|
State of the City
February 2, 2009
Rogers, Arkansas
Members of the Rogers City Council, department heads and
key staff, fellow employees and citizens of the great city
of Rogers— as required by Arkansas law, I am pleased to
report the annual State of the City of Rogers, Arkansas.
Despite the economic hardships that plague the majority of
the United States, the City of Rogers remains financially
strong and focused on another year of economic growth and
improved quality of life while maintaining our position as
the steady force helping shape the future of this dynamic
region we call northwest Arkansas.
Our balance sheet has never been better! A balanced budget
with a reserve balance in excess of $15 million, steady
growth in sales tax collections, and a rapid reduction in
debt has our city in the enviable position of improving city
services while focusing on the next round of major capital
improvements we hope to secure with a bond issue in
2010-2011. Add to that an aggressive program of work
purposed in improving mobility and drainage, greenways and
trails, safety and security of our citizens, and providing
the fiscal stability on which we can grow economically, you
can see the commitment this administration has in moving
Rogers forward.
I often talk about the fundamentals in evaluating the fiscal
condition of our city. When you consider the totality of the
city’s income strength and debt reduction, leadership, and
quality of life issues like public safety, education, health
care, employment opportunities, shopping, dining, and
entertainment options, we remain in the “blue chip” category
of municipalities. What makes me proud is the fact that we
have done it ourselves—with very little outside help—and
many communities and leaders point to Rogers as the example
of how things get done.
Given the economic news of the last two years, and forecasts
for nationwide hardships for another year or more, our city
will continue to concentrate very hard on managing expenses.
In a message to his company’s leaders last month, John Q.
Hammons challenged his organization “…to exert the best
control that you possibly can to monitor unnecessary
expenses, eliminate waste, and make sure we are getting the
maximum value for every dollar spent.” Sage advice from
someone who has seen the best and worst of times in his
nearly 90 years.
Frankly, this is a leadership challenge. We may not control
what happens at the state and federal levels, but we do
influence the costs of government at the local level—and
inherent in that fact is the need to carefully balance our
city’s needs and wants against our ability to resource them.
A casual look around and you will find conditions not so
favorable and it is my strong desire to manage our resources
so that no additional taxes become necessary—and, as I have
advocated before, perhaps even some tax relief might be
possible. Rogers is where it is financially, because we have
been successful in controlling the costs of government while
growing the tax base through wise investment in
infrastructure.
On the subject of leadership, I am pleased with the recent
appointments of Steve Hamilton to the position of Police
Chief and Tom Jenkins as Fire Chief. These two departments
account for half of the city’s manpower and budget and form
the safety and security framework that distinguishes Rogers
from a lot of other cities. In both cases, our city has
acquired the services of chiefs who have the educational,
professional, and leadership requisites necessary to elevate
our public safety departments to a new standard of
excellence. These two recent hires add to the
professionalism already found in other critical city
departments. Our city will profit from their service.
Despite the economic outlook, many terrific things are
happening in Rogers. We’ve found a new identity for the
former St. Mary’s Hospital. This non-profit
center-of-excellence will enhance the work of the
non-profits that faithfully serve our citizens and with
better efficiency, their collective work will be leveraged
that much more. We are making rapid progress on the city’s
new recycling center in northeast Rogers. Later this year,
when dedicated, Rogers will have one of the finest
facilities in the state. Our commitment to recycling is a
win-win for everyone. It lengthens the lifespan of the
area’s only landfill and, when markets improve, we will
invest the profits of this investment into important
programs that strengthen the character of our youth.
We also took ownership of the beautiful Victory Theater
downtown. This city landmark and home to the local
performing arts faced an uncertain future when a number of
civic leaders developed a plan to remove the debt and place
it under the city’s umbrella. A generation from now, we will
all see the wisdom of this historic move. The Ladies
Professional Golf Association tour stop in Rogers last July
was another big success. As it enters its third year in
Rogers, and with an increased purse, multi-million dollar
improvement to the Pinnacle Country Club, and the support of
the region’s business community, we feel it will solidify
its status as one of the preferred stops on tour.
