The U.S. Marshals Museum will break ground Wednesday (Sept. 24), the 200th anniversary of the Marshals Service's founding. But even with dirt moving at the planned museum's site along the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, fundraising continues.

The 20,000-square-foot museum's final estimated cost is expected to be $53 million and is tentatively scheduled to open sometime in 2017. Arkansas tourism officials and Gov. Mike Beebe have said the national museum would create a “triangle” of tourism that would include the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. Beebe is scheduled to be at the Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony.

As of the June 30 quarterly museum board meeting, Marshals Museum President and CEO Jim Dunn reported that the museum had $5.5 million cash on hand, with an additional $3.2 million in pledges. The combined $8.7 million reported as of the June 30 report was a decline from March, when Dunn said the museum had between $9 million and $9.5 million "in cash or pledges receivable."

Of the cash on hand and pledges as of the end of the June 30 reporting period, there is "no specific breakdown" of whether the money is to be used for construction, operations, or both according to museum spokesman Denver Peacock, whose company The Peacock Group has been hired to handle public relations for the museum.

Since the June 30 report was released, Peacock said the museum has upped the number of pledged gifts to $19.5 million, including a $5 million pledge announced last week that is payable by the end of 2015.

Dunn told The City Wire in March that the museum would cost more than $50 million to build and would be broken up into three construction segments based on funding. Dunn had previously said the first phase of construction to be kicked off with Wednesday's groundbreaking would be self-funded. The first phase largely focuses on site work allowing for the other two phases of construction to begin at later dates.

"We will self-fund the 2014 phase (of construction)," Dunn said in March. "In 2015, we will aggressively fundraise. Plans are in 2015, when we've reached necessary fundraising thresholds, then we can hopefully apply (for the tax credits). ... Ideally, we'd like to have $25 million in cash or pledges next year sometime.”

An expected $10 million in new market tax credits is uncertain, with the museum looking at the possibility of spreading the tax credits out over multiple years. And even though the museum will apply for the credits, which are meant to drive economic development in economically challenged areas, there is no guarantee that the tax credits will be awarded, presenting a possible future funding challenge.

The Marshals Museum is also counting on possibly up to a $5 million windfall from the sale of commemorative U.S. Marshals coins. Dunn has previously said an additional $4 million to $5 million in museum funding could come from sales of the commemorative coin.

U.S. Mint profits from the sale of the coin that go to the museum are restricted to fund “the preservation, maintenance, and display of artifacts and documents” at the Marshals Museum. Revenue from coin sales will also go to the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Law Enforcement Museum, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

But hopes for potentially millions of dollars in proceeds from coin sales could prove to be difficult, website Coin Week reported in January. According to the publication, a commemorative coin for the Girl Scouts of America failed to produce any proceeds for the organization after lackluster sales.

"The reason is that sales of the coins, which only reached about a third of the congressionally-authorized maximum mintage, or 123,814 out of 350,000 (as of January 5 unaudited data), were insufficient to cover program costs. By the law organizations cannot receive funds from the sales of commemoratives unless all costs associated with the coin program are first covered. In this case, that meant forfeiting $1.23 million dollars as each proof and uncirculated coin comes with a $10 surcharge. This was the first time that has happened.”

The article's author, Louis Golino, noted that the Girl Scouts employed marketing efforts to ensure sales of its coins much as other groups — including the Marshals Museum — have done.

"As Anna Maria Chavez, the CEO of the GSUSA explained in her interview with me, her organization worked to promote the coin through its web site and other venues such as local Girl Scout council partners, who sold the coins in Girl Scout shops. And yet that was not enough.”

Whenever the museum has funding available, Peacock said phase two of construction would begin. The phase includes construction of the museum building and is expected to cost around $25 million, though costs could increase depending on how long it takes to raise funds and inflationary impacts during that time.

The final phase before the museum opens its doors to the public includes establishing an endowment to fund the museum for years to come, as well as building the exhibits inside the museum. The total cost for the third phase, Peacock said, could run between $10 million and $15 million.

While the museum is focused on fundraising to take the museum from a dream to a reality, it also faces real costs each year the Marshals Museum is not open due to operational costs associated with fundraising, salaries of museum administration, storage and other expenses. For fiscal year 2015, the museum's operating budget was set at $766,416, Peacock noted. The figure includes so-called soft items such as staff expenses of $467,255, up 18.89% over 2014, and a marketing budget of $138,500, ahead of the $23,000 budgeted in 2014.

The 500% increase in the museum's public relations budget comes as the museum staff has hosted several events tied to raising money and awareness of the museum during the fiscal year, which froms from July 2014 to June 2015.

Bringing products to retail has donated the time of two local startups in recent weeks as Ecovet works to fulfill display orders for I.O.Metro and Overwatch reports a successful iOS app for its gaming software.

Josh Moody, CEO of Overwatch, jokes that if he’s seen in the same clothes as a year-ago it’s likely because he has had no to time to change. The 18-year-old Moody has deferred college to devote his efforts to the startup he founded as a high school senior.

Moody told The City Wire the much-anticipated iOS software gaming app launched on the iTunes Store Sept. 8. He said the app garnered 1,000 downloads in the first three days after he unveiled the software at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco Sept. 8-10.

“The trip proved to be far and above what we had hoped for in terms of exposure for Overwatch and gaining interest from a more gaming-focused community,” Moody said. “We were able to glean an 85% conversion rate among those who downloaded the app during that time. To date, we have over 1,300 users from a total of more than 1,600 downloads.”

He said the app was also the No. 12 most downloaded sports and gaming application in the Korean App Store and it ranked in the top 20 sports and gaming app downloads in Japan.

Jeff Amerine, director of Technology Ventures at University of Arkansas, said Overwatch’s invitation to the TechCrunch Disrupt event is a big deal. Moody adds that while in California the startup was featured in interviews by TechCrunch and La Chaine, a prominent French news website. The company also was featured by Engadget.com, all which gives the startup more free publicity in the tech / gaming world.

Amid the TechCrunch preparations, Overwatch also applied for the Adyen Tech Globe Challenge which is a competition that recognizes as the startup with the most global scaleable potential. Out of more than 50 entries, Overwatch advanced to the list of the top eight most scalable startups in attendance.

Moody said the user feedback Overwatch is getting since its iOS launch has been valuable. He said the company will incorporate some changes and a possible new revenue platform into the future Android app launch.

“We are proud of what we were able to achieve in San Francisco, and plan to carry that momentum as we push for our Android release and hardware production in the coming months. We are looking at moving to a subscription model instead of the add-on perk system, based on feedback we are hearing from users and information we learned while in San Francisco,” Moody said.

HARDWARE UPDATE
He said production on the Overwatch hardware pieces — arm mount and rail mount — is slated to begin next week. The hardware is presold on the Overwatch website and could reach online stores within the next four to five months. He said the hardware will not be in U.S. retailer stores in time for Christmas. He expects they will be unveiled in retailers by summer 2015.

Overwatch’s partnership with Cyber Gun has led the way for their products be sold nearly 9,000 U.S. brick and mortar stores including Wal-Mart, Academy and Cabellas.

Moody expects the hardware will retail pieces for $9.99 — arm mount, $14.99 — rail mount. The Apps are free to download with basic operations, for now add-on perks sell for 50 cents each. Under this model, Moody said the average gamer would spend $4 a year. The newly proposed subscription model would allow advertisers to target gamers and provide an unlimited access to the gaming perks, now being sold as add-ons.

He said the company has a projected annual top line revenue of $8.9 million by 2017 as they seek to link 700 million combat video players with 25 million Airsoft, paintball or laser tag players.

“We want to build a social gaming ecosytem around our user base so that our patrons can interact with one another, as opposed to logging on playing a game and then exiting. We have recently revamped our website with a user forum to enhance this social connectivity,” Moody said.

CAPITAL NEEDS
Overwatch is trying to raise $250,000 in capital funding and said they made some good progress in California with local and international investors. Moody said the funds are needed to complete the Android App, bring on another developer and fully market the hardware and software gaming products.

“I have nothing to report as of yet, but we are hoping to secure some financial commitments in the next two weeks,” Moody told The City Wire.

The modest Moody shakes off any notion that he’s a whiz kid, saying only that startup idea etched on a napkin about 18 months ago has gone from being a cool project to something from which he could make a living.

“It has the potential to be big, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself until we are making money. There’s a lot of work left to do and the Overwatch team is dedicated to that mission,” Moody said.

ECOVET DEAL
Ecovet Operations Director Andrew Bogner told The City Wire that the local furniture manufacturing business is growing its local base while also continuing to look at expansions outside the Northwest Arkansas market.

“We have added two new craftsman to the local manufacturing center in Springdale. We have 23 craftsman now working for us and business has picked up behind our partnership with I.O Metro,” Bogner said.

Ecovet takes discarded semi trailers which have pine board floors and strips the floor boards which are then turned into custom furniture pieces by veterans who are also working toward college degrees.

Ecovet has a deal to supply I.O Metro stores around the country with three display items, two of which are already being shown at the Rogers store. The items include an 8-foot dining table, 7-foot dining table and a custom hutch cabinet all made from reclaimed wood.

Bogner said the company has seen some positive results from its exposure on Sam’sClub.com and about half of its business has come by word of mouth from consumers who wanted handcrafted furniture that supports work for veterans.

“We don’t have any Sam’s Club road shows planned at this time as our staff are working hard to fulfill the display orders for I.O Metro. We did purchase new equipment that will help speed up the production process somewhat,” he said.

He said Ecovet continues to look at other national regions for possible manufacturing sites, places like the Northeast were there is an abundance of old trailers and veterans looking for work.

Bogner said most of the company’s sales have originated in the local area, but they are hoping the national exposure with I.O Metro will give them a broader audience. He said one of the best sellers in recent weeks has been custom conference tables ordered by company’s who support Ecovet’s core mission.

It was a night full of data that may seem run of the mill or even ordinary to some. But according to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock economist who compiled the information presented Monday (Sept. 22), it is laying the groundwork for what will be Van Buren and the surrounding region's strategic economic plan.

The data compiled by the UALR Center for Economic Development Education at the Institute for Economic Advancement gave the Van Buren City Council an "objective measurement of where we are right now," UALR economist Mark Goodman said.

The first data points presented by Goodman showed as a whole, Crawford County performs well in areas such as agriculture, oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing.

But in the same data set, Goodman was able to show the county underperforming the 2013 "national location quotient" in areas such as utilities, information, finance and insurance, real estate, and health care. All of the previously mentioned economic sectors fell below the national quotient of 1%, indicating an underperformance by the county in those areas.

While some of the data points such as healthcare appear to be underperforming, it is not that the county is necessarily lacking in quality medical care. Instead, Goodman said Sebastian County is performing above the national quotient, coming in at 1.3%. For this reason, he said it was important for Crawford County to not necessarily attempt to build large medical centers to compete with a much larger market across the river, but instead to work on finding areas within healthcare where the county could support and compliment smaller medical sectors.

