Supermarkets are the great-grandparents of all modern retail. And while they face on onslaught of increased competition. experts don’t expect them to become extinct anytime soon.

That said, a recent report by Kantar Retail seeks to debunk several myths surrounding the grocery store industry, while another report from Catalina suggests that those retailers who survive will the be ones that cater to the individual shopper on a personal level. Kantar notes that supermarkets have undergone an evolutionary change during the past three decades and some of the industry norms may no longer be the rule.

Following are some new trends, according to Kantar.
• More than 5% of total supermarket sales growth will come from pure natural/organic formats, which continue to grow more than twice as fast as the rest of the “channel”.


• 47% of the growth in the “channel” will come from value-oriented operators, while more than will come from retailers who position themselves as premium


• Mainstream retailers have the slowest growth rate in the channel


• 7 of the top 15 supermarket retailers run multiple formats

Kantar said the myth that supermarkets will always lose share, simply isn’t true. The retail analysts project the compound annual growth rate for supermarkets to grow faster than supercenters over the next five years.

Using U.S. government statistics for edible and non-edible grocery, company figures and Kantar’s own research, the report suggests the supermarket industry is holding a 52% share in edibles with no projected losses through 2017. At the same time they see the non-edible product share growing from 37% to 38% by 2017 in the supermarket group.

Another myth Kantar disputes is that the circular drives the business. Kantar notes that the circular is not dead, and it’s not likely to become extinct entirely, but its impact is is lessened with the low price strategies used by many retailers. They also note that savvy consumers today may be more apt to use technology-based e-coupons, and digital forms of discounts which can be more easily tied to loyalty programs to targeted consumers.

Catalina Marketing, a shopper research firm, recently release a study that analyzed shopper habits over a 52-week period for some 32 million consumers. This study found that despite a time of unparalleled choice in the grocery store, consumers ignore all but a tiny fraction of available products:

• On average, during an entire year, consumers buy just 0.7% of available items.
• Even top shoppers, who account for 80% of all store purchases, buy just 1% of products available.

Catalina also notes that shoppers are selective about their purchases in every department in the store. An analysis of seven key departments showed that the average department shopper buys just 1.7% of dairy products and 0.2% of health and beauty care products over an entire year. WIth that background, Catalina claims that one-size-fits-all promotions do not typically resonate with a majority of shoppers.

Catalina examined a major retailer’s Memorial Day shopping circular and found that two-thirds of all shopping baskets didn’t include a single item among the 1,172 advertised. Looking at the following week circular from the same retailer, 74% of shopping baskets did not include a single item, the study notes.

The notion that the size of the box matters is quickly changing as various formats continue to evolve, according to Kantar. Wal-Mart, the supercenter king, has aggressively built out smaller format Walmart Neighhborhood Markets. Texas-based HEB and national grocery giant Kroger continue to erect stores much larger than the conventional grocery store, and urban retailers are building more hybrid stores.

This blurring of the lines is a reaction by grocers to compete head-to-head with mass retailers and dollar stores that inundated the U.S. landscape over the past decade with gigantic sprawling supercenters and smaller convenient store models that sell food and other consumables.

Kantar’s research indicates the smallest formats will record the biggest percentage sales by 2017, as consumers will likely want to spend less time shopping for groceries in smaller formats. The study found the small grocery format (under 20,000 square feet) recorded a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% in sales between 2007 and 2012. These small formats recorded $502 billion in sales in 2012, with the number expected to hit $635 billion by 2017.

Stores between 20,000 and 40,000 square feet reported a dip of 0.1% in sales from 2007 to 2012. Kantar expects this subgroup will see a 3.3% annual growth rate by 2017 to $363 billion in sales.

Those stores between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet posted a 1.7% annual growth rate in sales from 2007 to 2012. This group is expected to see sales top $298 billion by 2017, growing at 3.8% annually.

Supercenters between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet posted a 5-year growth of 0.7%, but are poised to reach $454 billion in sales by 2017, up 3.3% annually. The largest supercenters above 150,000 square feet posted a 5-year annual growth rate of 3.5% are expected to top $372 billion by 2017, up 3.1% annually.

The general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint Wednesday (Jan. 15) against Wal-Mart Stores alleging that more than 60 store supervisors and one corporate officer violated the rights of employees who participated in Black Friday (Nov. 22, 2012) protests at Walmart stores.

The NLRB initially asked Wal-Mart to settle the claim or risk a suit being filed in the coming weeks. Wal-Mart officials said they were looking into the next steps and would make a decision regarding the request for settlement. Also, the NLRB dismissed two of the initial complaints against Wal-Mart. However, talks about the remaining three complaints did not result in a settlement.

“The discussions have not been successful and a consolidated complaint has issued regarding some of the alleged violations of federal law,” noted the NLRB statement issued Wednesday. “More than 60 Walmart supervisors and one corporate officer are named in the complaint. Cases were consolidated to avoid unnecessary costs or delay. Walmart must respond to the complaint by January 28, 2014.”

Three violations of NLRB rules among stores in 14 states were cited.
• During two national television news broadcasts and in statements to employees at Walmart stores in California and Texas, Walmart unlawfully threatened employees with reprisal if they engaged in strikes and protests.

• At stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington, Walmart unlawfully threatened, disciplined, and/or terminated employees for having engaged in legally protected strikes and protests.

• At stores in California, Florida, Missouri and Texas, Walmart unlawfully threatened, surveilled, disciplined, and/or terminated employees in anticipation of or in response to employees’ other protected concerted activities.

Wal-Mart has said that about 117 workers were fired or disciplined for participating in the last year’s strike on Thanksgiving Day. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan previously told The City Wire that it acted within the law.

"We take this very seriously. We believe our actions were legal and justified," she said.

On Wednesday Buchanan continued the theme, adding that the “merits of the complaint” have not been debated and that the NLRB action “is just a procedural step.”

“Wal-Mart believes we acted respectfully and lawfully. We look forward to the opportunity to shed light on the facts,” Buchanan said Wednesday.

Sarita Gupta, executive director of the labor group Jobs With Justice, provided this media statement: "We’ve never seen a complaint against Walmart of this size or scope, and we’re glad the NLRB is taking action. Walmart’s attacks on its own employees cannot go unchecked."

An NLRB administrative law judge will now conduct a trial based on the allegations. The judge’s findings will then be sent to the five-members of the NLRB who will vote to adopt or reject the findings.

According to the NLRB website, the federal agency handles up to 30,000 charges per year from employees, unions and employers covering a range of unfair labor practices. The NLRB is not allowed to assess penalties, but can require reinstatement, backpay and other “make-whole remedies.”

That a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home is art is not a revelation, but to move such a home almost 1,100 miles to be actual art on the Bentonville grounds of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, well, that’s impressive. But it’s not a surprise considering that the museum’s financier was raised in a home designed by a student of Wright.

Officials with Crystal Bridges announced Wednesday (Jan. 15) the acquisition of “a rare Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house” that now sits in Somerset, N.J. Museum officials did not disclose the cost of buying the home or associated moving costs.

The home, known as the Bachman Wilson House, will be placed near the museum along its 3.5 miles of trails and 120 acres, with views overlooking the native woodland setting as well as Crystal Spring, the natural spring from which the museum takes its name. Plans are to begin site prep in the spring and have the house move completed by early 2015. (See video at the end of this story about the home and how it will be moved.)

”We’re honored to be able to preserve and share this significant example of American architecture, as Frank Lloyd Wright’s work embodies our own mission of celebrating art and nature,” Crystal Bridges Executive Director Rod Bigelow said in the statement. “The Usonian concept was intended to provide access to architectural quality for all families, which melds well with our philosophy of welcoming all to view American masterworks in our natural setting.”

BACHMAN WILSON HOUSE HISTORY
Built in 1954 along the Millstone River, the house has received “significant damage” by repeated flooding. Experts have said the home needs to be relocated if it is to be saved.

Abraham Wilson and Gloria Bachman (husband and wife) commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright in 1954 to design their home. Gloria’s brother, Marvin Bachman, was an apprentice in the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin Fellowship.

The design, according to the Crystal Bridges statement, “reflects Wright’s Usonian period: a work of art in simplicity and form, representing organic design principles.”

Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino, who are architects and designers, bought the home in 1988.

“The Tarantinos painstakingly restored the house, using original construction documents from the Frank Lloyd Wright archives. They have both preserved and restored historic elements, and realized original elements of the Wright design that had previously been altered or eliminated,” noted the Crystal Bridges press release.

Like most Wright-designed homes, the Bachman Wilson house uses natural materials and open spaces that allow the home to blend in with the adjacent geography.

“The Bachman Wilson House goes far beyond providing shelter. It’s an exercise in architecture for architecture’s sake that represents a culmination of principles Wright embraced and developed throughout his long, prolific career. Wright was in his mid-80s when he was working on this house, and he also wrote his book, The Natural House, a summation of his design philosophy, during the same time period,” said Lawrence Tarantino.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES PLAN
The sale of the house includes all the fixtures and furniture designed for it. The Tarantinos will supervised the “methodical process” of dismantling the home so it can be shipped to Arkansas.

Lowell-based J.B. Hunt Transport is donating its trucks and services to move the home components.

"We are honored to be a part of such a monumental effort to save one of America's truly iconic structures,” John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt Transport, said in the statement. “We are pleased the house will settle within our area's natural beauty and provide such valuable educational opportunities."

At Crystal Bridges, the house will be available for study as well as for limited programming and tours. Crystal Bridges’ educational and public program offerings include an architectural focus that will be enhanced through the addition of the Bachman Wilson House to Crystal Bridges’ grounds.

Tarantino said other locations were also considered other than Crystal Bridges.

“Once the decision was made to move the house, many opportunities presented themselves to us,” said Lawrence Tarantino. “It became clear that there could be no better opportunity for the preservation of this important work of Frank Lloyd Wright than to secure its future stewardship in perpetuity at a public institution with a mission of celebrating American art and architecture, on a site offering the proper setting, and with the capability of providing for its future maintenance and preservation, all of which Crystal Bridges offers.”

WRIGHT, FAY JONES CONNECTION
Also, museum staff will work with the University of Arkansas to develop programs through the university’s Fay Jones School of Architecture.

E. Fay Jones was just an architecture professor at the University of Arkansas when in 1958 he was asked by Helen and Sam Walton to build a 5,800-square-foot home near where Crystal Bridges is now located. The Walton’s, founders of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., saw that house destroyed in a 1972 fire. They had Jones, who was once a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, rebuild a larger home. Alice Walton, the daughter of Helen and Sam Walton, financed a majority – provided at least $317 million – of the Crystal Bridges museum.

