Ill try to get a new blog set up for ideas as soon as I can. Maybe today or tomorrow.
There are lots of good ideas around.
Someone mentioned that some are good and some are not as good. I think we should also talk about ideas that are rather far fetched just as well as those that sound reasonable.
I noticed that the Winfield Country Roundup is planning to host a "lite lunch" at the chamber of commerce office today, to talk to local businesses about opportunities for partnerships etc.
THat is good marketing.
The communities do need to work together.
Im planning on going.
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22 comments:
I'm not trying to stir up the hoohaw again, but there was a lot of uproar over the Lowe's or shopping center or north end development. Are people really that excited about getting new retail in? I remember seeing something in the survey about bringing in new retail. Stretching a bit I also seem to remember Vision 20/20 had a lot of requests for retail. Wasn't there something in the corridor study too? I'm working off of memory here, but it seems like every study says we want more retail.
The new shopping center where US Cellular is should be bringing in new things soon. Other than that is the city or chamber or anyone else working to bring in new retail? I guess the city is not, but the chamber should be full out towards new stores. Is there anyone else that can help bring in retail?
Who do we rally to, and how can people be a help to get this done? Can we contact the stores we want or go through someone here? It seems there needs to be a starting point somewhere. Apparently it is not going to be the city. The chamber of commerce? The newspaper? Someone else?
This has nothing to do with this subject but why is it that in order to find out anything in this city that happens to be about drugs, crime or convictions, we have to read the Winfield Courier on line. Don't we have a right as citizens of our fine town to know who the drug pushers and criminals are? Why does the Winfield paper publish more news about Ark City than our own paper does?
what is the website for the Courier?
www.winfieldcourier.com
Although it might seem that the Chamber of Commerce would normally be in the business of promoting growth, you might want to ask the Chamber if that is what they are doing.
They are 100% financed by the businesses in town and they might be more interested in protecting their members instead of creating competition.
It would be really interesting to know the answer, particularly with regard to a "big box" store or a modern tablecloth restaurant.
Maybe someone from the Chamber could reply.
his has nothing to do with this subject but why is it that in order to find out anything in this city that happens to be about drugs, crime or convictions, we have to read the Winfield Courier on line.
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This isn't true
they did have a story yesterday about the drug bust, mostly because they cover the sheriff's office for both papers.
THey did not get the story to us in time for our publication.
Don't mean that as an excuse, but thats the reality.
That doesn't usually happen.
But as always, we will try to do better.
Who do we rally to, and how can people be a help to get this done? Can we contact the stores we want or go through someone here? It seems there needs to be a starting point somewhere. Apparently it is not going to be the city. The chamber of commerce? The newspaper? Someone else?
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Great point
Im going to be looking into that more.
You can contact retailers yourself.
The chamber is supposed to be doing this, as well as the city. City people say they are, but .....
My suggestion would be to go to city meetings and raise cain about it.
What if, at EVERY meeting, 10-15 people were there asking what specifically is being done?
Then go to the chamber and do the same thing.
Then go to retailers yourself.
All the studies have shown that everyone wants more retail. If we did 10 more studies, they would likely show the same thing.
The answer to the woes of Arkansas City do not lie in a "big box" store or even smaller national chain stores for that matter. I think it is very naive to assume that it will make or break a town.
As I am an entrepreneurship teacher (not in ark city) I am a little biased but here is a stat from the SBA.
"Over the past decade, small businesses created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs."
Here is a great article from Business Week about how entrepreneurs are bypassing large cities in favor of small towns. Although, most of the towns mentioned are larger than AC the idea is still valid.
My vision for Ark City is that of an entrepreneurial community that is not homogenized like Ponca City or other small towns dominated by chain stores with nothing else.
Lastly, I hate to see sprawl and when you start talking about big box stores or chain stores than inevitably you are speaking of sprawling out further to the North. I am certainly not saying that these stores can't come to town but I would like to see us work with them on smart growth instead of just sprawling further North.
I like AC right now because you can for the most part bike/walk to most of the places you need to go. This is going to be an increasing trend in the next 20 years as gas prices will continue to increase.
Although, every time I walk there people in cars look at me like I am crazy.... It really is weird to have people stare at you for walking!
Let's not look at what we have missed out on in the last 20 years but let's create a smart, bold vision for the next 20 years.
BTW, I would be open to doing my part and creating some type of free small business start up class.
et's not look at what we have missed out on in the last 20 years but let's create a smart, bold vision for the next 20 years.