Goodman also presented population leakage figures, with data indicating the county was taking in additional business in areas such as hardware stores and but losing business of Crawford County residents in areas such as automotive sales, with an estimated 31,972 residents leaving the county to purchase a new car in 2012. According to UALR's data, that means $39.736 million in auto sales go to other counties each year.

While the large amounts of data presented Monday could seem overwhelming, Goodman noted that this is the type of data that helps local entrepreneurs as well as larger national companies determine whether to locate in Van Buren and elsewhere in Crawford County.

"This is the kind of information … again, if someone is looking at our community, they're asking about this kind of stuff. They expect an inventory.”

The data presented by Goodman also showed that crime in Van Buren was decreasing, which he noted appeared to follow a trend of improved unemployment numbers since 2010. He said a "good economy heals many things," but just because the unemployment number is dropping, Goodman's own figures still indicated struggles with the city's economic recovery.

While the population of Crawford County increased 16.34% from 2000 to 2010 (the most recent census years), the number of people able to work within the county only increased by 9.94% from 2003 to 2012 (the most recent years data was available). During that same period, the number of employed only increased 14.49%. And from 2008 (the start of the Great Recession) to 2012, the the labor force actually fell 3.01% as people dropped out of the labor force entirely, either quitting their pursuit of looking for work, retiring or going on some sort of government assistance.

The number of people receiving some sort of government assistance – social security, unemployment, disability, welfare or other supplemental assistance – has increased from 2007 to 2011, going from 23.66% of total transfer receipts to 28.41%. The data presented, while mixed, provided city leaders with hope as they look to the future and work to develop an economic strategy in partnership with the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce.

"This is a major step forward in the comprehensive planning for our community," Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman said. "Before we develop the strategy, we need to first know where we are and we will see in this assessment (where) we have strengths and also where we have opportunities.”

Lisa Huckelbury, chairman of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce Board, called the presentation Monday night the start of a “process."

"Van Buren is poised to take the next bold step in preparing a strategic plan that guides our Economic and Community Development path," she said. "It's not an end product, but rather a process that entails considerable community self-evaluation, agreement on specific courses of action with measurable outcomes, and the ability to change as new conditions alter the course."

The next step, Goodman said, is more participatory and said it would begin Tuesday (Sept. 23) with meetings involving the community in determining what it wants as a part of the city's economic plan and UALR subsequently working with the city and chamber to determine how to meet those goals for improvement.

Development of the city and chamber's economic plan could be complete by early summer 2015, Goodman added.

Digital technology is looking like a major disruptor in not only retail, but also among consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies according to a recent report from IRI and the Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the Grocery Marketing Association.

The report highlights how important it is for CPG companies to position themselves for growth in the new digital age or risk losing share.

The report outlines a need for many CPG companies to plan for a “1-5-10” market in the United States during the next five years, in which digital’s current 1% penetration will likely expand to 5% and could accelerate to as much as 10% in the near term. Digital penetration of 5% represents nearly one-half of total CPG growth during the next five years, meaning that companies without an effective digital capability risk stagnation, loss of share and even shrinking sales, the report states.

The growth rate of total CPG dollar sales in the U.S. was only 1.5% in 2013, and large CPG companies lost more than 2 points of share to midsize and smaller players from 2009 to 2013.

Researchers said there could be significant advantages for the early movers. Digital penetration rates will vary in different locations and categories but some categories could see digital penetration of 30% or more by 2018.

Patrick Hadlock, a partner at The Boston Consulting Group, notes in the report that the CPG industry is fast approaching a tipping point, driven by a confluence of trends.

“Consumers are embracing technologies, devices, and services that make everyday tasks such as shopping, cooking, and even commuting quicker, easier, more fun, and more efficient. This is fragmenting the purchasing pathway as consumers regularly switch back and forth between digital and physical channels, and they interact digitally both in and outside of stores,” Hadlock said.

The report notes that the impact of digital is felt most acutely at the early stages of the purchasing pathway. Almost 40% of offline shoppers and more than 30% of online shoppers reported that technology's impact is greatest during the discovery phase.

More than 25% of both offline and online shoppers said that digital technology’s biggest impact is in the search phase, while a quarter of in-store shoppers reported online activity as one of the three most influential factors on their purchasing pathway.

The report also noted that the competitive era has never been greater among traditional retailers trying new store formats while large technology companies are building disruptive digital grocery businesses to serve this category and support broader strategic goals. Also heating up competition and blurring the lines are startups that are using technology to build niche positions via product and category subscriptions with digital channels and CPG companies also marketing some of their products online.

Researchers said CPG manufacturers will need to participate in multiple retail models but the winning models have yet to be established, and it is likely that numerous models will prevail.

The report argues that while many companies have established a digital presence — a website and social media sites and some digital advertising — most have yet to fully integrate digital into their operating model, build a big-data analytical capability, pursue a multichannel strategy or tailor their product offerings to the digital or e-commerce marketplace.

“All CPG companies can make a series of low-risk, 'no regret' moves that will better prepare them for a 1-5-10 world,” the report states.

There is a big cost to inaction, too. CPG companies will not only abdicate to retailers the opportunity to shape the evolution of e-commerce in the sector but also risk losing control of their own margins, share, and brand equity in the fast-growing digital channel, the report states.

Researchers warn that companies that do not play in the digital game are likely looking at flat or shrinking sales. The combination of dynamic pricing and consumers’ ability to receive real-time price comparisons and notifications will squeeze margins. Niche brands can take share online through better search rankings. High rankings beget high rankings, which has dire implications for late-moving CPG brands, the report states.
 
The big risk for many CPG players is that their organizations and skills, which have been optimized over many years in the brick-and-mortar marketplace, will be slow to adapt. Researchers said manufacturers need to recast their existing capabilities, including product placement, marketing content development, and supply chain management, for the digital world.

Consumers opened their wallets and purses a little wider mid summer, perhaps spurred on by lower utility bills and lower fuel prices, which boosted the region’s largest cities’ sales tax revenue reported this month. Sales tax collections among the region’s seven largest towns totaled nearly $5.5 million up fractionally against the $5.02 million collected a year ago.

But, the three largest cities fared better than that.

Three for the four largest towns in the Benton and Washington counties reported revenue growth for September, compared to the prior year, while Bentonville’s tax revenue was down 17.4% from September 2013. Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers together posted tax revenue of $3.705 million in September, up 6.3% from the same month last year.

The September revenue is comprised of a 2% local sales tax charged on goods and services purchased in July. That tax is remitted to the state in August and the cities receive their portion of the tax in September, creating a two-month lag in the reporting. Each of the cities use half of the tax for debt repayment and the remaining 1% goes into their city budgets. This report reflects the latter.

Springdale had one of its better months as the city continues to build momentum around new building projects, expanded retail offerings and its downtown development, according to Mayor Doug Sprouse.

“In some respects we are playing catch-up, but we are excited about all of the building investments we are seeing in the city downtown and on the west side,” Sprouse said.

Springdale’s sales tax revenue totaled $975,853 in September, up 8.2% from a year ago and 17.4% higher than the same month in 2012. The mayor said he’s pleased to see a growing trend develop after a slow start earlier this year. The city’s revenue has been up over the past seven consecutive months with double-digit returns in three of the past four reporting periods.

“These gains do not take into account the new Walmart Supercenter or expanded Harp’s Marketplace. I am eager to see how the new supercenter will impact our numbers. In October, we will see about a half-month of collections from the new Walmart store, with the first full month impacting November revenue,” Sprouse said.

He said when a supercenter opens in a town the impact to sales tax is generally $1.5 million to $2 million annually. But given the city already has one store, he is not sure what the impact will be from the second store.

“I believe we were losing some business to the Rogers supercenter just up the road, which should now be kept in Springdale. Next year we will have the new Neighborhood Market come online and in 2016 the Sam’s Club will open giving Springdale more needed retail exposure,” Sprouse said.

Retail has never been a problem for Rogers and its dynamic retail and restaurant presence has kept sales tax revenue growth numbers high for most of this year. September was no different as the city collected $1.25 million in tax revenue, up 11.8% from the same month last year.

City officials attribute much of the recent growth to the Walmart AMP which opened in June. Rogers tourism officials said July was also an active month for conventions and tournaments played in the city which brought in more out-of-town guests for the day and overnight as well.

David Lang, general manager for the Embassy Suites in Rogers, recently told The City Wire his hotel was having a great summer because of robust business travel and an uptick in weekend conventions and meeting groups. He said the hotel has actively recruited weekend business.

“The AMP is also helping to drive traffic to the hotel. We are finding some people would rather get a room and walk over to the concert venue than hassle with parking and traffic, especially if they want to enjoy cocktails,” Lang said.

Casey Wilhelm, finance director for the city of Rogers, has budgeted $14 million in sales tax revenue for this year and collections are running about 3% over projections. 

“I expect total collections for the year will be up slightly and I have budgeted for a very modest increase for 2015. The region is growing and there is building investments being made as our jobs numbers and consumer confidence improves,” Wilhelm said.

Fayetteville reported a modest 1.3% gain in sales tax revenue, collecting $1.482 million in September, compared to $1.465 million in the same month last year. 

City officials report the September revenue was below budget but said they anticipate a strong fall season with University of Arkansas’ growing enrollment and perhaps more visitors for UA football behind a winning team.

Denise Land, finance director for the city of Bentonville, told The City Wire she is not provided with explanations of the month-to-month fluctuations in their numbers.

Bentonville’s September revenue totaled $697,318, down 17.3% from a year ago. It was the lowest collections for the month of July since 2009. The city’s sales tax revenue has been down in six of the past eight months. Through the first eight months of this year the city has collected $6.609 million, short of the of $7.156 million collected during the same period of 2013. The city reports that September was the first month this year that it came in short of the budgeted $750,000 amount. Land reported that even with the light September revenue the city is still more than $600,000 over budget for the year.

Three of the regions’ smaller towns, all in Benton County, reported mixed revenue results this month.
• Bella Vista: $145,311, up 25.7%
• Siloam Springs: $266,401, up 7.3%
• Lowell: $231,534, down 29.3%

Consumer confidence plays a large roll in sales tax revenue as does disposable income. The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence in July rose to its highest level in nearly seven years. July is the month that corresponds with the September sales tax revenue.

"Strong job growth helped boost consumers' assessment of current conditions, while brighter short-term outlooks for the economy and jobs, and to a lesser extent personal income, drove the gain in expectations," Lynn Franco, the board's director of economic indicators noted in July. "Recent improvements in consumer confidence, in particular expectations, suggest the recent strengthening in growth is likely to continue into the second half of this year."