“With the addition of the Bachman Wilson House to Crystal Bridges’ grounds, the master and the protégé will be coming together in our region,” Marlon Blackwell, department head and distinguished professor in the UA Fay Jones School of Architecture. “Not only is an endangered house finding a new home in the Ozarks, but the work of Wright and Jones will be further unified, offering insight into the principles that these two architects and kindred spirits practiced and shared.”

Crystal Bridges, one of the premier art museums in the U.S., opened on Nov. 11, 2011, and has had almost 1.2 million visitors. The facility has about 217,000 square foot of galleries, meeting space, libraries and other areas.

Northwest Arkansas is often considered the land of plenty, but local charities like the Samaritan Community Center, the Jones Center for Families or the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton County tell a different story.

It's a dichotomy — kids who are overweight also face food insecurity in two of the wealthiest per capita counties in the state.

• 1 in 3 Arkansas school students are over weight;
• 31% of the state’s adolescent children participate in physical education; and
• 25% of the vegetables eaten by children are potato chips and french fries.

But that’s just part of the story, according to Jacob Hutson, executive director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton County. He said children of today are the first generation in 200 years to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Hutson was one of six representatives attending the 2014 grant award ceremony held by General Mills on Wednesday (Jan. 15) in Rogers. The local sales office for the Minneapolis-based food giant doled out $240,000 to help six local charities fund nutrition and wellness programs this year. The annual grants totaling more a half billion have been part of the General Mills Foundation for the past 60 years. The individual grants have expanded 10-fold over the past three years from a total of $100,000 in 2012 to $1 million in 2014.

This year the foundation granted 25 community awards across the country, and members of the Northwest Arkansas General Mills sales teams nominated six local non-profits as worthy grant recipients, each received a check for $40,000, twice the amount awarded to them in the 2013 program.
• The Jones Center for Families
• The Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter
• The Boys and Girls Club of Benton County
• Arkansas Athlete’s Outreach
• The Samaritan Community Center
• Mercy Hospital YMCA

Ian Shell, a financial analysts with General Mills, said each of the local recipients were nominated by an employee and then placed in a selection process. He said the organizations were chosen based on the scope and impact of the services they provide in helping improve nutrition or alleviating hunger. This criteria aligns with the missions of General Mills and its foundation.

Brad Freiss, executive director for Arkansas Athlete’s Outreach, said his organization will use the funds to establish an academy program that focuses on five areas of development: skills, fitness, nutrition, character and leadership. He said the funds will go toward nutrition and physical training specialists as well as fitness equipment. Last year AAO said it used the $20,000 grant to fund a nutrition program geared to the parents of the some 600 local youth they reach annually.

Hutson accepted the funds for the boys and girls clubs in Benton County and plans to new introduce a new cooking curriculum at the centers where kids can learn to plan, shop and prepared healthy meals.

Matt Young, principal at Cooper Elementary in Bella Vista, accepted the grant in conjunction with Mercy YMCA who plans to build a fitness trail between the school and the new Mercy Clinic in Bella Vista. This grant will also help support a community garden on the clinic campus that is worked by the Cooper students as part of an outdoor classroom.

“We all know how intense peer pressure can be, but let me tell you kid pressure is worse. Kids can talk their parents into plenty of bad habits like fast food dinner on the run. But wouldn’t it be great if kids could talk parents into taking them to a fun, fitness trail, right in the local community, that’s our goal with this project,” Young said.

Kelly Kemp, advancement officer for the Jones Center for Families, thanked General Mills for the $40,000 grant which she said will go into hungry boys and girls who attend Camp War Eagle at the Jones Center this summer. It’s a 10-week day camp where children learn to garden, craft and get plenty of exercise.

“We provide a healthy breakfast snack and a full hot lunch for the campers and we couldn’t do it without the support of strategic partners like General Mills,” Kemp said. “The hot lunches have also helped with attendance and increased the children’s level of afternoon activity. We served about 1,000 kids last summer and hope to expand that number this year.”

The Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter provided a safe haven for 560 children last year who were removed from their homes by the state.

“We served 50,000 meals and 30,000 snacks in a year’s time but the state only provides about 25% of the non-profit’s budget. We couldn’t do it without the partners like General Mills and the Walmart Foundation who help with funding and supply countless volunteers throughout the year,” said Steve Schotta, executive director the shelter.

He said the shelter hopes to use some of the money to provide some fitness training and potential ropes course option for the shelter residents.

Perhaps the recipient with the biggest need among the six is the Samaritan Community Center and its “snackpack for kids” program that will soon hand out its one millionth weekend backpack to a local child facing food insecurity.

“The need is huge and we are barely scratching the surface. Last Friday we handed out 6,803 backpacks to local students who might not any other food to eat before Monday,” Rambo said.

The weekly average has grown to 6,600 this year, from 5,500 a year ago and Rambo said it’s up to the schools to subscribe and more than 95 are taking part.

One of the biggest challenges Rambo faces in the sure volume of snacks she needs each week. Last year, the Samaritan Community Center received $20,000, which Rambo estimated would provide 11,500 snackpacks. This year’s grant will double that amount. Each child gets between 8 to 10 snacks to take home with them every Friday. Rambo said finding the healthier snacks is a constant challenge. She has been in contact with manufacturers about formulating a special snack with higher protein levels for this program.

Rambo said the volume of food being handed out each week has gotten to the point that she is ordering directly from the manufacturer in some cases, which also gets her better pricing.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac reports 1.361 million foreclosure filings on U.S. properties in 2013, down 26% from a year ago and some 53% lower than the $2.9 million peak hit in 2010. Filings were up almost 70% in Arkansas during the year.

The national pace hit its slowest stride since 2007, according to Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. The report also shows that 1.04% of U.S. housing units (one in every 96) had at least one foreclosure filing during the year, down from 1.39% of housing units in 2012.

“The shadow cast by the foreclosure crisis is shrinking as fewer distressed properties enter foreclosure and properties already in foreclosure are poised to exit in greater numbers in 2014 given the greater numbers of scheduled foreclosure auctions in 2013 in judicial states — which account for the bulk of U.S. foreclosure inventory,” Blomquist said.

One thing economists agree on is the local aspect of real estate and the differences that can exist between adjacent neighborhoods, much less adjacent counties.

Foreclosures accounted for less than 0.6% of households across the Natural State last year despite regular monthly ups and down in terms of new filings. There were 7,786 filings statewide in 2013, up 69.3% from the prior year.

NWA, FORT SMITH AREA ACTIVITY
In Northwest Arkansas the foreclosure market remains mixed with larger Benton County experiencing more activity in both sales and foreclosures than neighboring Washington County.

In December Benton County reported 53 new foreclosure filings, up 39% from a year ago. During that same period Washington County reported 11 foreclosure filings, down 63% from a year earlier.

South of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel on Interstate 540, Crawford and Sebastian counties each reported higher numbers in December. There were 20 new filings in larger Sebastian County, up 66% from a year ago, while Crawford County reported 13 new foreclosure filings, up 85.7% from December 2012.

Despite rising activity in three of the four regional counties, the number of foreclosure listings continues to decline. Jim Long, agent with Crye-Leike Real Estate said there are 322 listings in the two markets as of Jan. 15. The foreclosure listings totaled 360 in December, 368 in November and 354 in October.

Long said new foreclosure listings are slow to come back into the market. Johnnie Snell of Coldwell Banker works with foreclosures going back to FreddieMac as well as Fannie Mae and HUD. Snell said the properties that come on the market in decent shape sell quickly, which has prevented a growing surplus of foreclosed homes.

FULL YEAR
For the full year, Benton County reported 1,173 foreclosure filings, up 45.9% from 2012. That equaled one in every 78 households for the full year or 1.28% of total housing units.

In Washington County there were 524 foreclosure filings, rising 7.16% from last year. The foreclosure rate was one in every 165 households for the full year impacting roughly 0.6% of households in the county.

Sebastian County had 263 filings last year, which was one in every 206 households. A year ago there were 157 filings, falling 67.5% in the year-over-year period. RealtyTrac shows there are 54,279 households in the county and less than 0.5% are in default or jeopardy of foreclosure.

Crawford County reported 170 filings last year, up 75% from those recorded in 2012. Roughly one in every 152 households or 0.66% housing units had at least one foreclosure filing last year.

Blomquist said there continues to be ample investor demand willing to pay cash for homes at auction, which is helping to raise the values. Nationwide, foreclosure values rose 10% in 2013.

He said the cash availability could create an increase in foreclosure filings through the first half of 2014 in states like Arkansas where activity was held up by litigation.

FORECLOSURE FILING NUMBERS
Benton County
2013: 1,173
2012: 804

Washington County
2013: 524
2012: 489

Sebastian County
2013: 263
2012: 157

Crawford County
2013: 170
2012: 97

Home Bancshares, Inc., parent company of Centennial Bank, reported record net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013 of $66.5 million compared to $63 million for the year ended 2012.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, Conway-based Home Bancshares recorded quarterly net income of $13 million compared to $16.9 million of net income one year ago. The previously announced Liberty Bancshares acquisition was a huge driver of the record earnings. Centennial now operates the Liberty Bank locations in the Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith areas.

“During the fourth quarter we made a game-changing purchase with the Liberty acquisition. It was a historical accomplishment for Home Bancshares to be able to complete Arkansas’s largest ever in-state bank acquisition plus convert the core operating systems in the same quarter. This impressive execution has the company in position to realize the anticipated cost savings, thereby rewarding our shareholders,” said John Allison, Chairman.

“Our team is focused on this important task and is working to recognize these enhancements as quickly as possible. I am looking forward to watching our team succeed in this process. As a result, I believe there is a bright future for us during 2014,” he added.

“We have been able to achieve many successes throughout the year that positioned us to be ready to handle the acquisition of Liberty,” CEO Randy Sims said in the statement. “As for the financial results, we are proud of the record profit reported for 2013. It was a truly remarkable financial performance year with the company reporting net income of $66.5 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.14 per share or net income of $77.7 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.33 excluding merger expenses. During the year we have been focused on our efficiency ratio and net interest margin. These efforts have paid off as we are pleased to report an impressive 45.49% core efficiency ratio and 5.19% net interest margin for the year.”

Financial highlights for the fourth quarter include:
• Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2013 increased 62.4% to $67.1 million from $41.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2012.

• Non-interest income for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $12.2 million, compared to $16.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2012.

