right track but now may not be. I think that bringing this to the front burner is the best way to put a magnifying glass on exactly what is needed in Ark City. Only when the problems are identified, as they have been, can real progress be made.
There has always been a cheerleader attitude about issues in Ark City, where any suggestions for improvement were stifled.
I think the Traveler has a lot of guts for sponsoring this open forum on development and it is a real tool for progress.
I know the Traveler has taken a lot of guff in the past (primarily from downtown businesses) for publishing anything that would have led to change. Maybe the blog will change that and turn around the attitudes that have had a stranglehold on progress in Ark City.
Thanks
Great comments here
i think ill respond in a new post later on this afternoon.
as for the city, their primary job is to provide water, sewer and streets.
I really believe that if people come up with something, the city will support it ...
with big city out of town developers obviously being an exception. :)
With all of the activity about making Ark City a destination and the prospects of increasing tourism budgets, I find that it is amazing what the top tourism attraction to the state is.
Mountains?
Lakes?
Hunting?
Fishing?
Agritourism?
Flint Hills?
Nope.
A Cabela's store in Kansas City.
When it comes to attractions I have heard over and over that Mountains and Oceans are the great attractors. Here in Ark City we have TWO rivers which should have great value as attraction but we don't use them at all.
According to the paper, last year Oxford got a grant to develop their riverfront for recreational purposes.
I've seen pictures in Brick's back room showing docks, canoes, and other things on our rivers. We have a magnificent resourse being wasted and I don't know how to change it. Currently the city is working on a hike bike trail to run along a portion of the levee. From West Chestnut to the South Madison bridge. This could be the start of further development along the river.
I would love to see this happen, but there is some concern in the commission that it is an expense we don't need. We do have a grant to pay for a large portion of it, and the city has already acquired property towards that end. The grant can still be returned if the commission decides against it.
I think a riverfront park or other developments would be a nice draw to our town. The Hike/Bike trail would be only the beginning of it. Of course, it could also be all that happens if someone doesn't step up and take advantage of it.
Patrick McDonald
You're going to have to be competitive for tourism. To bring in people from the most likely area, Ponca City, you would have to have something significantly better than Lake Ponca and Kaw Lake Recreational area. It's a no brainer. If the river development would be for tourism, don't waste the money.
It's a no brainer. If the river development would be for tourism, don't waste the money.
IT doesn't have to be "better." It only needs to be different. Better is in the eye of the beholder.
Also its not just for tourism.
Developing the river front would be different enough to attract people, but i dont really see that as tourism.
It could if you had something like river trips from wichita or oxford. There's a business waiting for someone to start:) float trips or canoe trips dwon the river.
But the river development would be for people that are here. It would be one thing that would attract people who might consider moving here.
It would raise the quality of life and make the city more attractive to business and potential homeowners.
Im not convinced that tourism is a legitimate thing for us. We need businesses to do that, such as river trips, horseback riding, ranch type stuff.
THen local businesses could start to support that.
We also have a very rich history that could be promoted and used as an attraction.
Its all there just waiting to be developed.
NOTE TO PATRICK : How can we, the citizens, "encourage" the commission to finish the hike and bike path on the levee.
How much time is left?
If we do turn back another grant it will be a chilly afternoon in August in ARk city before we get another one.
:)
"NOTE TO PATRICK : How can we, the citizens, "encourage" the commission to finish the hike and bike path on the levee.
How much time is left?
If we do turn back another grant it will be a chilly afternoon in August in ARk city before we get another one.
:)"
I thought I had answered this, but I may have put it on another forum. If there are a number of people out there that want to make this happen, they need to communicate that to the commission. Speaking before the commission during a work session or meeting is a good start. Petitions can be used to represent a larger number of people.
I'm not sure how the commission might respond to pressure from the citizens. I always look forward to it, but I cannot speak for the other commissioners. I don't know if they will take a stance as they did during the Lowe's ordeal, or open up and work with the community. I will give them credit, no matter how they respond, I am sure that each believes it is in the best interest of the people (whether the people agree or not).
I would suggest people start making their feelings known as soon as possible to give time for the commission to work it out. Also, I would demand to know all of the information about the project. Seldom to people get to see all of the information do to lack of interest, or someone filtering the information to what they see as most important. The newspaper does this often because of lack of space. I am relatively sure they have no other motives for this.
Patrick McDonald
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