Scott Van Laningham is “surprised” at the double-digit enplanement growth at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA). He didn’t think the pace of growth would return so soon. The pace for the first eight months of 2014 is also positive at the Fort Smith Regional Airport.

Arkansas commercial airport trends that began early in 2014 have continued through August, with traffic increases at XNA and Fort Smith and enplanement declines in Little Rock.

Travelers flying out of XNA during August totaled 57,273, up 12.81% compared to the 50,771 during August 2013. For the first seven months of 2014, enplanements at XNA total 430,220, up 10.73% compared to the same period in 2013.

The January-August 2014 traffic is up 7.93% compared to the same period in 2007, the year XNA reached record enplanements of 598,886. Enplanements at XNA fell to 540,918 in 2009 after reaching the 2007 high.

Van Laningham, executive director of XNA, said an improving regional economy and moderation in air fares are at least two reasons for increased traffic.

“Clearly there is increased economic activity throughout this region, and I think that is part of it. But also, looking at airfare comparisons (with other commercial airports in a competing region) the (price) differentials are getting smaller which tells me we are recapturing some of the loss that we were seeing, primarily to Tulsa,” he said.

Another factor is that the airlines are using larger planes on some of the XNA routes.

“There is more capacity also with those extra seats, and they are absolutely filling those up,” he said.

For all of 2013, XNA enplanements totaled 579,679, up 2.58% compared to the same period in 2012. The enplanement growth remained stable through the year, with enplanements up 2.42% at the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Enplanements at XNA totaled 565,045 during 2012, up just 0.4% compared to 2011. Although slight, the gain prevented XNA from posting two-consecutive years of enplanement declines. XNA’s first full year of traffic was 1999, and the airport posted eight consecutive years of enplanement gains before seeing a decline in 2008.

FORT SMITH TRAFFIC
The Fort Smith Regional Airport, served by flights from Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, posted August enplanements of 7,646, up 5.7% compared to August 2013.

Enplanements for the first seven months of 2014 total 60,803, up 6.77% compared to the same period in 2013.

For all of 2013, enplanements at the airport totaled 84,520, down 2.46% compared to the same period in 2012. The decline ended three consecutive years of enplanement gains at the airport.

Based on monthly averages, Fort Smith enplanements could reach more than 91,000 in 2014. The last time enplanements were above 100,000 was in 2005, with 102,607. The last year enplanements were above 90,000 was in 2007, with 99,217.

With 34,902 enplanements for the first eight months of 2014, American Airlines accounts for 57.4% of commercial traffic out of Fort Smith. Delta Air Lines had the remaining market share – 25,901 enplanements – for the first eight months of 2014.

American enplanements out of Fort Smith are up 5% for the first eight months of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013, and Delta enplanements are up 9.23%.

LITTLE ROCK NUMBERS
Enplanements at the Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport (Little Rock National Airport) totaled 87,230 in August, down 2.88% compared to August 2013. Enplanements for the first eight months of 2014 were 702,284, down 4.99% compared to the same period of 2013.

Enplanements in 2013 totaled 1.085 million, down 5.45% compared to 2012. Enplanements in 2012 totaled 1.147 million, up 4.07% compared to 2011. The 2012 numbers ended five consecutive years of enplanement declines at Arkansas’ largest commercial field.

Among the top three carriers in Little Rock, only one has posted enplanement gains between January and August. Southwest, the largest carrier, has seen enplanements decline 14.23% in the first eight months. American, the second largest, has posted a 3.35% gain in the period, while Delta has a 2.35% decline in enplanements during the first seven months of 2014.

It was announced Tuesday (Sept. 23) that an important link in future infrastructure development along the Arkansas River could become a reality by the end of the decade.

According to city of Fort Smith Director of Engineering Stan Snodgass, included within a five year capital improvement plan presented to the city's Board of Directors' study session Tuesday is funding to begin design in 2015 of an extension of Kelley Highway from Midland Avenue to Riverfront Drive.

Complete funding for the project, he said, would be around $8.5 million and could break ground as early as 2018.

There had initially been discussion of extending Spradling Avenue to Riverfront Drive, but he said study of multiple routes lead the city to make Kelley Highway the designated route for moving traffic directly to Riverfront without having to first travel to downtown or drive from Midland Avenue to Riverfront Drive.

With the chosen Kelley Highway route, Snodgrass said fewer homes and businesses would be impacted and it would give direct access to Interstate 540 where Spradlin would require more turns and no direct interstate access.

While design work on the road extension is not scheduled to begin until next year, he told the Board that plans would likely be drawn for a three-lane road, with some sections possible being four lane. The reason, Snodgrass explained, was due to the limited traffic expected along the route.

The capital improvement plan for streets, bridges and drainage will also add funding for the study of bike lanes, with the first planned discussion of implementing bike lanes or possible trails to take place Thursday (Sept. 25) at the Elm Grove Community Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park at 4:30 p.m.

2015 BUDGET NOTES
In other business, Fort Smith Finance Director Kara Bushkuhl told the Board that work was underway for the city's Fiscal Year 2015 budget, noting that public meetings with the Board regarding recommended budgets was scheduled for Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 at the community room of the Fort Smith Police Department. The meetings would be held at 6 p.m. both nights.

As the year draws to a close, she noted that the general fund still has 11.9% in excess funds, adding that this year's total means the city is "ending the year better in the general fund" than in previous years.

Requests from various city departments for the upcoming budget, Bushkuhl noted, were being cut in order to balance the budget. She did not state specifically what the cuts were, simply noting that all city departments would not receive every request made at the beginning of budget preparation this year. A priority, Bushkuhl said, would be providing city staff with cost of living raises and re-instating merit raises that have been cut in previous years due to budget shortfalls resulting from declining sales tax and other revenues.

"All of our reductions are geared towards including those numbers in the budget proposal.”

A ‘PACE’ PROGRAM
In another item of business, a presentation to the Board Tuesday by the Advanced Energy Association of Arkansas explained how an energy improvement district could positively impact local businesses should the city of Fort Smith decide to form its own district or partner with the city of Fayetteville.

Steve Patterson, with the AEAA, made the presentation and said the property-assessed clean energy (PACE) program would allow businesses to take out loans for energy efficient improvements to their properties, payable once per year just as property tax is paid. The loan approval process, Patterson said, would make the loan tied to the property and therefore reduce risk for lenders.

A state law establishing the program during the last legislative session states that all loans must be able to be repaid using money saved on energy, therefore averting any further budgetary pressures on businesses that choose to improve energy efficiencies within their properties.

No action was taken on the presentation as the Board directed city staff to further research Fayetteville's district and report back its findings.

Arkansas has jobs. Arkansas has people who need jobs. Arkansas has too many people who need jobs who can’t do the job.

Those problems were the subject of a daylong Jobs Now workforce summit sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce at the Statehouse Convention Center. According to the chamber, 49% of skilled-trade workers in Arkansas are age 45 and older.

Among the highlights of the event were two panel discussions focused on workforce opinions that included education, government and business leaders. In one discussion, Dr. Glen Fenter, president of Mid-South Community College in West Memphis, said Arkansas’ education bureaucracy has not changed with the evolving global economy.

A partnership must develop between the state’s K-12 public schools and higher education that is based on an economic development strategic plan, he said. Fenter added that the funding processes need to force education providers to prepare students quickly for available jobs. Instead, he said, the model doesn’t reward institutions like his when it does that. In fact, the state has not had an educational plan since 1991, and since 2000 its policies have been a reaction to the Lake View court case.

“If we were starting this over, it wouldn’t look anything like it does today. Because quite frankly when a person can’t get a job coming out of high school, then we need to be changing the high school model,” said Fenter.

Joe Quinn, Walmart’s senior director of public affairs and government relations, said the state’s next governor should make workforce education a signature issue. His employer, the world’s largest retailer, has committed to spend $250 million over 10 years on American-made products and is trying to bring suppliers from China to the United States, he said.

Tori Huggins, lead welding instructor with the Arkansas Pipe Trades Association, offered one example of what that future could look like. A 2007 graduate of Hendrix College, she said she “went the college route, was broke after college, and I fell into welding and absolutely loved it, and it’s changed my life.” Now she instructs students through a state-funded 18-week course that prepares them for a trade where jobs are plentiful.

A common theme in both panel discussions was the need to hold skilled tradesmen like Huggins in higher esteem. A skilled labor path should be presented as a parallel option to college, not a less desirable choice.

“We’re not just a bunch of dumb welders. I know that’s the stereotype,” she said.

Earlier, Bill Hannah, chairman of the board for Nabholz Construction Services; Phil Simon, global technical and product training for the John Deere Company; and Steve Williams, president and CEO of Maverick Transportation, discussed workforce development from an employer perspective.

Like Huggins, they said that skilled trades like construction workers and truck drivers suffer from an image problem. Not enough young people see those jobs as first-choice careers or realize the skills that are involved.

Williams said Maverick is feeling the pinch from the lack of workers willing to enter the industry. Despite salaries that start at $52,000, the firm has 100 trucks parked because of a lack of drivers and could hire 500 if they were available.

Nabholz’s Hannah said the construction industry faces retention problems, particularly as it competes for talent with other states, such as energy-rich Louisiana.

Simon said business and industry must take the lead in working with educational institutions and not wait for leadership from the government.

In the other panel discussion, Chris Massingill, federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, agreed that business and industry should drive the issue at every level, including K-12.

“We’ve got to ramp up. We don’t have time to continue to have the same conversations about workforce training and development that we’ve been having for 30 years,” he said.

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith introduced a variety programs Tuesday (Sept. 23) at its Board of Visitors meeting that it said would protect students from sexual assault and domestic violence.

The announced programs are part of new Title IX reporting requirements placed on universities nationwide and come in the wake of several domestic violence scandals involving National Football League stars.

"Just this year, we have to report on and treat differently domestic abuse, relationship violence, and stalking cases. (Those) are sort of being shepherded under Title IX," said Dr. Lee Krehbiel, UAFS vice chancellor for student affairs.

He said a total of six new programs and initiatives have been introduced to both educate and possibly prevent abuse of students on the university's campus while complying with new Title IX requirements at the federal level. The first is an education program called "UMatter" that educates students on different focuses each month through tables set up at Volleyball matches and other university events and incorporates social media to reinforce information presented in-person. The program is not solely targeted toward domestic violence or sexual assault, but the topics and related issues could be part of the planned month-long education focuses.

Another program the university is pushing, according to Krehbiel, is a nationally-available smartphone app called "Circle of Six" that allows individuals to program the app to contact a friend or family member with just two simple taps on the screen. He said ideally students would program in four or five friends, as well as a phone number for the university police and then if they find themselves in a situation they need to escape from, they can make contact using the app to call a friend to come get them or police if they are in immediate danger. The app is free to download and can be used to contact anyone with a phone number, even if they do not have the app.