• Total covered loans were $282.5 million at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $384.9 million at Dec. 31, 2012.

• Total deposits were $5.39 billion at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $3.48 billion at Dec. 31, 2012.

• Total assets were $6.81 billion at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $4.24 billion at Dec. 31, 2012.

News late Tuesday (Jan. 14) that Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage had been overturned on grounds that it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment caught many off guard.

While the ruling by a federal judge in Tulsa has been stayed pending the appeal of a similar ruling in Utah, the expected change to Oklahoma law which would allow for gay marriage in the traditionally conservative state has some Arkansans wondering how this will impact the natural state.

Matt Campbell, an attorney with Pinnacle Law Firm in Little Rock and the left-leaning blogger behind the Blue Hog Report, said while there has been excitement within some liberal circles about what this ruling could mean for other southern states like Arkansas, it will not immediately effect any legislation or legal rulings.

"I don't know that it influences it directly," Campbell said, adding that while the federal case will not have a direct impact on Arkansas, it does mean a similar ruling could take place here.

"If you had asked me a week ago to make a list of the last ten states where gay marriage would have been legal, Oklahoma would not have been on that list," he said. "The whole federal (courts) changing things is kind of the only way it will happen. It does make you wonder if it could happen here."

POSSIBLE PIAZZA RULING
The only case pending in Arkansas at this point appears to be Wright, et al., v. State, a case being heard by Circuit Judge Chris Piazza in Little Rock.

Campbell said there is a good chance Piazza could follow in the footsteps of U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern, using the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause to overturn the Arkansas ban on gay marriage (Amendment 83), passed in 2004 with 753,770 votes for and 251,914 against.

"More or less, (the plaintiff in the Arkansas case are making) the same argument as the Oklahoma case. They are arguing it's an equal protection violation to define it as one man and one woman. That's what the Oklahoma judge used to overrule the law — you can't amend away certain rights is more or less what they're arguing."

Campbell was quick to note that Piazza was the same judge who ruled the 2008 Arkansas constitutional amendment banning gay adoption as illegal. His ruling was eventually upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2011.

It is cases like the one struck down Tuesday in Oklahoma and the one in court in Little Rock that Campbell said are likely to result in gay marriage coming to Arkansas, though Campbell said he expects the issue to not be settled on a state by state basis, but instead by a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I think eventually you'll have to have the Supreme Court involved because you'll have a federal court that will probably some time soon goes against the (federal court in Tulsa)," he said. "Then you'll have disagreement among the courts and then the Supreme Court will decide."

FAMILY COUNCIL REACTION
Campbell's assertion that the Supreme Court will have to get involved is the same prediction of the Arkansas Family Council, a Little Rock non-profit that promotes family values. President Jerry Cox of the Family Council said Wednesday that while the Oklahoma ruling did not change Arkansas law, he believes the case will land at the highest court in short order.

"Activists have filed over a dozen lawsuits across the country challenging state marriage amendments in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s DOMA decision last summer," he said in this statement."It is not surprising out of that many lawsuits they would find one or two federal judges willing to strike down a state marriage amendment. It’s also likely many judges will uphold these amendments as constitutional. Either way, this issue will not be settled until it makes its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Cox also argues that it’s not a certainty that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down state bans on same-sex marriages. He explained: “When the court struck part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last summer, the court said states—not the federal government—define marriage. If the U.S. Supreme Court were to go a step farther and say these state marriage amendments are unconstitutional, it would effectively be saying that neither the state nor the federal government has the right to define marriage. That just wouldn’t make sense.”

Campbell said it would likely be two years before any of the cases discussed across the nation are taken up by the Supreme Court, though he said it is likely that more states will see similar rulings resulting in gay marriage being allowed in states that have overwhelmingly voted to ban it, such as Arkansas and Oklahoma, which voted to ban gay marriage in 2004 with over 75% of the vote.

"It moves so slowly (getting a case to the Supreme Court), that you could have almost a critical mass of states where the law is struck down before it ever gets to the Supreme Court," he said, adding that Arkansas could be one of those states depending on what happens with the case before Piazza.

"My gut feeling is Judge Piazza does strike down the gay marriage ban on equal protection grounds here, which makes the (2014) general election so important," Campbell said. "At some point during the appeals process, you'll have the next attorney general (of Arkansas) stepping into office."

And if that attorney general has a differing point of view from the judge, Campbell said there is every likelihood that the attorney general may not attempt to defend an eventual striking of the gay marriage ban from the books in Arkansas.

Nationally known chief economist Rich Yamerone, of Bloomberg L.P. , said tracking ladies dress and make-up sales will offer insight into consumer spending and sentiment — responsible for 72% of the U.S. economy.

Yamerone was one of three economists featured at the 20th Annual University of Arkansas Forecast Luncheon held in Rogers on Thursday, (Jan. 16). About 1,000 attended this year’s event coming from Little Rock, Fort Smith and other areas across the Natural State.

TYSON’S TAKE
Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith moderated the event while also sharing his knowledge on the food business. As one of the region’s largest employers, Springdale-based Tyson Foods is also very aware of what U.S. consumers want and need. Smith said consumers are constantly redefining the concept of value.

“Consumers are walking a tightrope right now, they want what they want. They will trade down when they have to; but they expect the healthier food choices. They prefer fresh over frozen and they want to know it’s been produced responsibly,” Smith said.

‘DARK SIDE’
Yamerone took the stage and tried for some 30 minutes to convince the large crowd that the U.S. economy is treading on thin ice through two quarters and there are more caution signs ahead.

“How many of you think the U.S. is headed for another recession,” Yamerone asked the crowd.

After a showing of less than five hands, Yamerone said, “I see that two or three of you are right. I hope to bring the rest of you over to the dark side before I am finished.”

He said jobs are the key to a better economy and as he travels across the country talking with owners and managers businesses large and small, the one common complaint he hears is that mandated healthcare is stifling business expansion.

Smaller employers are reducing staffs to get below the 50 person cut-off to avoid the healthcare mandate, he said. Larger companies like Darden Restaurants —  300,000 employees — are simply reducing hours and hiring more people.

“What we have are more lower middle class consumers having to work two and three jobs in some cases to keep up. I don’t see this changing and it is doubtful many of the middle class manufacturing jobs that were lost post 2008 will ever return,” Yamerone said.

He said there are not enough workers in place or coming soon to peddle the economy forward at a pace needed to maintain stability.

WOMEN CONTROL THE FINANCES
In closing, Yamerone shared his “Fab Five” indicators for what to expect with the U.S. economy going forward.
• Dining out — trending down over the past two years
• Casino gambling — downward trend since 2006, buoyed recently largely from Chinese consumers
• Jewelry & watch sales — rose some in 2012 but trending flat since
• Cosmetics & perfume sales — trending lower since 2011
• Women’s dress sales — wide swings since 2011, but trending lower toward the end of 2013

“Women are the chief financial officers of the household. They pay the bills, do nearly all the shopping and keep the family finances afloat. When they see less money coming in, they will pull back on eating out and self purchases, like dresses, cosmetics and perfume. They won’t cut out the kid’s soccer — that’s why we all love mom so much,” Yamerone said.

In all seriousness, Yamerone said he recently met with the executive team from Lowe’s, the home improvement retailer. He said the Lowe’s executives wanted to hear from the ladies in the room because they said it’s mostly the females in the household that decide when there will be a kitchen remodel or other household purchase.

Ironically, many of the largest companies in Northwest Arkansas are largely dependent on U.S. consumer behavior in retail, supply chain and food processing. So what goes on in the rest of country is important to Northwest Arkansas and the rest of the state as well.

SLOW GROWTH
Kathy Deck, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, had better news for the group with respect to the state and regional economies. But even she took a pause of concern about the “dreadful” labor force numbers across the Natural State.

Deck said slow growth does not equal recession, even though it might feel like it for some.

The forecast for the Arkansas economy in 2014 looks a lot like the experiences of 2013, Deck said. The rate of job growth in the state will continue to be slow and Arkansas will struggle to reach its pre-recession employment peak.

Employment growth in Arkansas is not on pace to make up the recession’s shortfall in 2014 or 2015, although the national economy is likely to reestablish employment highs during that time, according to Deck. Highlights of her talk included:
• There were net job losses in the manufacturing, government, information and other service sectors in Arkansas in 2013.

• Despite these losses, the unemployment rate in Arkansas has fallen to 6.9% from its post-recession high of 9%.

• The Arkansas labor force has been declining on a year-over-year basis every month since July 2012, even though the U.S. labor force has grown.

• In 2013, employment growth picked up in the Fort Smith, Central Arkansas and Jonesboro metropolitan areas and continued to boom in Northwest Arkansas.

• In Northwest Arkansas, no sectors had employment declines on a year-over-year basis in 2013, and overall employment grew at 4.3%.

“We have seen Fort Smith begin to generate some positive growth and that area looks to be rebounding since the Whirlpool closure there,” Deck said.

The employment growth in Northwest Arkansas and Central Arkansas also has been healthy this past year, according to Deck. But those regional improvements are not enough to compensate for the large rural areas that continue to suffer, she said. Deck said the state, led somewhat by Northwest Arkansas, will need to see continued investment into start-ups and other entrepreneurial ventures. 

She said housing has been strong in Northwest the past two years and infrastructure spending is helping to spur some growth along with continued private investments.

“Take Crystal Bridges for instance, who would have ever thought a Frank Lloyd Wright home would make its way to Bentonville,” Deck said.

One other area posed to do well in Northwest Arkansas is the business and professional  sector. Deck said the University of Arkansas is graduating more accountants, engineers and architects, and companies are taking advantage of that local talent.

CHINA RULES
Yi Wen, economist with St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, said China is in the midst a major revolution, much like the Industrial Revolution that took place in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

“Once a revolution of this magnitude begins it’s very difficult to stop,” Wen said during his remarks the forecast luncheon.

Though much has been said in recent months about a slowing in China’s economic output, Wen said he believes China will continue to post 7% to 8% annual grow rates for the next 20 years or so until the per capita income levels reach some 70% to 80% of those in the U.S.

He said China has its problems, like losing manufacturing jobs to Africa and other lower paying countries. But the housing market is doing well, as many Chinese consumers are investing in real estate seeking higher rates of return.

“In China, consumers must put 30% down on the purchase of a housing unit. If they buy two, the downpayment is 50%. In many cases the Chinese just pay cash for these investments, so there is little risk to the banking system with this rise in real estate,” Wen said.

The two largest companies in Northwest Arkansas continue to invest in China. Tyson Foods works to fully integrate chicken operations there and Wal-Mart has said it will add 110 new stores in China by 2016.