BTW, I would be open to doing my part and creating some type of free small business start up class.
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Now we're talkin !
Sounds great, and a business start up class would be great.
Give me a call at the paper and lets figure it out ...
btw - you dont always have to be anonymous :)
I forgot to post the link to the article...
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2005/sb20050712_752167.htm
I will definitely give you a call in the near future.
A town is either a feeder or a crossroads. Ignoring how America is changing around Ark City will keep it stuck in 1958 and will keep its shoppers going elsewhere.
How many non-owner, non-family employees do the locally owned downtown retail businesses employ?
My guess is 20 for all of downtown.
Is that the solution for the future of Ark City?
Well, actually First Intermark would be considered a small business. I am pretty sure they employ several people. Also, there are other small businesses downtown that are not retail.
This is not just about retail businesses.
If you have a mixed economy (not relying on one industry) than you have a stronger economy and will eventually have a better retail selection. That might include a mix of home grown businesses and retail chains. Small business and entrepreneurs create most of the jobs in this country. What would be the problem in focusing on that?
And it also isn't about 1958. I wasn't even born in 1958. I don't even know what Ark City was like in 1958. By the time I came along, many cool buildings had been torn down, the passenger service stopped going through AC, and downtown was in a decline. So, trust me, I am not reminiscing about some great bygone area.
This is my vision for Ark City? What is yours?
I have been reading the posts for the past few weeks and they are all very negative with very few suggestions on how to make it better besides claiming that a big box store is the only answer. And since that (at the time) is dead in the water I would like to change the focus to something else.
Being stuck in one mindset – that being only large retail chains can save us is not even close to a solution or a vision.
Ark City has some very great, unique points about it and we need to capitalize on those points….not create a homogenized city.
It's funny how the "big box store isn't the only answer"
I agree completely, but it's the only answer that has come along in a while. I'm sure another idea with dollars to bring it in will appear in a few more years. I just can't understand why we would want to turn anything down.
Anything that wants to come should be welcomed with open arms and assisted in any way possible. We already have enough hurdles for any business to jump. Why can't we help any and all (retail and industrial) business come here? If we don't, they will go where they can get the help. Unless we can prove they can make more money here than anywhere else.
Let's face it folks, things aren't going to change unless we change them. So far I don't see that as even remotely possible in our little town.
First Intermark is not a retailer.
For better or worse, America is changing. In fact, First Intermark is part of that. 20 years ago, there weren't many businesses that did nationwide telephone soliciting and marketing. It is a fairly recent type of business that brings salaries to Ark City that wouldn't otherwise exist. On the other hand, they are beneficiaries of a significant tax abatement and are here partially because Ark City said yes.. do it.
But, since the big box store was blocked by downtown retail merchants, it is not totally wrong to ask what their alternative provides.
Large national stores competing with local Mom and Pop microbusinesses is nothing new to Ark City, either. When I was a kid in AC, you had better not stand between my grandmother and her "wishbooks". My first bicycle was ordered through Montgomery Ward, as were most of my friends' bikes, as well as many Christmas and birthday presents. There were Sears, OTASCOs, Wards, Woolworths, Kresses, Newman's etc. Not every store in Ark City was a Mom and Pop.
America has become a nation of chain stores and franchises. Shoppers have come to understand that and desire the goods branded by the chains. That is why they leave town to purchase goods elsewhere.
The question is more about where Ark City will be in 10 to 20 years than whether a large store can save Ark City.
Honestly, growth and progress is not really critical to the "survival" of Ark City. Ark City will exist without it. In fact Ark City can easily stay the same as it is for quite some time. But when the Bobs, Dannys, Kims, Pats and Kanyons retire in about 10 years (some of them are trying to do it now), are there going to be replacements for them?
Is it possible for them to sell their businesses today, or will they go the way of Kindred's and Niles and Beeson's and many others?
Nobody seems to be beating the door down to put in new microbusinesses now, whether in Ark City or elsewhere. A business seminar is good and a great effort, but where are the committed individuals and the capitalization?
It's high noon and time Ark City woke up to see the future. There are many economic inertias at work in Ark City to prevent development.
Pause a while and consider where opposition to development takes you. What does Ark City look like in 10 years? Does it look more like the rest of America or more like an isolated farm town? How does that affect jobs and income? How about the issue of retaining the best and smartest of the Ark City youth?