UAFS is also introducing new training for students and employees using videos to educate them on Title IX, said Beth Eppinger, director of housing and residential life.

"With all of our incoming students who go through orientation, which is registering for classes and learning more about the institution, they have a 12 minute training on Title IX," she said, adding that the videos must include information on Title IX and statistics on male and female victims as well as resources on campus and in the city of Fort Smith.

Krehbiel added that UAFS will also fall under the UA System's new Title IX policy, developed by the system's general counsel.

"One of the main changes for many of the institutions that adopted that – obviously, we can customize it, as well – but it created a unitary process. So it doesn't matter now, unlike past years, whether a complaint is made against a staff member, a faculty member or a student. There's a unitary process utilizing a single hearing panel that is now receiving specialized training in the handling of Title IX-related cases.”

The fifth program discussed included a new "Step Up" bystander intervention training, where athletes on campus, as well as resident assistants, are being trained to intervene before a situation can escalate. An example given by Krehbiel would be noting when a friend has had too much to drink and making sure the individual gets back home safely, preventing a possible situation from arising due to the individual's state.

While the program is initially being offered to resident assistants and athletes, Eppinger said the university would work with professors to introduce the training during class time on dates when a professor may be absent, offering the training instead of canceling class.

The final initiative is a student climate survey, which will gather data that will guide future programming related to domestic violence, sexual assault and other Title IX-related matters, Krehbiel said.

An awards banquet held Tuesday night (Sept. 23) in Fort Smith honored the legacy of a man some say is single-handedly responsible for Fort Smith becoming the heart of manufacturing in Arkansas through his work with regional chambers of commerce and the development of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

The Arkansas River Historical Society inducted three men into its hall of fame, including Tony Thomas of Clinton, Miss., Steve Taylor of Eucha, Okla., and the late Paul Latture Sr. of Fort Smith.

Paul Revis, president of the ARHS, said the "development of a multipurpose project of this magnitude requires the commitment of multiple talents and efforts over a span of decades.”

"These honorees represent not only different generational ages but also different areas of expertise and contributions to the development of the Arkansas River," he added.

Paul Latture Jr. was on hand Tuesday to accept the honor on behalf of his late father and spoke of his father's involvement in the development of the river channel, dating back to his work in 1948 with the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, where he focused his efforts on agriculture issues.

"The river was authorized at that point and they hadn't started the work on it. But one of the challenges he had was to try to determine the impact that it's going to have on the agricultural community in Oklahoma at the time and Tulsa. So he was involved with how the river's going to affect the economy and how it's going to affect the movement of goods.”

In 1956, Latture Sr.'s efforts shifted to Fort Smith where he took over as executive director of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce and shared a vision with the community, members of the region's congressional delegation and just about anyone else who would listen about the movement of goods up and down the river and the potential floating right by the city's downtown.

Latture Jr. recalled a photo from 1956 that showed the Arkansas River in Fort Smith as basically "a sand bar," much like parts of the river appear in Tulsa today beyond the navigation system. He said his father's work in Tulsa that continued well into his tenure in Fort Smith was about bringing commerce to the region.

"The same impact it's going to have on Tulsa, it's going to have on Fort Smith. So he came in with that background and he was one of the ones who promoted the funding, worked real close with the congressional delegation in Washington to make sure funding continued and he was very involved with it until the day it opened," with a portion to Little Rock opening in 1969 and another stretch to Catoosa, Okla., opening in 1971.

Marty Shell, the operator of the Ports of Fort Smith and Van Buren, grew up with Latture as a neighbor and a role model and said his involvement on the river as a port operator and president of Five Rivers Distribution could be tied to Latture, part of the reason he asked to be able to present the award to Latture's son.

Shell said most of the manufacturing community in Fort Smith and the region could thank Latture – who lead the chamber until his death in 1986 – for their jobs, due to his leadership in the Arkansas River navigation system and bringing additional industry to the region.

"Everyone that's employed in the manufacturing sector, they might not know who Paul Latture Sr. is, but they ought to be able to thank him because he's probably the reason they've had a job or currently have a job in the manufacturing sector. He was a very influential man for the city of Fort Smith in the 60s, 70s, and 80s," Shell said.

Latture Jr. said his father was able to identify the unique attributes along the inland river – access to the Gulf of Mexico, major interstates, and rail. And tying all three together was a large part of why his father is being posthumously awarded inducted into the Arkansas River Historical Society's Hall of Fame.

And while Latture Sr. has been gone for many years now, his legacy has lived on with his son having been involved in work at various chambers of commerce throughout the region and capping his career with the executive directorship of the Port of Little Rock, a position he retired from during the summer. Latture Jr. said while his father played a part in accomplishing what some perceived to be the impossible by turning sand bars into a river of commerce and opportunity, the work is not over.

He said maintenance funding is needed to keep the navigation system running and commerce flowing. Latture Jr. said dredging the river to 12 feet could also add more industry to the region, allowing it to compete with the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers for business.

But the most important thing, he said, was conducting the Three Rivers Study to prevent a potentially catastrophic situation should a breach occur at the convergence of the Arkansas, Mississippi, and White Rivers in eastern Arkansas.

"You know, you can stub your toe and break your finger. But if you break your neck, it's over. And that's exactly the problem. That's the very start or end of the system and we think that needs to be reinforced to make sure the two rivers (the Arkansas and White) don't change course. If one of them gets into the other one, then you can't get up the river.”

As pump prices across Arkansas retail locations move below the psychological $3 a gallon level, local price wars are igniting at strategic and high-traffic transportation hubs as consumers employ smartphone apps and other digital tools to find the cheapest gas.

Late Tuesday evening during rush hour at the corner of the busy and highly-traveled University Avenue and Colonel Glenn Road intersection in Little Rock, motorists danced in and out of traffic to fill up their tanks with regular unleaded $3.03 per gallon at the almost-new, 20-pump Kum & Go convenience store.

A mile down the street in all directions, there are no less than a dozen other gasoline retailers scrambling to respond every time to the market leader’s frequent price-cutting gambit – which can take place several times a day.

Retailers are also using every marketing tool available – from gas pump advertising displays to old-fashioned "we got a sale" window signs – to get motorists to enter their stores and purchase other goods to cover low fuel profit margins at most privately-owned, mom-and-pop gas stations and convenience store chains.

And motorists are responding.

"I like it when they keep cutting the price every time I drive by. I hope they keep on doing it until it gets down to $2 dollars a gallon," said Little Rock resident Reggie Harris, who lives near the busy University Avenue corridor.

WHAT'S AT WORK?
Greg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, said there are a number of factors working together to drive down prices in all regions of the U.S. – from the annual refinery industry annual mid-September switch to cheaper winter blend fuels to decreasing demand for motor fuel following the peak summer driving season that traditionally ends on Labor Day weekend.

Other factors include the falling price of domestic and international crude futures and the fact that consumers are a lot more savvy about finding ways to lower their commuting and everyday fuel costs.

"Already we have 17 states that have prices below $3," Laskoski said. "In Arkansas, we are seeing prices as low as $2.89 in Springdale, and that is the cheapest in the state."

Nationwide, the GasBuddy expert predicts that by the time Halloween gets here, more than half of the states in the U.S. will be selling regular unleaded under $3 a gallon.  

"We think that by November, 30 states will be under $3, (which) is an important psychological threshold where consumers feel like they have more money in their pocket because they are spending less at the pump," he said.

Laskoski's forecast is not surprising given that the U.S. Energy information Administration most recent short-term energy forecast on Sept. 9 had to be revised to account for rapidly falling pump prices in every region of the country.

The EIA, the U.S. Department of Energy’s interagency for energy forecasting and statistics, had projected pump prices to decline to an average of $3.18 gallon by December, 12 cents lower than what was previously predicted in the prior month. On Wednesday, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded had already ratcheted down another 11 cents to $3.34 from a week ago, and is well ahead of pace to hit the EIA’s price target before the Christmas season.

In the Gulf Coast region, which includes Arkansas and five other states, the average price Wednesday for a gallon of regular unleaded was down to $3.12, 10 cents cheaper than a week ago.

According to AAA, today’s average price is a nickel less than one week ago, a dime less than one month ago and 14 cents less than a year ago. It is also the lowest price seen in more than seven months.

TECH SMART
Laskoski said the fierce competition and declining pump prices in Little Rock along the University Avenue corridor and other high-traffic areas in the city’s metropolitan area is also being driven by another emerging factor – savvy drivers with smartphones and other Internet-based gas-shopping tools.

He said 45 million people across the U.S. have downloaded the popular GasBuddy fuel price app, which allows consumers to locate gasoline stations near them with the cheapest fuel price. It also earns drivers points toward prize giveaways that often can help lower their fuel bill.

The app allows Gas Buddy’s huge community of users to work together to quickly update fuel prices almost in real-time by by sending in local fuel prices as they are posted, Laskoski said.

"That allows us to update every few hours," he said.

In Little Rock on Tuesday, prices ranged from $2.99 per gallon to as high as $3.63 per gallon across the city’s metropolitan areas. Laskoski said the 64 cent spread in the Little Rock market is not unusual, but consumers can now have the power to bypass the higher prices if they find out that another gasoline retailer down the street is selling its fuel at a cheaper rate.

"(Cheaper gas) may just be around the corner," he said. "That is why the app is so successful."

PSYCHOLOGICAL BOOST
Laskoski, like many others, also believes lower fuel prices have a positive effect on motorists and the economy.

Two weeks ago, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) released its monthly consumer fuels survey showing that optimism among U.S. drivers increased 8 percentage points from in August, mainly because of lower fuel prices.

NACS, which represents more than 151,000 convenience stores across the U.S. with annual motor fuel sales exceeding $491 billion, conducts the monthly consumer sentiment to gauge how gas prices affect broader economic trends. The most recent report said 47% of gas consumers across the U.S. were optimistic about the economy, the highest level of optimism in 14 months.

"We have seen increasingly wide swings in economic mood over the past three months as consumers continue to sort out how world and national events could affect their economic security. At the same time, it appears that what happens at the corner store with gas prices continues to play a major role with consumer sentiment," Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic initiatives for the national convenience store lobby, told Talk Business & Politics.

On Wednesday, pump prices in the state’s metropolitan areas ranged from a low of $3.07 per gallon in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers to a high of $3.11 per gallon in the Little Rock area, according to the AAA’s daily fuel gauge.

Motorists in the Fort Smith area are seeing prices at an average of $3.08 per gallon, while travelers and residents to Pine Bluff and Texarkana are paying an average of $3.10 a gallon to fill up their tanks.

The next release date for the EIA’s monthly shorter energy outlook is Oct. 7.

Ground was broken Wednesday (Sept. 24) on the U.S. Marshals Museum along the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith, an important step in moving the museum from a dream and concept to a reality.