Whirlpool on Thursday (Jan. 16) released its annual report detailing the early stages of the cleanup trichloroethylene (TCE) at its former manufacturing facility on the south side of Fort Smith. TCE, a known carcinogen, had been used as a degreasing agent at the facility until the 1980s.

The annual report is the first released by the company as required by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), which made it part of its final Remedial Action Decision Document (RADD) for Corrective Action. The RADD dictates how Whirlpool will cleanup pollution not just at its former manufacturing facility, but also in areas including a neighborhood that lie above a plume of TCE that leaked north of the facility.

The annual report, attributed to Jeff Noel, Whirlpool's corporate vice president of communications and public affairs, outlined the companies remediation efforts to what had occurred in 2013 and what is planned for 2014.

Much of the information from 2013 used the talking points the company has presented to the public previously (quoting from the document):
• Whirlpool reaffirmed its committed to remain in Fort Smith, working with area residents, the Directors and staff of the City of Fort Smith, the State of Arkansas and ADEQ until this situation is resolved.

• All 2013 monitoring activities continue to confirm there is no public health risk, no reason for public concern about vapor intrusion into any residence, and that the boundaries of the TCE plume have no expanded in eight years.

• Whirlpool took a series of steps under supervision from ADEQ to advance the project forward in 2013. This included semiannual groundwater monitoring in March and October, finalization of the Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) and the Risk management Plan (RMP), submission of the draft Final Remedy Work Plan (Work Plan) to implement the RMP, and commented design data acquisition for effectively implementing the remedy defined in the Remedial Action Decision Document (RADD).

• Whirlpool initiated extensive communication efforts to keep the community informed of important developments, including a new website devoted to this project, participation in two public meetings with the Fort Smith City Directors, and individual conversations with residents who contacted us directly with concerns or questions.

• Whirlpool will continue to push forward in 2014 with the implementation of the RADD issued December 27, 2013 by ADEQ with the most scientifically proven, effective manner possible. At each step along the way, we will continue the efforts initiated in 2013 to keep the Fort Smith community informed.

Noel also said his company, working with environmental consulting firm ENVIRON, had completed pre-design work on ways to implement the requirements of the RADD.

"The pre-design field work took place in September and December 2013. The goal of the pre-design field work is to complement the current site understanding in the source and treatment areas," he said. "The targeted investigative activities will provide a strong foundation for the development and implementation of a successful, full-scale system design to meet the requirements of the RADD."

There was less detail about the company's plans to comply with the recommendations of the RADD in 2014, stating that it would submit its work plan to ADEQ for approval "within 30 days of the approval of the Final RADD,"which was effective Dec. 27, 2013.

"Within 30 days of the approval of the Final RADD, Whirlpool will submit a revised Work Plan to ADEQ detailing how the remedy will be implemented and the schedule for completion," Noel said. "In addition, we will provide ADEQ quarterly reports on our progress that will be publicly available on our website."

Noel also noted the continued marketing of the Whirlpool site to potential buyers. News broke in October 2013 that Spartan Logistics would occupy about 100,000 square feet of the more than 600,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility near Whirlpool's large manufacturing plant, leaving a lot of the former facility available for development.

"In light of the many attractive attributes of the property, including size, location and amenities of the 167 acre parcel, we remain confident in completing a transaction that will result in long term and productive development on the parcel."

The RADD states that Whirlpool must begin remediation within 60 days of the effective date (Dec. 27) of the RADD and file quarterly reports every Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15, and Nov. 15 as well as annual progress reports on Jan. 15.

It wasn’t a record year, but 2013 was the third best year of all time for home sales in Benton and Washington counties, according to Paul Bynum, economist with MountData.com

“Real estate in 2013 was amazing. It never slowed down for me,” said Nicky Dou, an executive broker for Keller Williams in Rogers.

Dou said she and husband Jerry, also a broker, had to hire a licensed assistant in July to keep up with the hectic demand.

“It was a great decision. Between Jerry and I we closed just under $28 million in sales volume last year,” Nicky Dou said. 

This week she listed three more properties and said 2014 also has gotten off to a great start.

Bynum reports that agents like Dou cumulatively sold more than 7,200 homes in 2013 across the two local counties. Unit sales rose 17.9% from 2012 as agents sold 1,100 more homes than in prior year. Total sales volume topped $1.315 billion in 2013, the best year since 2006. Bynum said total sales volume rose 25% from the prior year, and lagged the record set in 2005 by 15%.

Two of the largest firms in Northwest Arkansas, Coldwell Bankers and Crye-Leike Realty each reported stellar returns in 2013.

“Overall for the year, Crye-Leike NWA sales were up 15.5 % to $385 million with 2,535 Units (properties sold),” said CEO Harold Crye.

George Faucette, CEO of the local Coldwell Banker franchise, said his firm posted an 18.7% increase in sales volume between 2012 and 2013. He said unit sales rose 16.% year-over-year. Faucette said the market has come along way back since 2011. When comparing against that year, Coldwell Bankers’ sales volume is up 57.7%, while units rose 42.3%.
 
When home sales are hot, the number players in the market will grow and that is the case in Northwest Arkansas, according to Bynum.

At the end of 2013, Bynum reports there 306 companies that were members of the Multiple Listing Service that recorded sales in Northwest Arkansas. Eight new companies have signed on since 2012 and there were some other agency consolidations that occurred in the market as well.

At the end of 2013, there were 1,700 agents who made at least one sale during the year, up from 1,596 at the end of 2012. Bynum said the 2013 median sales volume per agent was $1.135 million, up from $1.016 million in 2012.

2014 PREDICTIONS
Bynum said the metrics are in place for a strong 2014 as long as job numbers remain steady across the region.

Faucette predicts his firm to grow by roughly 12% in 2014 with actual sales dollar volume significantly surpassing those in 2013. This is an aggressive forecast given that as the base gets larger, percentages will tend to decrease.

Benton County is knocking on the $1 billion door for annual sales volume. Sales in the county during 2013 totaled $845.46 million in 2013, versus $692.02 million in 2012, or up 22.17%.

The hefty gain was not a function of rising home prices, because the median price in the county was 3.44% throughout last year. The trump card in Benton County is robust demand, as unit sales rose 18.6% to 4,571 homes.

“I believe it is not only possible but probable that Benton County will exceed $1 billion in sales volume in 2014 for all property types; but it will probably be 2015 or possibly 2016 before that level is achieved in residential sales only,” Faucette said.

He said Washington County's growth will be equally impressive in 2014, maybe even surpassing Benton County in its percentage increases.

Last year agents in Washington County sold 2,659 homes with a a total value of $470.538 million. Unit sales rose 16.87% year-over-year, while sale volume increased 24%, according to Bynum.

Year end figures for Fort Smith area home sales posted mixed results with Crawford County continuing a slide in home sales while Sebastian County posted double-digit growth during 2013.

Starting with the month of December, Crawford County posted a decline of 6.24% in home sales value, with only 44 sales in the last month of 2013 worth $4.375 million versus 36 homes sold in December 2012 worth $4.666 million.

It was the exact opposite story in Sebastian County, which saw an increase of 16.22% in December 2013 with 94 homes sold at a value of $13.457 million versus 87 homes sold in December 2012 with a value of $11.578 million.

Looking at all of 2013, 515 homes were sold at a value of $57.039 million in Crawford County. The number represents a drop of 5.22% from 2012's total of $60.179 million.

Sebastian County saw 1,220 homes sold during 2013 with a total value of $168.405 million, a 10.06% increase from 2012's total of 1,114 homes sold for a value of $153.012 million.

Linda Spradlin, principal broker at Assurance Realty in Fort Smith, said Sebastian County's rise during the last year could be tied to the improving economy in the region.

"Well, Sebastian County has brought in a few more businesses than Crawford County," she said. "With our hospitals, HMA (Health Management Associates) and Mercy growing, they have produced more buyers."

She also pointed to an expansion of jobs at Baldor as being a sign of a strengthening economy, resulting in customers having higher discretionary income to spend on items such as real estate.

"Even though they (Baldor) brought in some (new) people, they also (have current staff) getting better jobs, so they can move up. So our sales may be up 10%, but it may not really identify that we really have that many more people moving into the area," Spradlin said. "It could mean that we just have existing people who are getting better, higher paying jobs and they are able to improve their living standard."

As for Crawford County's downturn, Spradlin said while it was hard to determine the exact cause of the 5.22% decline in home sales, uncertainty about the future of the USDA's rural development loan program had been hanging over the county for much of the latter months of 2013, affecting sales in the county's largest city of Van Buren, which is approaching the maximum population for participation in the program. Proposals to include an increase in population from 25,000 to 35,000 for eligible communities has not yet been able to pass the U.S. Congress as part of a larger Farm Bill.

"I don't know where we stand (as far as the status of rural development loans), but that definitely hurts Crawford County. That hurt us a bit, too. Not in Fort Smith, but in the outlying areas like Greenwood and Hackett."

Spradlin said while Sebastian County's numbers looked strong for last year, one area that continued to be a drag on the market in 2013 were foreclosures. Even though the number of foreclosures in the Fort Smith market declined last year, she said it likely still effected sale prices for new and existing homes.

"That would have a direct impact on those home sales. You know, appraisers — even though they say they don't use foreclosures heavily — it has to effect their judgment at some point if they put that in as a comparable."

The median sale price in Sebastian County declined 1.71% from 2012 to 2013, with 2013 posting an MSP of only $115,000 versus 2012's MSP of $117,000. Crawford County's MSP fared worse, falling 6.67% from $112,500 in 2012 to $105,000 in 2013.

As for what 2014 holds, Spradlin said buyers and sellers should expect a solid year should Fort Smith continue its trend of job growth and falling unemployment.

"It's sort of like with the whole economy thing," she said. "We were slow to get into the recession and we'll be slow to come out. ... I think the future is going to be dictated, pretty much, by our past. It means slow, moderate growth."

Home Sales Data
(January - December)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2013: 515
2012: 502

Total Sales Volume
2013: $57.040 million
2012: $60.179 million

Median Sales Price
2013: $105,000
2012: $112,500

• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2013: 1,220
2012: 1,114

Total Sales Volume
2013: $168.405 million
2012: $153.012 million

Media Sales Price
2013: $115,000
2012: $117,000

Moving a house from New Jersey to Bentonville, area branch bank closures and a California egg-production law are part of the Northwest Arkansas Friday Wire for Jan. 17.