Maybe not everyone wants change. I remember a few years ago, there was a general feeling that Ark City was becoming a retirement town. Maybe that's what people want, but with the kids leaving town, that won't last long.
These are important questions. Individuals can't do it alone. It has to be a community that grows or a community that doesn't. If the community wants progress, the City must get on board.
Amen!... If you've ever been out of the city, perhaps you're a little more savvy to 'growing the economy' with change.
Big Box, Little Box... just give me a box! haha
I have listened to and read many comments regarging the Lowe's proposal. Yet not anywhere was there a comment about location. Personally, I would have proposed it on the retail acreage of Strother Field. Split the tax abatement between both towns. Then I'd pursue a YMCA on the same site
trying to get corporate support
from GE, Consumer Products and Newell/Rubbermaid etc.
I'd look for opportunities in all
three areas. Winfield, Ark City and Strother Field. I'd pursue service oriented businesses that might require a distribution hub
for their products/Services. This could be chemical, medical, retail, or even time/service related - such as Air Freight.
We happen to have a FAA Certified (uncontrolled) airport that is not used even close to it's potential.
We have access to the main line
of BNSF and we are located in the center of the U.S. I wonder if we could be a redistribution hub for containers/freight.
I'll read your responses but we really have a difference
"Visions".
Is mine far fetched and unatainable?
Thats just a tip of the Ice Berg!
I'd like to hear what you really think even if its a dream!
That's a great idea. Funny thing is it could work and work well. The exercise room whether YMCA or not could be located where a lot of folks who exercise would be. Put a nice restaurant in the package and the airport turns into a really neat place.
But, if you think the Ark City Commission is a stonewall, Strother Field Commission makes them look like Donald Trump. Half is from the Winfield Commission and half is from the Ark City Commission. They have no way to tax an entity to accrue to the cities, only to the county. Public discussion is submitted in writing 2 weeks in advance and if desired by the Commission, it is put on the agenda (or not).
Good luck.
Well lets see - if the taxes go to the County then the tax abatement goes to the approximately 35,000 citizens -where it should be in the first place.
The problem with the type of retail jobs that most want to create is that they are not necessarily the higher paying scale jobs that will retain or attract a divesity of talent!
Manufacturing is going through an overhaul in the Global economy.
I want to touch on two more areas that we need to consider then I crawl back in my hole.
The first is that the movers and shakers in both communities - at least the ones that make a honest attempt to present options cannot look at whats in it for them when making a decision. I fully understand the impact that a Lowe's type store might have on the local businesses. You quite frankly put your commisioners in a vice. They'll be squeezed again on another issue!
The other issue is of a different nature and it is related to the aging population and infrastucture. It is a National problem as well as local. The money to rebuild our aging infra structure has got to come from Growth not hgher taxes or utilities. But growth has its cost as well. The difference is probably whether the cost over time - which will no doubt be higher - falls on more or fewer taxpayers! IMHO
It makes a lot of sense (spreading it to the county). The original poster is right. There must be a starting point. Which group won't block progress?
It is a problem with a solution looking for a plan.
I would think that Lowe's in the county would be the worst possible thing. First I think that any tax abatement is now out of the question so becomes irrelevant. Second, in the county it would be limited to just a Lowe's, not the shopping center that was proposed. Reasons for this would be drive time (directly affects restaurants who usually require a very close lunch crowd), water and sewer (which Strother can provide for a Lowe's, but probably not for other services we would want with it), and traffic controls which prevented Wal-Mart from opening south of Winfield. On top of this it would draw from both cities hurting business in both and drawing no business to either. Ark City had a great opportunity. Let's hope they can find some way to salvage any of it before everybody loses.
There are a number of you on here who actually have some ideas (a first time on these blogs) and are showing both thoughtfulness and initiative. It is time to sit in a room and hash things out. You have proven an interest and a willingness. The key is focus. We have to filter out the junk and take the brainstorming to the next level. If we can distill a few key objectives and even come up with a particular target, the local capital will come alongside to support the project. If you care enough to show up, please call James and give him your name and best way to contact you. He can set up the meeting and put the date and time on this site. We only need 5 to 7 people to show up. Any more than that will probably be too many. The blog is a nice forum, but it cannot result in the next step because it is too unstructured and requires no commitment from any of the interested parties. Growth is hard work and takes real effort. Please contact James and let him know when are the best times for you to be somewhere to get to the next level. 442-4200 or
news@arkcity.net
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