The planned $53 million museum's construction is a three-phase project, starting first with site work before moving to building construction and finally design and installation of exhibits to be housed at the museum celebrating the United States' oldest law enforcement agency.

The first phase is being self-financed, with fundraising ongoing to fund the next two phases. The museum had about $5.5 million cash on hand as of its June 30 quarterly board meeting, and has since announced a total of $19.5 million in cash and pledges committed to the project. The amount includes an anonymous donation of $5 million last week that is payable by the end of 2015.

At the ceremony kicking off construction of the museum, Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders told a crowd of about 750 about the significance of breaking ground on Sept. 24.

"On this day in 1789 - 225 years ago today - President George Washington signed Senate Bill Number One, which established the United States Marshal Service and it is very appropriate that this groundbreaking is being held on Sept. 24," Sanders said, adding that Wednesday's event was another historic milestone in the Marshals Service.

Sebastian County Circuit Judge Jim Spears, who has lead fundraising efforts for the museum, said Wednesday not only marked an important milestone for the Marshals Service, but it marked an important moment for the greater Fort Smith area.

"This community came together and said it could be done and it will be done," he said of the museum's construction.

Spears touted the commemorative coins being produced by the U.S. Mint as the next fundraising effort for the museum and could raise as much as $5 million for the preservation of the artifacts to be housed in the museum.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, lead the charge for the commemorative coin when he became the primary House sponsor of legislation to mint the coins and said he was "in awe of what has been accomplished and what will be."

Womack said when he replaced now-U.S. Sen. John Boozman in the House, it fell on him to lead the charge on the coins and spoke of working with now-former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, in getting bipartisan support of the bill.

"To get these done, you have to get them on the Suspension Calendar. I had no idea what that meant. And (Boozman) says, 'Well, that means you're going to have to have 290 of your colleagues sign on as co-sponsors just to get it on the Suspension Calendar.' That means sitting down with 290 of your favorite friends on both sides of the aisle and take them from zero to 60 on this project.”

With the daunting task, Ross – now running for governor of Arkansas – and Womack worked both sides of the aisle to get near-unanimous passage of the legislation that allowed for the minting of the Marshals Museum coin. In a statement, Ross said he was proud of his work to benefit the museum "to secure over 300 bipartisan cosponsors that ensured its passage so that we can recognize the work our marshals do and can honor all those within the U.S. Marshals Service who gave their lives in service to their country."

Gov. Mike Beebe, who worked to secure $2 million in state funding for the Marshals Museum, told the crowd that the approach of pay-as-you-go was smart and noted that even though the museum has been a work in progress since he first took office more than seven years ago, he believed Wednesday's groundbreaking was going to give the museum momentum moving forward.

"I foresee that the second half of all of this process will go even faster and even smoother than the first half has. From the donation of the land by a very generous individual to the constant collection of gifts and activities that create the money; from the cooperation and assistance of the United States Marshal Service who have from the time that they decided this was going to be have never wavered and have continued to push; from our congressional delegation who have been leaders in everything that they could possibly do to move it along - I have every confidence that this is going to work and that you will all be able to see rising from this beautiful spot a museum that will be unique. The best law enforcement museum in the country."

U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said there were no words to adequately express her thanks for the work done by people on the ground in Arkansas to make the museum a reality following Fort Smith's selection in January 2007 as the site of the museum. She said the museum would not only be of importance to those who care about law enforcement, but would tell the story of a young nation.

"So yes, the museum tells the U.S. Marshals' story and in doing so, it tells the country's story. We both started together, the same time. And we shifted, we grew and with many others, we formed this great nation."

Hylton added that as much as the museum being built along the banks of the river will tell the nation's story, it is being built along the banks of the Arkansas River because Fort Smith is in the Marshals Service's DNA as much as the Marshals Service is in the DNA of Fort Smith.

She pointed to the period in the 1800s when Marshals were often the only law enforcement present in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), noting the number of marshals killed in the line of duty based in Fort Smith during the period.

Also attending Wednesday’s ceremony was Richard Davies, executive director of the Arkansas Parks & Tourism Department.

“It’s a beautiful day. This is a great event. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Davies said when asked his thoughts of the ceremony.

U.S. Marshals Museum President and CEO Jim Dunn has said previously that the museum could open as soon as 2017 if fundraising and construction efforts go as planned.

Wal-Mart continues its move toward big box banking by unveiling a new checking account partnership with Green Dot Corp. aimed at lower costs for its core customers. The GoBank FDIC insured checking account will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart amid a nationwide rollout by the end of October, the retail giant announced Wednesday (Sept. 24).

Industry insider Ben Jackson of the Mercator Group said the GoBank product is likely to result in a legal challenge from the regulated banking industry.

“Wal-Mart pursued a banking charter and was defeated but has continued to expand its financial offerings through strategic partnerships. This one allows Wal-Mart to act as a deposit taker because customers can upload deposits at the checkout counter, and I think the traditional banks will have a problem with that,” Jackson said.

The Arkansas Bankers Association said the product looks like it might be a good for the unbanked population and the industry probably won’t contest that segment, but there will more scrutiny of the overall product.

“My concern is with the uptick in fraud we are seeing in the retail segment. You know the problems Home Depot recently had. Simmons Bank for instance, issued new cards to all of its customers who had shopped Home Depot during the period in question. We don’t know if Green Dot will offer such protection on this account,” said Bill Holmes, president and CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association.

He said the industry will likely object on the name alone —“GoBank.”

"GoBank members enjoy full protection from unauthorized activity as they would expect from any FDIC-insured bank account," Alok Deshpande, chief product officer for GreenDot Corp., told The City Wire when asked about fraud protection.

INSTANT GIANT
Jackson gives GreenDot CEO Steve Streit a lot of credit for the competitive product that solves the hurdle the banking industry has faced with how consumers deposit cash with a mobile banking app. He said the partnership with Wal-Mart solves that issue with the retailer’s expansive 4,300 store U.S. network. Jackson said large banks such as Bank of America have been pondering the cash deposit upload conundrum for some time.

“Suddenly Wal-Mart has become one of the largest banks in the country in terms of branch locations. We know that the No. 1 reason consumers chose a bank is because there is branch near their home. It remains to be seen if consumers will view their Wal-Mart store as bank branch,” Jackson said.

In branch locations, Wal-Mart would rank behind of Bank of America’s 5,300 and Chase Bank’s 5,500 locations, but it is four times the size of Citibank and Capital One, according to the FDIC.

Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of sales for Wal-Mart U.S., cited studies that show overdraft and other fees on traditional bank accounts cost the average bank customer $200 to $300 a year.

"That is typically what our customers spend for fresh fruit and vegetables a year," Eckert said, adding that banking fees are "a real expense for them, and it puts a real pinch in their pocket. … This product is really designed toward Wal-Mart shoppers who find themselves dissatisfied or unhappy with the fees and costs associated with traditional banking, as well as customers with a spotty record of managing their account.”

CONSUMER SOLUTIONS
Retail analyst Carol Speickerman chalks this up as “another great example of Wal-Mart swooping in and providing solutions for customers who are getting left behind by traditional providers.”

Speickerman, CEO of newmarketbuilders, said banks have “done the math” and are abandoning low-balance customers in droves and shunning the unbanked altogether.

“Unlike banks, though, Wal-Mart has a stake in helping these consumers escape the vicious cycle of punitive fees levied by traditional institutions. That money could be better spent in its stores,” said added. “As such, Green Dot won’t have to be a direct profit center for it to pay off big time for Wal-Mart, particularly if Green Dot ATMs are set up in the majority of Wal-Mart stores.”

The GoBank checking account provides a host a linked MasterCard debit card, and doesn’t charge overdraft fees, minimum balance fees or monthly fees with qualifying direct deposits of at least $500. Green Dot believes customers will find the product competitive noting several features and functions like the early paycheck availability or the fortune teller advice that helps users stay on budget.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Molly Blakeman told The City Wire that there are physical checks available with the GoBank. The checks can be pre-ordered for free during the initial product launch, Green Dot added there will be charge after that. But the product does offer free bill pay via paper check or mobile transfer.

Blakeman said the reason Wal-Mart and Green Dot collaborated on GoBank is to give consumers another choice for their banking needs. She said the BlueBird Card launched in 2012 and the other options are still available at Wal-Mart and this new product will be added to that assortment.

“Giving our customers the broadest assortment is just what we do,” Blakeman said.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Jackson agreed that the early paycheck option is an intriguing option for consumers living paycheck to paycheck. GoBank said it offers early payroll direct deposit in some cases that allows customers to receive access to their paycheck up to two days earlier than normal. Jackson explained that this feature is already part of the Rush Card, another prepaid debit card product. He said when there is an established pattern of direct deposits the bank could allow access a little early, especially when they can see that the credit is headed their way.

“This is a big deal for consumers that run short of funds a few days early and might otherwise have relied on a payday loan, which are quite expensive. This feature is likely not available right away but with an established pattern of deposits could be obtained,” Jackson said.

He also said this GoBank product is great attempt at a checking account for the mobile age.

“GreenDot can deliver a power marketing message to the Wal-Mart shopper that their product offers some interesting features that also help the shoppers better manage their money,” Jackson added.

The Fortune Teller feature lets a consumer know when they are about to purchase an item they cannot afford. He said there is a growing demographic seeking to avoid debt, and retailers that offer tools to help them with savings and money management are likely to be favored.

TROUBLE SHOOTING
Jackson worries that if a user has a problem with their card that the average checker at Wal-Mart won’t be able to handle that complaint without holding up the line.

“We talked to convenience stores in the past about why some of them don’t sell pre-paid phones and we were told that when they did and the consumer had a problem that they brought it back into the store upset and store workers had no way to fix the problem. The last thing retailers want is to have upset consumers in their stores when there is no way they can solve the issue,” Jackson said.

Holmes also agreed that training all the cashiers at the store level could be challenging for Wal-Mart.

Deshpande, the chief product officer for GreenDot Corp., explained that consumers can load cash onto the cards at any register by handing the cashier the money and then swiping their card, noting that cashiers are trained on how to load debit cards.

Jackson also wonders where it will go from here and if Green Dot and Wal-Mart may offer a product that extends credit to consumers.

“It’s an interesting partnership. There are lots of doors opened for each party that’s for sure. It remains to be seen if it will pass the legal fight it’s bound to face,” Jackson said.

WHAT’S NEXT?
University of Arkansas banking expert John Dominick said he’s not surprised to hear Wal-Mart is expanding its banking services because they have added products through various partnerships during the past few years.

“One day we might buy cars from Wal-Mart. Just drive up and get your groceries and tell them to add a Chevrolet to your cart. There could be models out front selling for one low price. I might be competing with them someday at Walmart University,” Dominick joked.

He agreed that the banking industry would have plenty to say about this latest GoBank product, because he believes it will resonate with the Millennial generation — a demographic traditional banks are trying to attract.