NOTES & ANALYSIS
• The Wright move
The folks at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art have cranked out pleasant surprises on a regular basis from the day the museum was first announced. But deconstructing and moving a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home almost 1,100 miles from New Jersey to the museum grounds in Bentonville will be hard to top.

The home, built in 1954 and known as the Bachman Wilson House, will be placed near the museum along its 3.5 miles of trails and 120 acres, with views overlooking the native woodlands and the Crystal Spring – the natural spring from which the museum takes its name. Plans are to begin site prep in the spring and have the house move completed by early 2015.

One of these days, the folks at Crystal Bridges are going to mess up and create a world-class museum that draws millions of visitors. Oh, wait ...

• Gay-marriage ban
A ruling this by a Federal Judge in Oklahoma that overturned a voter-approved amendment banning same-sex marriage generated a lot of national attention. U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern, based in Tulsa, said the gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2004 violated the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment under the equal protection clause.

Don’t be surprised if Arkansas’ voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage experiences the same fate. This highly divisive issue will likely be a talking point at all ballot levels in the 2014 election cycle, even though the U.S. Supreme Court may have the final say on the issue.

ICYMI
Following are a few stories posted this week on The City Wire that we hope you didn’t miss. But in case you missed it ...

• More labor problems for Wal-Mart
The general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint Wednesday (Jan. 15) against Wal-Mart Stores alleging that more than 60 store supervisors and one corporate officer violated the rights of employees who participated in Black Friday (Nov. 22, 2012) protests at Walmart stores.

• Political money haul
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross' campaign is starting to sound like a broken record after the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor announced fundraising figures for the fourth quarter of 2013 and a record-breaking 2013.

• Small product, big growth
NanoMech announced it has purchased its existing factory and will build an adjoining  25,000 square-foot facility in east Springdale, tripling its size and making room for more than two dozen new jobs by late summer.

NUMBERS ON THE WIRE
$445,000: The amount of money raised by the Asa Hutchinson for Governor campaign during the last three months of 2013, the campaign's largest fundraising haul to date in a quarter typically marking some of the lowest giving during an election cycle.

12: Number of bank branches to be closed in Northwest Arkansas following the Simmons First acquisition of Metropolitan National Bank.

$240,000: Amount of money that Minneapolis-based General Mills doled out to help six Northwest Arkansas charities fund nutrition and wellness programs for 2014.

OUTSIDE THE WIRE
• Emergency room emergency
People seeking urgent medical could face longer wait times and other challenges as demand increases under Obamacare, U.S. emergency doctors said in a report on Thursday that gives the nation's emergency infrastructure a near failing grade. States with the best emergency care include Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska and Colorado, while Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico and Arkansas rounded out the bottom, just above Wyoming.

• No love for Petrino
Not only has Petrino managed to land another big job, he’s going to be coaching at the school where he first built his reputation for selfishness, dishonesty and opportunism.

• Chicken laws and the commerce clause
The country is awash in legislative efforts to increase regulation of agriculture, but only California has had the chutzpah to impose the preferences of that state’s voters on the rest of the country.

WORD ON THE WIRE
"This skill set is in demand not just n the tech sector, but in banking, entertainment, medicine and virtually every area. Whether our children want to be farmers, doctors, teachers or entrepreneurs, they will all benefit from the creativity and problem-solving skills that are the essence of creating computer software."
– statement from GOP gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson on his plan to promote computer science education

“It’s probably my last Coon Supper. I started here 32 years ago as their state senator, running for their state senator. And this is the place that really kicked off my campaign. Even though I was from Searcy, Gillett may have had more to do with starting my first political campaign than any place in Arkansas.”
– Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe during a speech at the 71st annual Gillett Coon Supper

”This advanced facility will allow us to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative products that people have only dreamed of before. Aggressive demand for our technology suggests the need for rapid scale-up production to meet government and private sector orders for our breakthrough products.”
– Dr. Ajay Malshe, NanoMech founder and chief technology officer, in announcing an expansion of NanoMech’s Springdale operation

A legal turn for same-sex marriage, Coon Supper politics, shuffling money for a sports complex and the push for a third high school in Fort Smith are part of the Jan. 17 Friday Wire for the Fort Smith region.

NOTES & ANALYSIS
• Gay-marriage ban
A ruling this by a Federal Judge in Oklahoma that overturned a voter-approved amendment banning same-sex marriage generated a lot of national attention. U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern, based in Tulsa, said the gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2004 violated the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment under the equal protection clause.

Don’t be surprised if Arkansas’ voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage experiences the same fate. This highly divisive issue will likely be a talking point at all ballot levels in the 2014 election cycle, even though the U.S. Supreme Court may have the final say on the issue.

• The Wright move
The folks at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art have cranked out pleasant surprises on a regular basis from the day the museum was first announced. But deconstructing and moving a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home almost 1,100 miles from New Jersey to the museum grounds in Bentonville will be hard to top.

The home, built in 1954 and known as the Bachman Wilson House, will be placed near the museum along its 3.5 miles of trails and 120 acres, with views overlooking the native woodlands and the Crystal Spring – the natural spring from which the museum takes its name. Plans are to begin site prep in the spring and have the house move completed by early 2015.

One of these days, the folks at Crystal Bridges are going to mess up and create a world-class museum that draws millions of visitors. Oh, wait ...

ICYMI
Following are a few stories posted this week on The City Wire that we hope you didn’t miss. But in case you missed it ...

• Sports complex money
The on again, off again River Valley Sports Complex project appears to be back on again following a study session of the Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Jan. 14). But how the project will be constructed may change following disagreements during Tuesday's study session about the use of engineering firms for the project.

• An early primary fight
The region appears to have a major primary shaping up as Rep. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, announced Tuesday (Jan. 14) that he would challenge Sen. Bruce Holland, R-Greenwood, for the District 9 Senate seat.

• Political money haul
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross' campaign is starting to sound like a broken record after the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor announced fundraising figures for the fourth quarter of 2013 and a record-breaking 2013.

NUMBERS ON THE WIRE
$65 million: Estimated cost to construct a third high school in Fort Smith. According to Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden, the need for a third high school is real as enrollment has continued to increase across the district.

$445,000: The amount of money raised by the Asa Hutchinson for Governor campaign during the last three months of 2013, the campaign's largest fundraising haul to date in a quarter typically marking some of the lowest giving during an election cycle.

120: Number of megawatts of power saved by customers of Oklahoma Gas & Electric who use smart meters.

OUTSIDE THE WIRE
• Emergency room emergency
People seeking urgent medical could face longer wait times and other challenges as demand increases under Obamacare, U.S. emergency doctors said in a report on Thursday that gives the nation's emergency infrastructure a near failing grade. States with the best emergency care include Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska and Colorado, while Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico and Arkansas rounded out the bottom, just above Wyoming.

• No love for Petrino
Not only has Petrino managed to land another big job, he’s going to be coaching at the school where he first built his reputation for selfishness, dishonesty and opportunism.

• Chicken laws and the commerce clause
The country is awash in legislative efforts to increase regulation of agriculture, but only California has had the chutzpah to impose the preferences of that state’s voters on the rest of the country.

WORD ON THE WIRE
"It is not in my nature to quit a job before it is completed. But given my medical problems and the toll that this job has taken over the past two years I owe this decision to my family."
– resignation statement from Del Gabbard, who resigned as Greenwood Mayor effective Jan. 13

"This skill set is in demand not just n the tech sector, but in banking, entertainment, medicine and virtually every area. Whether our children want to be farmers, doctors, teachers or entrepreneurs, they will all benefit from the creativity and problem-solving skills that are the essence of creating computer software."
– statement from GOP gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson on his plan to promote computer science education

“It’s probably my last Coon Supper. I started here 32 years ago as their state senator, running for their state senator. And this is the place that really kicked off my campaign. Even though I was from Searcy, Gillett may have had more to do with starting my first political campaign than any place in Arkansas.”
– Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe during a speech at the 71st annual Gillett Coon Supper

One of Oklahoma's most well-known politicians is calling it quits.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., announced late Thursday (Jan. 16) that he would resign following the conclusion of the 113th Congress.

Coburn, an obstetrician from Muskogee, has been battling a recurrence of cancer this year, though the 65-year-old said in a statement that his health was not the reason for resigning with two years left in his second term in the Senate.

"Carolyn and I have been touched by the encouragement we’ve received from people across the state regarding my latest battle against cancer," he said. "But this decision isn’t about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes and desires."

First coming to Washington in 1994 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and then being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, Coburn spent much of his career fighting for reduced spending and "common sense" governing, becoming well-known during his time in the Senate for his annual Wastebook, highlighting what he and his staff determine is the "most egregious spending" each year.

Coburn said he expects his successor will continue to fight for common sense policies for the people of Oklahoma.

"That’s why I initially ran for office in 1994 and re-entered politics in 2004. I’m encouraged there are thousands of Americans with real-world experience and good judgment who feel just like I do," he said. "As dysfunctional as Washington is these days, change is still possible when ‘We the People’ get engaged, run for office themselves or make their voices heard. After all, how else could a country doctor from Muskogee with no political experience make it to Washington?"

In a video on his Facebook page, Coburn told supporters that his retirement would be spent back in Oklahoma and added that he would focus his attention on how he "can best serve my own children and grandchildren."

With Coburn's resignation to take place at the conclusion of the current Congress, a special election will be necessary to fill the spot with many party insiders saying other members of the Congressional delegation — namely Republicans Tom Cole of Norman and James Lankford of Edmond — have an eye on Coburn's. Neither has publicly commented on the speculation swirling among insiders from Washington to Oklahoma City.

Another Republican rumored to be interested in the seat, U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, congratulated Coburn on his years of service and upcoming retirement on Friday (Jan. 17).

“Our sincere appreciation goes out to Dr. Coburn for his years of service and unwavering dedication to this country," he said. "A true public servant, he will be missed in our delegation and in Washington, D.C. It has been an honor to work alongside Dr. Coburn and I thank him for his service.”

Gov. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., has already set the special election dates to coincide with the 2014 election cycle with the primary set for June 24, a runoff (if needed) on Aug. 26 and the general election on Nov. 4.

Fallin, in the midst of her own re-election this year, also commented on Coburn's time in office and the issues he has stood for during his time in office.

“Doctor Tom Coburn has represented the ‘Gold Standard’ for smart and tough fiscal conservatism since he began serving in the United States Congress in 1995. He is a true hero of the American Taxpayer and one of the most influential voices in American politics today," she said.
 