“Who knows maybe someday you can get your mortgage at Wal-Mart or get an unsecured loan to cover your purchase when you’re running short on funds,” Dominick said.

A study released by the personal finance website NerdWallet says if marijuana were legalized in the state of Arkansas, the economic and tax revenue impacts for the state could be substantial. But two local economists said expectations of windfalls may not hold true should Arkansas ever vote to allow the use of the drug.

The study released by NerdWallet estimated that there are more than 70,000 individuals age 25 and older in Arkansas who smoke marijuana. The data for determining the number of pot smokers was derived from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, using the number of individuals from Arkansas the agency reported as users and multiplying the percentage total by the census estimate of residents over the age of 25.

After determining the population of pot smokers, the website took an estimate of $14 billion in marijuana-related business nationwide and broke that figure up proportionally for each state. Using those figures, NerdWallet estimated that the total size of the marijuana market in Arkansas was $93.466 million and further asserted that the state could see upwards of $22.609 million in additional annual tax revenue from weed sales in the state.

The tax was based on sales tax estimates for each state provided by the non-partisan Tax Foundation and then adding a 15% excise tax, which is Colorado's tax rate on marijuana (one of two states where recreational marijuana purchases are legal, the other being Washington).

Organizers of efforts to get medical marijuana on the Arkansas ballot in Nov. 2014 could not gather the required number of signatures before a state deadline for ballot questions. A similar issue in 2012 narrowly lost by a vote of 51.44% to 48.56% statewide. In the typically conservative areas of Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith the outcome was different. Combined, the proposal to allow medical marijuana was supported by 51.5% of voters in Northwest Arkansas and the Fort Smith area (Benton, Crawford, Sebastian and Washington counties). The measure failed in Benton County (47.4% for, 52.2% against) and Crawford County (47.7% for, 52.6% against). The proposal failed to pass statewide.

Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas' Walton College of Business, said even though the figures presented look promising on paper, the reality could vary greatly should marijuana become legalized either for medicinal or recreational use in Arkansas.

For one, she said the study's market size based on population could be flawed.

"What I really don't know about this is how dependable the size of the market estimates are," she said. "They basically used a variety of sources to determine the size of the market potential. And since it's not legal, it's not like you can look up the size of the market.”

And while the study uses tax estimates from Colorado to paint the picture of a potential windfall for Arkansas with legalized weed (the state collected $25.307 million in marijuana-related taxes during the first six months of this year and expect to take in $78.158 million by June 2015), Deck said Colorado is likely drawing out of state dollars due to being one of two states to have recreational marijuana legalized for the masses. With time, as presumably more states legalize marijuana, the economic and tax revenue impact could be greatly reduced.

"Take the lottery, for example. People would travel and go (where there was a lottery) to spend money in the lottery. (Arkansas) being one of the last states (to have a lottery) means no tourism dollars. You keep more of your state's dollars closer to home," she said. "Right now in Washington and Colorado, they're generating tourism dollars from their tourism industries. If it was legalized across the U.S., there would be less of an impact.”

With less impact, Deck said it is likely the numbers presented could be greatly reduced.

Dr. Greg Hamilton, senior research economist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said a bigger issue could also be the black market for marijuana.

In Colorado, the price per ounce of weed has risen drastically due to the demand for the drug. With the price going up, that means the taxes tacked onto a marijuana purchase increase, as well. As a result, an underground market could still be alive and well in Colorado and Hamilton said it would likely happen in Arkansas, as well, as people attempt to avoid any government involvement or taxation in weed sales.

Hamilton also said that while marijuana sales are strong in Colorado, there is not yet any information on the impact legalization has had on the youths looking to experiment with drugs and the impact on the overall business community.

"The interesting thing from my perspective is what is the impact on youth and development and does it have any impact upon the attractiveness of Colorado to attract people and industry? Has it been harmful to the state?”

If the numbers were to hold true, before any local or state government started seeing green, Deck said regulatory issues could eat up a substantial portion of the tax revenues generated.

"This (study) just looks at (revenue generated). It does say that we're going to tax the heck out of it or spend money on rehab for people who over-consume. Or spend dollars for DUI (driving under the influence) enforcement.”

And even though there is some dispute on whether the numbers provided truly reflect the economic impact on Arkansas, Deck said there is one thing not in dispute when it comes to marijuana and the economy.

"There is certainly an economic advantage to being a first mover in this. There's tourism dollars from folks traveling from other places and bringing new money to your economy. And as far as the economic impact of selling new products (like legalized marijuana), someone has to grow it, market it and sell it.”

For the third month in a row, Fort Smith sales tax collections have surpassed the same month last year. But even with the increase in revenues, sales tax receipts are still below expectations for the year.

The city's sales taxes (1% for streets and 1% combined for water and sewer projects and fire and parks and recreation) collected $3.27 million in the August report. The figure is 0.74% above the same month last year, but 1.66% lower than budgeted.

For the first eight months of the year, the total tax collections including the August report from the city's sales tax collections are up 1.37% from the same period last year but off budget by 1.04%.

(Because the state of Arkansas has a two-month delay in reporting collections back to the cities, the city of Fort Smith — for budgeting purposes — has historically reflected the collections on a one-month delay. Which is to say, the tax collections remitted to cities in August are from taxes collected in June and transferred by merchants to the state in July.)

Collections so far in the 2014 reporting period of the city's sales taxes were $26.63 million, up from collections of $26.271 million during the same period in 2013. The same eight months in 2012 saw collections of $26.587 million, while 2011 saw collections of $25.919 million. The city sales tax for fire and parks did not begin collecting revenues until 2012.

Total collections of the Fort Smith city sales taxes in 2013 was $38.938. Collections in 2012 totaled $39.21 million, just ahead of the $38.684 million collected in 2011. The 2011 collections were 3.9% above the 2010 revenues of $37.23 million.

Fort Smith's share of the countywide sales tax in the August report was $1.283 million, down 11.02% from last August when the city's share of the county sales tax revenues was $1.442 million. The figure was also 11.44% below revenue estimates of $1.449 million.

The countywide tax generated $15.353 million for Fort Smith during 2013, up 0.49% compared to 2012 and down 1.99% compared to budget forecasts. The countywide tax generated $15.279 million in 2012, just ahead of the $15.15 million in 2011, but lower than the peak collection of $16.61 million in 2008.

The countywide tax collection is critical because the revenue is a little more than 40% of the city’s general budget of roughly $42 million. A majority of the general fund budget supports fire, police and other critical city functions. The dip in collections compared to budget estimates has resulted in city officials seeking 4% budget cuts from all departments.

In an email to the Fort Smith Board of Directors, Finance Director Kara Bushkuhl said August's county sales tax figures may be below estimates due to an unusual period the year before.

"For an unknown reason, there was a large increase in August 2013 and the budget for 2014 was based upon actual received each month during 2013.  For the 8 months, the county tax is 0.5% below last year and 0.96% below budget.”

She added that property tax collections of $2.669 million to benefit the general fund were "on track to meet the estimated revenue for 2014.”

She also noted that franchise fees, which includes fees collected on cable bills, were $3.435 million through Sept. 23, adding that the "next large payments are due 10/31/14 so we will know more about this revenue after those payments are received.”

Bushkuhl told the Board during its Tuesday (Sept. 23) study session that work on the budget was well underway and city staff was working to ensure both cost of living raises and merit raises, but said other requests by city departments were likely to be cut in an effort to balance the budget for Fiscal Year 2015.
www.thecitywire.com/node/34833

PREVIOUS ANNUAL COLLECTION INFO
Fort Smith 2% sales tax collection (1% for streets; 1% for water/sewer bonds)
2013: $38.937 million
2012: $39.210 million
2011: $38.683 million
2010: $37.229 million
2009: $37.554 million
2008: $41.226 million
2007: $37.858 million
2006: $36.840 million

Fort Smith portion of 1% countywide sales tax
2013: $15.353 million
2012: $15.279 million
2011: $15.15 million
2010: $14.89 million
2009: $15.04 million
2008: $16.61 million
2007: $15.15 million
2006: $14.71 million

How does a retailer or product supplier find the proverbial “Bubba” to review a deer hunting product? Or how would a property manager based in Fayetteville or Fort Smith quickly verify that a lawn service recently mowed the yard at rental property in Boca Raton, Fla.?

In a matter of minutes Field Agent could solve those questions with the help of its expansive network of 400,000 agents across the country who have downloaded the mobile app and accepted a job for cash.

Rick West, co-founder of Fayetteville-based Field Agent, said he and partners Henry Ho and Kelly Miller have harnessed the power of crowdsourcing to help retailers and suppliers solve questions, draw marketing insights and audit their own operations since 2010. And by early 2015, Field Agents will extend to six different countries with an international expansion already in the works.

West and Ho have customer development and marketing backgrounds with Procter & Gamble and have worked around the world for the large consumer packaged goods (CPG) company before returning to Fayetteville to launch Field Agent, a mobile marketing data provider. Miller is the app developer and serves as the chief technology officer for the startup.

BACKSTORY
“Around 2009 when the first iPhone 3 came out, we were sitting around thinking about how this device could change retail and the world in general. We began to see how the average consumer armed with an iPhone could penetrate certain barricades that had gone up in the retail world,” West said.

He explained that as Wal-Mart’s supplier list grew larger and larger, access inside stores at certain times was off-limits for all but the largest suppliers. Those times included Black Friday and throughout the busy holiday season.

“We began to think the iPhone and its camera and GPS ability are tools that average consumers can use to help suppliers gather data as needed. At this time everyone was focused on pushing content out to iPhone users in order to get impressions and downloads which could then be leveraged for ad revenue. No one was having consumers use their devices to gather data. That was our plan to use these smart phones and pay cash to those agents who helped us gather the data,” West explained.

He said on April 17, 2010 the Field Agent app debuted on the iPhone App Store and was the first app that paid real cash in exchange for specific data. The cash is paid through a PayPal account. Within the first 20 minutes there were 3,000 downloads of the app.

“We used the local supplier community to help us pre-launch. We got Johnson & Johnson and some other large suppliers onboard to upload jobs onto the app so when it went live there was real work available from some of the top CPG companies. Wall Street media noticed and called us immediately after the launch,” West said.

It’s been four years and the company has never looked back.

FIELD AGENT APP
Field Agent works with suppliers of all sizes and retailers from Wal-Mart and Target down to local mom and pop stores with its latest iteration now in Beta testing.

West explained that consumers across the country download the free app and complete a short profile that clarifies gender, age and contact information via email address. The agent can then log onto the app that will detect their GPS location and reveal jobs available in their immediate area.

One job cold be to check the lowest price of a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Prairie Grove. If the agent accepts the job they take a photo of the lowest priced milk and eggs at the store. That photo is time stamped with a geo location and must be taken inside the app and uploaded to Field Agent within the two-hour time requirement to receive the $2 payment to their PayPal account.