“His consistent, relentless advocacy for responsible spending and deficit reduction has earned him respect from men and women on both sides of the aisle. Agree with him or not, there is never any doubt where Tom Coburn stands on the issues. He is as impressive a public servant as they come, and I am sure we have not heard the last from him. While I am sorry to see the Senate lose one of this country’s great statesmen, I am happy that Tom can now spend more time with his family and focus on other opportunities.”

COBURN'S FULL STATEMENT ANNOUNCING HIS RESIGNATION
“Serving as Oklahoma’s senator has been, and continues to be, one of the great privileges and blessings of my life. But, after much prayer and consideration, I have decided that I will leave my Senate seat at the end of this Congress.

“Carolyn and I have been touched by the encouragement we’ve received from people across the state regarding my latest battle against cancer. But this decision isn’t about my health, my prognosis or even my hopes and desires. My commitment to the people of Oklahoma has always been that I would serve no more than two terms. Our founders saw public service and politics as a calling rather than a career. That’s how I saw it when I first ran for office in 1994, and that’s how I still see it today. I believe it’s important to live under the laws I helped write, and even those I fought hard to block.

“As a citizen legislator, I am first and foremost a citizen who cares deeply about the kind of country we leave our children and grandchildren. As I have traveled across Oklahoma and our nation these past nine years, I have yet to meet a parent or grandparent who wouldn’t do anything within their power to secure the future for the next generation. That’s why I initially ran for office in 1994 and re-entered politics in 2004. I’m encouraged there are thousands of Americans with real-world experience and good judgment who feel just like I do. As dysfunctional as Washington is these days, change is still possible when ‘We the People’ get engaged, run for office themselves or make their voices heard. After all, how else could a country doctor from Muskogee with no political experience make it to Washington?

“As a citizen, I am now convinced that I can best serve my own children and grandchildren by shifting my focus elsewhere. In the meantime, I look forward to finishing this year strong. I intend to continue our fight for Oklahoma, and will do everything in my power to force the Senate to re-embrace its heritage of debate, deliberation and consensus as we face our many challenges ahead.

“May God bless you, our state and our country.”

Home builders and others employed in the local construction industry can easily sum up 2013 with just two words — steady work.

Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers issued new commercial and new residential permits valued at around $523 million in 2013. While total permit values dipped 15% from the $605 million recorded in 2012, the number of new single family dwellings rose during the year-over-year period.

In 2012, the total permits were buoyed higher because of $133.9 million in multifamily construction projects in Fayetteville. This segment activity declined to $25.13 million in 2013.

BUILDING PERMIT TALLY
Bentonville
2013: $176.78 million
2012: $171.48 million
2011: $131.10 million

Fayetteville
2013: $157.85 million
2012: $286.13 million
2011: $106.98 million

Rogers
2013: $109.61 million
2012: $87.87 million
2011: $58.11 million

Springdale
2013: $78.81 million
2012: $60.16 million
2011: $51.64 million

HOMEBUILDING
The four largest cities in the region issued more than 1,460 permits for new houses or duplexes last year, valued at $395.212 million. Residential activity has rebounded during the past three years as the once-excess supply of new and unoccupied homes has largely been absorbed. New residential permit values rose 25% from 2012 and they doubled from 2011.

While inclement weather pushed December permits and housing starts lower, the total construction employment for this metro area has averaged 8,900 workers since June, adding back around 1,000 jobs from the 2012 annual average, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Brent Hanby, co-owner of Encore Flooring and Building Supplies in Springdale, said everyone he knows in construction-related businesses were busy throughout 2013.

“Builders, tradesmen like plumbers and roofers, movers, lenders and sales folks have all been making hay while the sun is shining because there has been steady demand for new houses, (with) money spent on homestead renovations and upgrades on rentals,” Hanby said.

He attributes the steady work to the stronger overall job numbers reported in Northwest Arkansas and said he feels an energy that has been rekindled after several years in deep recovery.

“Nearly every month we see landlord property owners replacing flooring and making other upgrades in their rentals. They tell me they are raising rents because of growing demand,” Hanby said.

He said his firm has expanded to 35 employees in the past two years, and posted a 30% annual compound growth rate in 2013.

Rausch Coleman, the only nationally ranked homebuilder in the region, reported total sales were up some 9% in 2013. CEO Fred Rausch said the firm saw steady demand for new homes in all of its markets with Northwest Arkansas continuing to pick up steam throughout 2013. The Fort Smith market showed positive gains as well, while Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Kansas City are also performing better year-over-year, according to Raucsh. He expects more of the same in 2014 with some 500 new units built and sold among all of its markets.

“We are not overly exuberant in any market but we are staying busy and growing at a sustainable rate,” Rausch said.

By mid 2014, he expects to have new homes going up in southeast Fayetteville on 75 lots the firm picked up from a bank.

“We also are trying to close on a partially developed subdivision in Centerton with 110 lots,” he said.

HIGHER PRICES, INVENTORIES
The median sales price of new construction homes increased in all of the major cities between 2012 and 2013. The median new home price across the two county-region was $225,000 last year. The median price rose 4.9% from 2012, according to Paul Bynum, economist with MountData.com.

Bynum reports 924 new homes sales were recorded in 2013 in the regional Multiple Listing Service. New home sales rose from 793 in the prior year. Nearly 75%, or 684, of those new home sales were in Benton County, compared to 552 recorded during 2012.
There were 240 new home sales recorded in Washington County in 2013, one less than recorded in the prior year.

Bynum reports 370 new homes listed for sale in the MLS at the end of 2013, up 28% from the year-ago period. The largest builders across the region list their new homes in the MLS, but these listings do not typically include custom-home builds.

COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
The commercial building sector continues to lag the residential recovery, but two of the region’s largest cities reported more commercial activity in 2013, compared to 2012.

Springdale posted the biggest year-over-year permit gains with $28.97 million in new projects breaking ground in 2013. This included the $15.43 million Wal-Mart Supercenter under construction in west Springdale.

Rogers also posted an increase in commercial building with permit values rising 8.43% from the 2012 year. Several new restaurants and other retail venues were approved by the city during 2013 and the construction also began on the multimillion dollar Arkansas Music Pavilion near Pinnacle Promenade.

COMMERCIAL PERMIT VALUES (2013 compared to 2012)
Springdale – $28.97 million, up $7.67 million
Rogers – $28.93 million, up from $26.68 million
Fayetteville – $45.42 million, down from $79.53 million
Bentonville – $26.874 million, down from 42.92 million

2014 COMMERCIAL OUTLOOK
“We expect growth to continue in Northwest Arkansas in 2014, as job expansion improves. The local commercial sector is lagging behind the recovery pace we have seen in residential construction over the past two years,” said Kathy Deck, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas.

Deck said private investment and public infrastructure will likely continue to lead the way in commercial building projects in 2014.

McGraw Hill’s 2014 outlook, predicts that U.S. construction starts for 2014 will rise 9% to $555.3 billion.

“We see 2014 as another year of measured expansion for the construction industry,” said Robert Murray, McGraw Hill Construction’s vice president of Economic Affairs.  “Against the backdrop of elevated uncertainty and federal spending cutbacks, the construction industry should still benefit from several positive factors going into 2014.”

He said job growth, while sluggish, is still taking place. Interest rates remain very low by historical standards, and in the near term the Federal Reserve is likely to take the necessary steps to keep them low. Murray added that the improving fiscal posture of states and localities will help to offset some of the negative impact from decreased federal funding.

McGraw Hill estimates commercial building will increase 17%, a slightly faster pace than the 15% gain estimated for 2013.

Warehouses and hotels will continue to lead the way, while stores and office buildings pick up the pace. The positives for commercial building are improving market fundamentals and more bank lending for commercial development. Next year’s activity in dollar terms will still be 28% below the 2007 peak.

Institutional building is predicted to edge up 2%, turning the corner after five years of decline. For the educational building category, colleges are revisiting capital expansion plans, and passage of recent construction bond measures in several states should help K-12 construction projects. Healthcare construction is expected to remain flat, given continued emphasis on cost containment.

Public works construction is expected to drop 5% nationally. But locally, the widening of Interstate 540, the Don Tyson interchange and the Fayetteville Flyover are three large road projects underway in Benton and Washington counties.

“The 2014 picture bears some similarity to what’s taking place during 2013, with single family housing providing much of the upward push; multifamily housing showing a slower yet still healthy rate of growth after four years of expansion, and commercial building gradually ascending from low levels,” said Murray.

In a move to expand its prepared food sales, Tyson Foods Inc. recently acquired the assets of Bosco’s Pizza Co. of Warren, Mich., according to a press release issued Monday (Jan. 20) by the Springdale-based meat giant. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the release.

“Bosco’s will be a good addition to our diversified portfolio of quality food offerings,” Donnie King, Tyson Foods’ president of prepared foods, customer and consumer solutions, said in the statement.

The pizza company employs about 150 workers. The Bosco Pizza brand will continue to operate as a unit under the Tyson’s Prepared Foods division. Craig Mulhinch, vice president of Bosco’s sales and marketing, and Paul Morgan, vice president of Bosco’s operations, will continue to manage the day-to-day operations.

Bosco’s Pizza, famous for “The Original Bosco Stick,” produces a variety of stuffed bread sticks and frozen pizzas for food service and retail customers throughout the Midwest and at some retailers nationwide.

“This is a great opportunity for the Bosco’s brand,” Mulhinch said. “We’ve put a lot of effort into creating high-quality products and Tyson Foods has recognized that. This deal will allow us to accelerate our growth while we continue to focus on the fundamentals of making excellent artisan bread products. We’re excited about joining the Tyson team.”

Entrepreneur Mark Artinian created Bosco’s as a carry-out pizzeria in 1988 before he began delivering frozen pizzas to area high schools. In 1995, the company started producing frozen stuffed crust pizza, which soon led to stuffed bread sticks, the company’s main product line today. Artinian will remain with the business in an advisory role.

Tyson Foods is the largest supplier of pepperoni and pizza toppings to the food service industry. Tyson Foods markets prepared foods products to retail grocers, food service distributors, restaurant operators and on-site food service establishments such as schools, universities, corporate cafeterias, hotel chains, healthcare facilities and the military.

In addition to “The Original Bosco Stick,” the Bosco’s Pizza plant produces partially baked frozen pizza made with traditional and whole grain crust, reduced-fat cheese Bosco Sticks, pepperoni Bosco Sticks and whole grain apple-filled Bosco Sticks in a variety of sizes and pack options. More information about Bosco’s Pizza is available at BoscosPizza.com.