Jobs are loaded into the app by those suppliers, retailers and other businesses needing tasks done or answers involving consumer insight. Unlike Big Data scraping which can be cumbersome to manage and qualify, the crowdsourcing method is real-time, and provides quick turnaround insights to specific questions.

West said there several ways subscribers can use their service. They may:
• Question the 400,000 field agents on certain topics and then analyze the responses;
• Use agents to audit store operations (like time spent in the check out line); and,
• Or verify out-of-stocks and empty shelves, an ongoing problem in the retail segment.

For instance if a supplier looks at their Retail Link data and sees they have not had a sale in one particular store in two days, they can go online, create a job for a field agent, set the pay at $10 or more and place a 2-hour limit on the turnaround. West said the field agent in the store or nearby can quickly see if there is an out-of-stock problem and notify the supplier who then can dispatch their merchandiser to fix it. 

“There is no reason for a supplier to pull a busy merchandiser at $30 per hour off their job and send them to another store to check a potential problem, when a field agent could do it quickly for far less,” he explained.

FINDING BUBBA
West said one client wanted to have only deer hunting “Bubba” stereotypes to go into Dick’s Sporting Goods and Cabella’s to check the price of arrow tips. He said they wanted “Bubba” because they were after user opinions. He said they asked how Field Agent would screen their agent base for “Bubba” stereotypes.

“We asked ‘Bubba’ to send us a photo of his hunting license, a photo of his bow and the arrows he uses and another photo of his bow propped up against his truck. The client was satisfied that anyone who provided all of that information would be Bubba. We found 200 agents who qualified as Bubba and we sent them into retailers for the assignment and we were able to get our client the insight they were after by a qualified class of responders,” West said.

He said qualifying this select group would be very difficult and time consuming without the use of crowdsourcing which remains inexpensive. West said retailers continue to ask for certain qualified groups such as certified organic advocates, or verified Millennials. He said many are now figuring out that people lie on social media feeds, and many times it’s underaged kids who claim to meet age requirements.

“Take Facebook. Originally you had to be 18 to join. Lots of 13-year-olds joined and said they were 18. Now the age has been lowered to 13 and kids younger than that are joining. There is no way to tell if they are telling the truth. It’s also unlikely they have ever updated or corrected their age. Companies have been making decisions based on data scraped from social media feeds believed to be from Millennials, but who knows for sure,” West said.

GROWTH TRAJECTORY
Field Agent has doubled in size over the past year to 40 full-time employees and 20 part-timers with the help of a $2.5 million raised in Series A capital funding from Five Elms Capital in Kansas City.

“This year we will make between $5 and $10 million in revenue and we are growing at about 40% year-over-year,” West said. “We are still a startup company but growing rapidly.”

With 400,000 field agents in the U.S. West said another growth avenue opening up in the coming months is an international expansion into Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Beyond that he expects to move into Mexico, South America and Southeast Asia.

“Several of our largest clients (Unilever, GE, Hershey & Procter & Gamble) have global operations and we will be taking on more international work with them as well as growing our organic business,” West said.

West said Field Agent will remain focused on its core business which includes mobile shopper marketing research via crowdsourcing in real time for the retail and supplier community, and the new expansion of a “do it yourself” model for small and micro businesses.

He said one of the toughest challenges is staying focused on the sweet spot that has proven to fill a data niche since the first day of the company’s operation.

“We have turned down capital offers from firms that would have required us to relocate to Palo Alto, Calif. We chose Fayetteville and this region for our business because of the expansive supplier community here. There really is no other place like it,” West said.

He believes in the next few years the company could be purchased by a larger agency. West said that would be appealing if it could operate as its own subsidiary.

DIY MODEL, PRIVACY ISSUES
Sarah Daigle Scott was hired in March to help Field Agent set up and launch a do it yourself (DIY) model outside the retail/CPG sector. It's now in beta testing. Scott said she has a real estate firm and some small businesses testing it. 

“It’s a way for small businesses to check out our their competition, or just verify that certain things are done,” Scott said. “The possibilities seem almost endless at this point with the number of businesses that could benefit from the type of data we can help them source through our expansive agent base. ... This model is affordable for companies of all sizes and can relay the type of data that at one time only the largest companies could afford to access.”

West said there are jobs that Field Agent has turned down.

“We are careful not to interfere with military bases and we don’t help folks spy on one another,” he said.

West said a private investigator wanted to use agents to cruise through hotel parking lots and take photos of license plates. The PI told West he was trying to help a lady find out if her husband was cheating. West said protecting one’s privacy is important and respectfully declined the work.

Scott admitted that no one gets rich being a field agent, but it does pay real cash for quick and easy jobs. It also provides valuable real-time feedback for companies with answers to whatever questions they choose to ask.

The retail landscape has never been more competitive even for the almost half-trillion dollars in sales Wal-Mart Stores will report this year. A difference maker in terms of remaining competitive is ongoing investment in corporate culture, according to Celia Swanson, senior vice president of change management at Wal-Mart.

Swanson, a self-proclaimed culture junkie, shared her insights on the unique corporate culture at Wal-Mart as the keynote speaker at Cross Church Summit Luncheon on Thursday (Sept. 25) in Rogers.

Andy Wilson, a former Wal-Mart executive, said Swanson has been the ambassador for Wal-Mart’s culture during her 20-years at the company working in high profile positions in training and team development in Wal-Mart’s People division.

“She is one that always does the right thing. She lives the culture day in and day out,” Wison said.

Swanson characterized her culture platform as a journey she has traveled for more than two decades noting that it was the Wal-Mart culture that has kept there all these years.

“I came to Wal-Mart with the Pace acquisition in 1994. I was a big city girl who had been competing with Wal-Mart and I didn’t think that I would want to live in Bentonville. Denver was nirvana for me at the time,” she said.

Swanson shared that corporate culture is tied to the bottom line. She quoted from “The Culture Cycle,” by Harvard professor James Heskett, that as much as half of the difference in operating profits between organizations can be attributed to effective corporate culture.

Heskett qualifies that statement saying that engaged managers and employees remain at a company longer and that reduces recruitment and new employee training costs resulting in a higher productivity per employee. He writes that employee continuity leads to better customer relationships and loyalty, which in turn can lower marketing costs and enhance sales.

Swanson shared that one of the first things the new Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon did after his promotion was to create a video on the importance of corporate culture. He also made the traditional Saturday morning meeting optional for the first time in the company’s history.

Swanson said McMillon understands the importance of refreshing a rich corporate culture to make it relevant and exciting for today.

“To his credit he made the meeting optional, but then put the pressure on himself to make the meetings so great that everyone would want to attend,” she added.

Swanson said Wal-Mart’s culture, though quirky at times, is grounded in the core principles set by founder Sam Walton which at the rudimentary level is making the customer No. 1, working together to lower prices so people can save money and have a better life. Both ideas were part of Walton’s acceptance speech when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1992, shortly before his death. Walton said the company growth up to that point was attributed to the contributions and ideas from retailer’s 384,000 employees.

Today, at more than 2 million workers across the globe, Wal-Mart continues to refine and and refresh its corporate culture which Swanson said every company should do periodically regardless of its size.

Swanson shared four steps she encourages every company to adopt if they want an enduring corporate culture that promotes profits.

Build It
Make sure it’s noble and a culture that instills pride and purpose among the staff who want to be there adding to not trying to change the company’s core mission.

Live It
Make sure key officers and managers understand it’s their responsibility to uphold the culture everyday. She said former CEO Mike Duke urged all the management to take a business card and scratch out their title and write in Culture Role Model and place next to their office phone.

Check It
Make sure to access progress along the way. Swanson said when she was in charge of Sam’s Club marketing she was under the gun to reconnect the Sam’s Club brand. She said after a rough go of it they found a leader who on the surface turned things around with brilliant results. The problem was that no one wanted to work with this person and the talent exodus began. Swanson said she let it go for two years before removing the person because her eye was on the prize at hand. She noted it was one of the hardest decisions she has had to make as a manager. No matter how great the results might be, they cannot make up for a deterioration in corporate culture and value systems, she said. Swanson added that it took a year for her to rebuild the connection she once had in that division.

Refresh It
The desire to update and refresh corporate culture is perhaps the most important of all four steps because of the distractions in today’s world, she said. One thing she credits CEO Doug McMillon with doing is understanding the difference between culture and traditions. Swanson said the Saturday morning meeting is a tradition that could be tweaked. She said the Wal-Mart cheer is part of the culture, though not an original idea. Swanson said Sam adopted it after he and Helen returned from a trip to Korea and saw a supplier doing a similar cheer. It’s been part of the Wal-Mart culture for decades, though quirky to outsiders.

Swanson concluded her speech by acknowledging that Wal-Mart does not always initially do the right thing. 

“We know from media accounts that sometimes it may take a while for Wal-Mart to course correct, but Wal-Mart is committed to doing the right thing,” she concluded.

The biggest “course correct” story remains the ongoing investigation into alleged violations by Wal-Mart executives of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Several large institutional investors have pursued lawsuits against Wal-Mart executives and board members implicated in the alleged bribery scandal. Information that has become part of the public domain include files released by U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Elijah Cummings of Maryland. The Congressional tandem found Wal-Mart’s Mexican unit used a state governor in Mexico to facilitate $156,000 in bribes.

The New York Times first reported that Wal-Mart executives were alerted to the alleged bribery in Mexico as early as 2005. The alleged bribes were used to hasten the retailer’s building of new stores and avoid permit hurdles that were holding up some of its competitors. Wal-Mart self-reported alleged FCPA violations in December 2011, which was nearly six years after dated internal executive emails.

Wal-Mart does not comment on pending litigation, but the retailer did release a compliance report earlier this year that stated the company has spent $439 million in legal fees over the past two years to investigate potential violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act.

With all the focus on statewide races for governor and U.S. Senate, as well as local special elections on millage rate increases, one likely would not be blamed for being unaware of another local race that was settled for many on Sept. 17.

School board races at the state's hundreds of school districts were held last week, but in the region's large and small districts, nearly all seats were unopposed for five year terms.

In Fort Smith, school board members Jeannie Cole and Dr. Deanie Mehl won re-election unopposed, as did Theresa Bell and Jamie Hammond across the river in Van Buren. Further east, athletic rival Alma saw a change on its board though the suffix changed after Paul Winborn Jr. ran unopposed to replace his father, Paul Winborn Sr., on the Alma School Board.

In Greenwood, Kelli Henning was appointed to the board after the filing deadline had passed to replace Mary Ann Sandifer, who resigned her position earlier this year. Henning will have to run in 2015 to keep her spot on the Greenwood School Board.

Running unopposed in Greenwood was Dr. Brad Johnson, who replaced board member Greg Hasley.