Tyson is also rumored to be evaluating a $2 billion purchase of Michael Foods, a large distributor of eggs and dairy products, according to a report from Reuters on Jan. 16. Tyson did not confirm or deny the rumor when asked by The City Wire on Friday, Jan. 17.

CEO Donnie Smith has said in recent months the firm would be evaluating certain small potential acquisitions should the opportunities arise. Tyson is flush with cash and has announced strategic plans to grow its value-added sales and expand the products offered in its diverse prepared foods segment.

The Bosco deal fits those parameters, the Michael’s bid would be substantially larger.

The number of homes sold in Arkansas’ four largest metro areas totaled 20,644 during 2013, the first time since 2007 that the tally topped 20,000 and the first the value of the homes sold in the four markets topped $3 billion.

Also, December home sales in the four markets totaled 1,535, the first time since the bullish days of 2006 that the December total was above 1,500. Home sales during 2007 in the four markets totaled 22,007, with the value reaching $3.563 billion.

The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report captures home sales data in the state’s 14 most populated counties within the state’s four largest metro areas — Central Arkansas, 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. This report counts the number of sales closed between January and December.

During 2013 the number of homes sold in the four markets totaled 20,644, up 12.93% compared to the 2012 period and up 15.56% compared to 2011, according to The City Wire’s Arkansas Home Sales Report. The report is sponsored by Fort Smith-based Weather Barr.

The value of homes sold in the four markets during 2013 was $3.439 billion, up 15.13% compared to the same period in 2012 and up more than 28% compared to the same period in 2011.

The average price of homes sold during 2013 in the four markets was $166,598, up 1.95% compared to the same period in 2012 and up 10.84% compared to the same period in 2011.

The average days on market during 2013 is 86.89, better than the 95.85 in 2012 and the 103.51 in 2011.

During 2013, the number of homes sold in central Arkansas are up 10.44%, up 12.89% in the Jonesboro area, up 17.98% in Northwest Arkansas, and up 7.36% in the Fort Smith area.

Benton County was the top Arkansas county for home sales during the year. The county, with a population of around 230,000, had 4,571 home sales in 2013. Pulaski County, the state’s largest with a population of around 390,000, posted 4,499 home sales during the year.

DECEMBER ACTIVITY
Combined home sales activity was up in all four markets during December, but the combined average price was down in all four markets. The average price per home in the four markets was $164,600, down 2.32% compared to December 2012. The average price was up 3.95% compared to December 2011.

There were 739 homes sold in central Arkansas, up 25.47% compared to December 2012, and up 13.87% compared to December 2011.

December home sales totaled 537 in Northwest Arkansas, up 20.13% compared to December 2012, and up 28.16% compared to December 2011.

Jonesboro area home sales totaled 121, up 2.54% compared to December 2012 and down 3.97% compared to December 2011.

In the Fort Smith area, home sales totaled 138, up 12.2% compared to December 2012, and up 8.66% compared to December 2011.

The value of the sales during December were up 17.4% in central Arkansas, up 22.5% in Northwest Arkansas, up 0.11% in the Jonesboro area, and up 9.77% in the Fort Smith region.

THE REGIONAL PICTURE: 2013
Central Arkansas — Home sales
2013: 9,709
2012: 8,791
2011: 8,553

Fort Smith area — Home sales
2013: 1,735
2012: 1,616
2011: 1,700

Jonesboro area — Home sales
2013: 1,970
2012: 1,745
2011: 1,755

Northwest Arkansas — Home sales
2013: 7,230
2012: 6,128
2011: 5,856

The top five counties in terms of 2013 home sales:
Benton — 4,571, up compared to 3,853 in 2012
Pulaski — 4,499, up compared to 4,151 in 2012
Washington — 2,659, up compared to 2,275 in 2012
Saline — 1,570, up compared to 1,384 in 2012
Craighead — 1,561, up compared to 1,355 in 2012

Link here for a PDF document of the December 2013 data.

MARKET IMPACTS
Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said 2013 is further evidence that real estate markets are continuing to recover.

“I think it's clear. If we look at the whole year, 2013's average sales price was as high as it has been in the state,” she said.

Deck said the number of homes sold in 2013 might not equal the peak years of 2005 through 2007, but the areas covered in The Arkansas Home Sales Report have returned to pre-recession levels. When higher sales numbers are combined with the highest average sales price in Arkansas, “it's hard to come up with a word other than recovery,” Deck said.

Deck said she expects sales to improve in 2014 – further evidence that the overall economy is improving. She said the nation is still slogging through a long recovery that has been fueled with a change in attitudes as much as anything else.

“Businesses and consumers have learned to deal with conditions as they are,” she said. “Some consumers – some businesses – are thriving even in economic times that aren't ideal.”

In that context, then, it's difficult to view real estate markets in Arkansas or the nation as one unit. Deck said real estate markets are tied to local areas, meaning sales are strong in some areas and not others. Deck said the economy in Jonesboro, for example, continued to expand even through the recession and the result has been a consistently solid real estate market at times when other parts of the state and nation were watching both sales and home values drop at alarming rates.

Arkansas Realtors Association President Bill Ladd, an agent with Moore & Co. Realtors in Russellville (tmoorerealtors.com), agreed with Deck that the old adage is true – real estate is local. He said the largest markets in Arkansas – primarily those covered in The Arkansas Home Sales Report – fared very well in 2013. In more rural areas of Arkansas, however, growth has come more slowly to markets.

REAL ESTATE HEADWINDS
Still, Ladd expects markets to improve throughout the state in 2014. He predicts the first quarter will be “soft and sluggish” due in large part to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Ladd said Realtors will watch the full impact of the Affordable Care Act. If early reports of increasing premiums prove to be common, that could have a negative impact on a housing market recovery as fewer people may qualify to purchase homes. By the time the spring rolls around, Ladd predicts markets will continue to expand as they grow accustomed to the Affordable Care Act and conditions should expand throughout the rest of the year.

Ladd and Deck agree that 2014 should be another year of moderate improvement in housing markets around the state. Deck said there are some headwinds facing the market such as increasing mortgage rates, but markets should come out ahead in spite of those.

Ladd believes what will improve the overall economy – and housing markets on the whole – is a falling unemployment rate. Real estate markets are sensitive to job growth and it remains to be seen if a substantial number of jobs are created in the Natural State this year.

Arkansas began the year with 1.247 million employed in January, with the number falling 1.74% to 1.226 million by November, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The employment level in November was down more than 5.6% compared to a high of 1.299 million in March 2008.

A new events company in Fort Smith is already making a name for itself, landing one of the region's biggest corporate events after officially being open for business for a little over a month.

RSVP Event Rentals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fort Smith-based FSM Redevelopment Partners, is the brain child of owner Lance Beaty. Beaty was the developer behind the former Phoenix Expo Center, which has since become the new Health Management Associates (HMA) regional service center.

Instead of simply shutting the doors to the Phoenix Expo Center following the lease to HMA, which Beaty said had been successful since its opening in 2009, he decided to take the facility's existing inventory of linens, furniture and dishes to create a new events rental business in the Fort Smith market. After adding "several hundreds of thousands of dollars of new (inventory)," Beaty opened a showroom and 40,000-square-foot storage facility on the north side of the former Phoenix Village Mall property that his company already owned. The business concept, he said, is essentially what he and his staff were already doing at the Phoenix Expo Center, just minus one component.

"We just looked to redeploy assets," Beaty said. "It's a reformatting of what we were doing with the real estate taken out."

Beaty said the business, with more than $1 million in inventory, is completely debt free and already had established relationships in the Fort Smith area that Manager Melissa Smith took with her from the Expo Center to RSVP Event Rentals.

"I had had contacts already, just from (customers) hearing that it was an idea that we were going to have," Smith said.

Of the four established event planning firms in the Fort Smith region, Smith said RSVP would be classified as among the larger firms simply based on the company's inventory and experience with Phoenix Expo Center.

Already, the company has contracted to manage Baldor's annual sales meeting in Fort Smith beginning Monday (Jan. 20). The event brings in more than 600 people from across the nation, requiring RSVP to serve up more than 1,800 meals per day for attendees.

"We're the only one who could do Baldor (at) three meals a day," Beaty said, adding that the Phoenix Expo Center's inventory coupled with the additional furniture and dinnerware made it possible for RSVP to get a jump in the Fort Smith events market.

Smith said a little more than a month into being fully operational, RSVP was doing about three or four events each week at an average price of $2,000 each. The events, she said, are a mixture of personal events and business events.

She said even with the economy still in the midst of recovery from a prolonged recession, clients have not held back when it comes to big events such as weddings, sweet 16 parties, quinceañeras and corporate functions. According to Smith, locals are ready to invest in moments to remember.

"We are (finding people wanting to invest in big events), so far. A lot of them are (investing), especially with weddings. 'It's my daughter's...it's her only wedding.' So they're still ready to put that money out there. It's a one-time event."

To serve a growing clientele that may just now be hearing about RSVP Event Rentals through radio advertising or on Wedding Wire, the company has a fully outfitted show room that highlights various dining and event options. Smith said once a decision is made by a client to go with RSVP, all that is required to reserve the company's services is a 25% deposit.

And as for getting the company's services reserved before someone else does, Beaty said that would likely not be a problem.

"We have enough (inventory) to do five separate events, serving 2,200 people at once," he said.

As for what the future holds for RSVP, Smith would like to see the company's bookings more than double from three to four events each week to 10 events per week, something she and Beaty expect to happen as they reach not only past clients from Phoenix Expo Center but also new clients hearing about the events rental company for the first time.

Beaty, whose company is also considering an investment to acquire and renovate Fianna Hills Country Club, said once RSVP completes its first year in business, he's expecting about $1.3 million in sales.

And for anyone who may doubt those sales expectations or his future success, all one has to do it look at the doubters who did not think his idea for an events center inside the former Phoenix Village Mall would be the success it became, leading to RSVP's debt-free venture.

"I guess that just comes with a little bit of foresight and a little bit of luck and being able to identify holes in the market. It was clearly an area that was underserved. We feel like that this continued market is underserved and the event rental business in this market, as well as we feel like the redevelopment of that Fianna Hills Country Club, is another opportunity."

Health and wellness is big business for Wal-Mart’s Stores Inc. garnering roughly $2.495 billion in sales — roughly 11% of the retailer’s total U.S. sales in fiscal 2013. Sales grew 3.9% from the prior year but the retailer is barely scratching the surface of opportunities as there are major shifts underway in this segment.