Further east in Charleston, Michelle Schmitz won a seat on the district's school board unopposed as did Rick Gage on the Ozark School Board. Ozark did have an opposed three-way race between Laura Duncan-Randolph, Todd Durning, and Mark Weseman. Weseman received 84 votes to Duncan-Randolph's 187 votes and Durning's 138, leaving the latter two in a runoff election on Oct. 7.

On the Mulberry-Pleasant View Bi-County School Board, Andrew Lewis, David Edwards and Richard Cagle all ran unopposed for their seats, while Elizabeth Jordan lost to Johnny Ray Kimes, bringing in 53 votes to his 85.

In Lavaca, School Board President Perry Newman was the only candidate up for re-election and like many of the candidates in other school districts across the region, he ran unopposed. For Newman, he said the decision to seek a seat on the board about 20 years ago was about being involved in his child's education.

"I had two young children in grade school and I kind of felt like if you're going to have your children in something, you ought to be involved in it too and the school board is a good place to be involved.”

Lavaca Superintendent Steve Rose said the primary function of Newman and his colleagues on school boards across the state was to address policy and make administrative decisions.

"The primary role of the school board is to pass policy. That's their main function and to hire and fire the superintendent," Rose said. "They're the overseers of the money and the funds. And the superintendent reports directly to the board. They're an integral part of the overall success of the school district.”

Newman agreed, but said he was unaware of the amount of politicking that comes with trying to make his children's district the best it could be. According to the now-president of the board, the state controls much of the funding for the district requiring engagement by board members with legislators and other education stakeholders.

"It's more of a political job than I thought it would be, and not necessarily locally but on a state level," he explained.

The political work in his time on the board has included working with state officials to secure funding for a new elementary and high school, as well as a performing arts center, paid for using state funding and funding from a millage increase passed during the last decade.

As for the low number of opposed seats on local school boards, when asked if having the election on dates different from the primary election in May or general election in November, he said he did not think it had any bearing.

"In our case, the community, the constituents are satisfied with the people elected to the board. They do a great job and are open to the community. So the people in the community are satisfied.”

For Newman, who has now completed four elections to the Lavaca School Board, he likes the "simpler elections.”

"It makes it a local issue. If you put it into a normal election, you're going to have someone who may vote for you because you say you're a Democrat or a Republican. When you get down into school (elections), there should be no parties. The goal is to educate in the nicest, safest, warmest place you can.”

The following links connect to the schools or school boards mentioned in this story.
Alma Public School Board

Charleston Public School Board

Fort Smith Public School Board

Greenwood Public School Board

Lavaca Public School Board

Mulberry-Pleasant View Bi-County School Board

Ozark Public School Board

Fort Smith citizens were offered the opportunity Thursday (Sept. 25) to have a say in the future of the city's 88-mile trails and greenways master plan.

Fort Smith Parks and Recreation Commissioner Casey Millspaugh, a Trails and Greenways Committee chaired by himself and Parks Commissioner Sheri Toliver joined together with the city's parks and engineering departments to host the community-wide open house Thursday at the Elm Grove Community Center. Different concepts were presented for the future of trails in Fort Smith.

Parks Director Mike Alsup said the goal of Thursday's event was not simply to find out what type of trail or bike lane design the public favored, but also to help in updating the master plan first rolled out 10 years ago.

"We'd like the public to let us know where (they'd like to see trails) connect, where they'd like to see the trails go," he said. "That would be helpful."

Alsup said having the public engage with the city is the only way for the local government to know where adjustments need to be made, noting that growth patterns and development in the decade since the master plan was first announced could have shifted where trails should be.

A variety of trails have already been installed in east and south Fort Smith, namely around Ben Geren Park and Chaffee Crossing, with another trail being constructed along the Arkansas River. Funding for the River West Trail along the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown is being made possible through funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The River West Trail will cost about $1 million per mile to construct, with about two miles of trail planned in its initial phase.

In plans presented at Thursday's open house, Engineering Director Stan Snodgrass noted that costs were higher on the River West Trail than the typical trail included in the city's trail plan due to its proximity to the river and the need to construct the trail using concrete instead of asphalt. He said additional amenities including landscaping and decorative lighting were included that would not typically be included in other trails across the city.

The total costs for trails and greenways in the city, Snodgrass said, would run about $125,000 per mile.

Another option presented to citizens during the informal open house Thursday was a bike lane included in future road construction projects, adding bikers to the roadways traveled by cars. The lanes would have bikes following the flow of traffic, though bike lanes would provide about four feet of room for travel on the shoulder separate from a car lane.

According to Snodgrass, total costs for bike lanes included in the roadway would be between $190,000 and $340,000 per mile.

"When you build it as part of the roadway section, you've got to build it a whole lot thicker because it's not feasible when you're doing your roadway section to shallow it up on your outside edge. So whereas when you build it separate, you may have just two or three inches of asphalt and a few inches of gravel. You get out in the street and you might have a whole lot of area where the bad materials cut under, then additional rock on that then additional whole lot thicker asphalt of concrete. That's the reason there's a range in that."

An additional meeting will be held Tuesday (Sept. 30) at Creekmore Park's community room. Data and community input gathered at both open house events, plus Facebook feedback on a Trails and Greenways fan page and any e-mails received through the city's website will be presented to the Fort Smith Board of Directors at a study session at the end of October, Snodgrass said, adding that funding for additional trails could be discussed at that time.

Funding for the trail program is now provided by the five-year capital improvement plan through the parks department, with work taking place on the River West Trail, and Alsup saying a Mill Creek Trail at a cost of $500,000 to $750,000 per mile planned for 2016.

But the capital improvement plan's budget is split between many different park priorities, including community park installations and the construction of the Ben Geren Aquatics Center. For that reason, there has been discussion of presenting to the Board the possibility of allowing voters to decide next year on renewing the streets sales tax and designating part of that funding for trails and greenways, Snodgrass said.

"(At the October study session), we'll say, 'Hey, here's some of the data that we got.' And is this something they want to consider? And I'm sure there will be another (study session) before the end of the year. The main issue is is this something that we wan to throw out to the voters to do a potential reallocation? A small percent. I couldn't tell you an exact number, but a fairly small percentage."

David Whitt, a Fort Smith resident and president of the Cardio Cycling Club in Van Buren, said while he was hesitant to vote for higher taxes, he would be in favor of taking some of the sales tax money already being collected and reallocating it to trails.

"I'd like to see more cycling trails. Anything that's used for cycling or walking or any sort of exercise is going to be beneficial to the community, so anything that they build is going to be used. Used a lot. We use them a lot right now and we'd like to see some more," he said, adding that his group regularly hits the trails in Fayetteville and Little Rock.

Alsup said input from Thursday's open house and the planned meeting Tuesday will help determine where his department directs engineering to go next with trail planning.

One of the largest Interstate 49 work projects outside of the Bella Vista and North Springdale bypasses will be up to $65 million in major improvements on the Highway 112 and I-49 interchange extending 2.5 miles from Porter Road to the Fulbright Expressway in North Fayetteville. 

The work will bring with it more cement trucks, cranes and orange barrels that have become part of the regional landscape as nearly $600 million of federal, state and local money is being spent during the next four years to help traffic mobility and improve safety along the Interstate 49 corridor from Bella Vista to South Fayetteville.

Randy Ort, spokesman for the Arkansas State Highway Department, said the segment of the I-49 widening project likely will not begin for two more years. Then it’s expected take at least two more years to complete because there will be five bridges constructed with several feeder access roads built to improve traffic flow and safety as well as to alleviate the need for lane changes.

“Right now there are three southbound lanes merging in a short time span with the outer lane as an exit to Highway 112 near the Sam’s Club. Commuters merging from the Fulbright Expressway who want to exit take the Highway 112 exit have to cross two lanes of traffic in a short time span,” Ort explained. 

The proposed plan, unveiled to the public Thursday (Sept. 25) in Fayetteville, indicates a separate lane dedicated to the Highway 112 exit which is marked at least one mile up the road. The same is true for northbound traffic entering I-49 near the Highway 112 interchange. Two new access roads will be constructed with one leading to the Fulbright Expressway without ever having to get on the interstate. Another access road for northbound traffic via the Highway 112 interchange will be a newly constructed flyover ramp that will merge onto I-49 North at least one mile up the road.

“This new design will require drivers to make their decision about their destination much earlier. This should provide a safer roadway because there will be no need to change lanes to make an exit,” Ort said.

He explained that traffic going straight through north and south on I-49 in this area will have two dedicated lanes in each direction around the big curve. Ort said there are a few landowners being approached by the city of Fayetteville for right-of-way purchases which are needed for the feeder road construction. 

The city of Fayetteville has agreed to take care of the utility moves and right-of-ways and put another $1.5 million toward the construction costs. Ort said the total projected cost of this widening, access roads addition which include five new bridges is between $55 million and $65 million, one of the more expensive legs of the overall corridor project.

Washington County has highway crews working to construct a long bridge between the Highway 112 and Porter Road exits. Ort said this is time consuming work and the project has three phases.

“They are building a two lane bridge in middle median right now. Once that is finished they will open it and close one side and rework that, then do the same thing with the other side. This project should be completed by next summer,” Ort said.

Once the bridge construction at Porter Road is completed in mid 2015, Ort said construction on the widening project will begin just south of Johnson and go north to U.S. 412. This should take about 18 months or longer, depending on weather. After that, the work will begin on the Highway 112 interchanges and access roads. That large project will take two full years, according to an early estimate.

Ort said the last leg of the Washington County work will be to widen I-49 from Highway 412 to Wagon Wheel, which is the county line.

BENTON COUNTY
The widening project through Lowell from Wagon Wheel Road should be completed by Thanksgiving, according to Ort. He said the next phase in Benton County will be the short leg from New Hope Road to Walton Boulevard.

Ort said the widening project from Exit 86 near NorthWest Arkansas Community College to Exit 88, Central Avenue in Bentonville, will also incorporate the 8th Street access ramp which will only go in one direction – west toward downtown Bentonville.

That $53 million project is expected to relieve congestion at the Exit 86 interchange and along 14th Street in Bentonville because it will provide an alternative route to downtown Bentonville.

Ort said the Bella Vista bypass, to the Missouri state line had a price tag of $150 million.  The North Springdale bypass from Highway 412 toward the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is expected to cost $126 million and is one of the last projects on the list.

He said widening of I-49 will cost around $130 million and includes the extensive interchange work along the corridor by cities with help from the state.

The Bella Vista bypass south connector interchange is slated to cost $30 million, but is on hold until Missouri finishes their part of the project. In the meantime a temporary roundabout is under construction to provide access to the bypass at the south end of Bella Vista. A path is being cut through the hillside for this roundabout. The cost of the temporary roundabout is budgeted at $5 million, according to county officials.