Dr. John Agwunobi, president of health and wellness for Wal-Mart Stores, said there are ample opportunities to grow market share. He outlined a few areas where Wal-Mart was focusing on health and wellness growth: healthcare services such as immunizations provided by pharmacists in-store; product innovation, branded and private label, and key focus on the boomer demographic.

HEALTHCARE SERVICES
“We have 100,000 pharmacists scattered about this country and a vast supply chain network that we must fully leverage. Right now in 1,400 of our stores, we have pharmacists giving immunizations and other inoculations, but we will make these services available in all of our stores with pharmacies sometime this year,” he said.

Agwunobi spoke to roughly 800 business professionals in Rogers on Tuesday morning (Jan. 21), as the keynote speaker for the WalStreet Breakfast, a program offered by the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce.

He admitted that Wal-Mart has taken a back seat to other drug store chains when it comes to in-store clinics.

“We have 140 or so in-store clinics at this time and hope to add more in the future. We continue to test and study this option, but we haven’t found the answer yet,” Agwunobi said.

He added that while a couple of drug store chains — Walgreen and CVS Caremark — have actively opened in-store clinics in the past two years, he isn’t sure the ventures are profitable.

According to the Convenient Care Association, there are more than 1,400 health clinics inside retail chain stores – twice the number that there were in 2007. CVS Caremark leads the pack with 650 MinuteClinics in 25 states and Washington, D.C. Although Walgreen is second to CVS in clinic numbers, with Take Care clinics in 372 stores, it anticipates major growth in the next two years with a growth strategy that includes forming accountable care organizations (ACOs) and providing diagnosis and treatment services.

Walgreen partnered in 2013 with Florida-based Diagnostic Clinic, New Jersey-based Advocare, and Texas-based Scott & White Healthcare to form ACOs in which the retailer will benefit from gain sharing when the ACOs succeed in keeping patient healthy at a low cost.

Agwunobi said there continues to be massive consolidation in the drug store channel as the larger players seek to expand their footprints, aligning with insurers and other partners.

“This is a fundamental vertical shift in this channel. The worst thing we can do is sit by and watch. No one knows exactly how this end up but it’s important that we are part of the dialog as we keep our eye on the beacon — for Wal-Mart, that is the customer,” Agwunobi said.

While the Affordable Care Act intent was good, Agwunobi fears it will end up costing suppliers and consumers more money once the mandates kick in. He said those are two areas that squeeze the retailer from both ends.

“As consumers have higher costs associated with health care, that is less money they can spend on other things,” he added.

BOOMER IMPACT
One area Agwunobi said there is enormous potential is in over-the-counter (OTC) wellness and nutrition innovation. 

“Boomers are here. Their consumption is dramatically impacting our business in the areas of eye ware, gastric meds and Medicare Part B participation,” he said.

At one end of the boomer spectrum, Agwunobi described millions of older consumers living active lifestyles, engaged in fitness, yoga, consuming vitamins and other healthy nutrition products. One area where the retailer has seen big gains is in the private label eye wear, such as the Equate contact lenses. Agwunobi said it comes down to price and quality, the two areas that Wal-Mart won’t compromise.

“There is room for product innovation across multiple categories in both private label and branded, from fitness apparel and gear to food supplements,” he said.

On the spectrum’s other end he said the retailer is seeing older seniors and demand growth in diabetes and incontinence products as well as durable equipment sales. He said Wal-Mart seeks keep the cost of living down for seniors requiring more health care services and will rely heavily on its suppliers to bring ideas and solutions to the table.

E-mails tell the tale of an attempt to keep information about cost estimates for the Ben Geren Aquatics Center from city and county officials voting on budgets and amenities tied to the contentious aquatics facility being planned and jointly funded by the city of Fort Smith and Sebastian County.

The e-mails — obtained by The City Wire through a Freedom of Information Act request — revolve around Kent Lemasters, president and CEO of AmusementAquatic Management Group. Lemasters spoke to a Jan. 6 joint meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors and Sebastian County Quorum Court.

At the meeting, Lemasters — who has been involved in the amusement and hospitality sectors in various capacities since 1976, including 15 years as vice president of Raging Waters amusement park in San Dimas, Calif. (Los Angeles County) —spoke about how the inclusion of a wave pool would be the primary draw at the aquatics facility.

Not mentioned during Lemasters' presentation were his concerns about the budget approved by both governmental bodies at separate meetings on Dec. 17, 2013, could be too high. Both bodies voted to increase the budget of the project from $8 million to $10.9 million, an increase of nearly $3 million.

"Congratulations on getting your budget increased," Lemasters wrote to Fort Smith Parks and Recreation Director Mike Alsup in a Dec. 23, 2013, e-mail. "However, I remain concerned that your estimates to construct the waterpark are extremely high. I believe that for your new $10.9 budget, we can (build) an even bigger waterpark. Or, we can build the current planned waterpark with a wave pool at somewhere between $6M and $8M."

When reached for comment by telephone on Jan. 17, Lemasters would not explain his reason for questioning the $10.9 million budget approved by the city and county, adding that, "I have to be careful what I say because, you know, it's not our park at this point. It's not a park we're managing." 

Lemasters added: "I think the $6 to $8 million was before, I believe, the wave pool, I think." Once reminded of the e-mail he wrote to Alsup, Lemasters refused to answer further questions.

"Well, I really. ... I will need to talk to Mike (Alsup) before I can really answer any questions for you because, like I say, I'm not connected to the city as an employee or a contractor or anything. So I feel uncomfortable in speaking to anything other than the plan."

Lemasters, whose trip from California to Fort Smith earlier in January was funded by Fort Smith taxpayers to the tune of about $1,200, said he would not discuss the e-mail any further "until I've talked to (Mike Alsup) and made sure they are OK discussing it."

Further attempts to reach Lemasters by telephone on Friday and Monday (Jan. 20) were unsuccessful.

Contacted later Friday, Alsup said Lemasters was free to discuss the issue with the media, though he cast doubt on Lemasters' cost estimate.

"You have to look at what he's basing that on and your local conditions — rates of pay, what concrete and things cost in different areas, you'd have to look at that," he said, later adding that Lemasters was not given enough information to make an informed estimate of what the water park would cost to construct.

"He's looked at a concept, he's not looked at details. Our construction manager is looking at exactly how many yards of concrete we need for the decks and the buildings and things like that. The view…he hasn't looked at anything in detail like that. So you know, that would be different."

Alsup also pointed to the type of construction used in some of Lemasters' other parks — namely Castaway Cove, a municipal water park in Wichita Falls, Texas — which he said includes metal buildings built to lower standards than other facilities, including the planned Ben Geren Aquatics Center.

In discussing the e-mail, Alsup was asked directly if Lemasters was told to keep quiet about his views of the cost estimates when speaking before the joint meeting.

"He knew that the purpose of that meeting was to approve the elements — the wave pool, the water slides, and so on. So he knew that that was the purpose of the meeting."

Asked again, Alsup again avoided giving a direct “yes or no” answer.

"He was told that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the elements and to approve the elements. The budget had already been set. That's why his comments did that."

Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman, Alsup's direct supervisor, said Lemasters' estimate for construction of the water park was never relayed to the city's Board of Directors.

"No. The only thing that was relayed to the Board based on his opinions necessarily was what he said out loud to them at the joint (meeting)," Dingman explained, adding that he personally did not instruct Lemasters to keep quiet about cost estimates.

"I do know we didn't ask him for his opinion on cost, we asked him for his opinion on the various amenities," he said.

Asked whether his answer implied Lemasters was instructed to keep quiet, Dingman referred to an e-mail included as part of The City Wire's FOIA request.

"I know that Ray (Gosack, Fort Smith's city administrator), I think, through an e-mail that you probably saw reminded all of the staff that Kent was there to talk about his opinions on the amenities, not necessarily costs."

The e-mail written by Gosack to Alsup — which was copied to Dingman, Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, Assistant County Administrator Scott Stubblefield and County Parks and Recreation Director Channon Toland — made clear that Alsup was to keep Lemasters from discussing his views of the cost estimates. Gosack noted in the e-mail:"Thanks for clarifying.  We’ll also want to be certain that Kent stays away from cost estimates at Monday night’s meeting – the architect and CM will be discussing those.  We can discuss estimates with Kent when we meet with him on Tuesday morning. "

Justice of the Peace Shawn Looper was at the joint meeting on Jan. 6 and overheard a brief conversation between Justice of the Peace Tony Crockett and Lemasters following the meeting, in which Crockett asked Lemasters whether he could help the city and county reduce construction costs.

"He said, 'Yes. I can save you money on the construction of this project.' That wasn't really discussed in the (public) comments, but that was really the only comment (about cost) that I heard like that."

Looper said Lemasters’ thoughts on the costs should have been forwarded to the two governmental bodies, especially as they continue to look for ways to save money.

"He says we can build the $10.9 (million) for $6 (million) to $8 (million)? …Then someone needs to answer for that. I mean, why would we not want to do that? That doesn't make sense."

As for whether the bodies can go back and again change the funding model for the project, possibly reducing the allocated funding to a lower amount, Looper said it was something he would look into, possibly bringing the issue before the Quorum Court.

"I don't know that," he said. "Another thing that I don't know is our contracts with Larkin and the construction manager, I don't know how they would be effected, either. But I wonder if he could be brought in as, if he could save us $1 million, if he could be brought in as a consultant to consult with whoever we have on the project. I don't know the answer to those things, I'm just asking that question."

Regardless of what happens moving forward, Looper said he wants both governments to better communicate what is happening away from the spotlight of public meetings.

"This is what always bothers me, is to get good information after the fact. I mean, that to me is a detriment to the whole project. I mean, we needed to flesh that out and at least he was there, we could have at least heard his comments on this. That would have helped the decision making. It could have saved us a lot of money, so why not get that out into the open? To me, there's no benefit in not letting the different bodies have that information. I don't understand why it's so hard to get information."

Vice Mayor Kevin Settle confirmed he had not previously been presented with the cost estimates Lemasters provided Alsup, which made their way up all the way to the city's senior administration officials.

"This is the first I've heard about that. I don't know anything about that at all. The only things I know about are the estimates that came from our construction manager (Flintco) and Larkin Aquatics. That's the only estimates I've ever heard about," he said, adding that it was tough to respond to the e-mail without knowing what Lemasters' figures were based on.

"I didn't come across asking him about price or anything else," Settle said.

Asked whether seeking Lemasters' input on cost estimates would have been a useful exercise for the Board and Quorum Court, Settle said, "If you're asking (as) Monday Morning quarterback three weeks later, then yes."