The city continues to add to its greenway and trail network.
Thanks to the generosity of the Walton Family Foundation,
we’ve completed nearly 3 miles of new trail with plans for
an additional 3.5 miles in the coming year. We’ve added a
beautiful park at the popular Adult Wellness Center. The
ball fields at Veterans Park, while behind schedule, will be
completed this spring and will add value to both our school
and city sports programs. And, work is well underway to
determine the emerging needs of our city in advance of a
proposed bond issue in 2010-2011.
Of regional significance, the City of Rogers was the first
city in Arkansas to join a regional mobility authority when
we teamed up with Benton and Washington Counties last year.
Already, the work of the RMA is evident with the push to
construct the 15-mile Bella Vista bypass using anticipated
stimulus money from the federal government. We fully
understand the need to address this bypass along with the
relocation of U.S. Highway 412 north of Springdale and
improvements to Interstate 540. These large and expensive
projects are critical to our regional growth—just as former
projects like Beaver and Two Ton Water Districts, XNA, NWACC,
I-540, and the World Trade Center. The appointment of Dick
Trammel to the Arkansas Highway Commission was also a huge
boost to regional highway infrastructure.
Like other cities in America, we have lost some jobs.
Likely, the current economic conditions will cause other
companies to carefully evaluate operations. Fortunately, we
remain on the national “radar” for new business development.
The opening of Target on March 4th is an indicator that
Rogers has destination character in the retail sector. I
remain optimistic in our ability to recruit and retain
business in this tough economic climate.
We still have much work to do on other projects and issues.
The redevelopment of Historic Downtown Rogers remains a high
priority with the city and its future relevance to the city
as a whole is important. I am excited with the appointment
of Kerry Jensen as Main Street President in assisting with
that vision. We’ve also made improvements to the appearance
of the city; however much work remains to eliminate blight,
add attractive landscaping and signage to our gateways, and
keep litter and graffiti to a minimum. This involves not
only the work of the city staff, but the attention and
cooperation of the community at large.
Bottom line as we enter 2009—the state of the city is
terrific! With a strong balance sheet, rapidly improving
infrastructure, solid leadership team, supportive City
Council and Chamber, and the capacity to significantly
reduce our debt load even when conditions are not so
favorable, no city in northwest Arkansas has the “upside”
Rogers has. As the nation’s economy improves—and it will—our
city will be ready to move quickly to enhance our economic
vitality.
Departmental Summaries
Police Department
At the Rogers Police Department, the appointment of Chief
Steve Hamilton signaled the beginning of a new era. He leads
the largest department in the city with 99 sworn officers
and a supporting framework of over 40 civilian personnel.
Calls for service continue to increase at RPD, up 18% to
36,600. Response time for all calls was 6 ½
minutes—exceptional compared to national standards. The
recruitment, hiring, and training of qualified officers
continued to be a police priority. The attrition rate for
sworn personnel was 6%--below the national average of 8%.
Significant improvements to the city’s electronic and
automation platforms occurred in 2008. The New World
Software project is 80% operational. The police records and
Computer Assisted Dispatching (CAD) portions are fully
operational with the mobile system expected to be online by
April 2009. The police department became certified in the
National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) on the
first attempt. To reach certification, police departments
must submit three submissions with an error rate of less
than 1%. On all three submissions, RPD passed with an
average error rate of 1/100 percent. Again in 2008, our city
added to the RPD’s fleet reserve account, purposed in the
resourcing and management of emergency rolling
stock—reducing pressure on the city’s general fund.
Fire Department
Aside for the search for a new Chief, 2008 was a year of
repair at the Rogers Fire Department. Issues related to
water damage at Station 5 resulted in a major renovation of
that facility and the temporary relocation of its personnel
and equipment. Similar work is in store for the Emergency
Training Center this year. As always, RFD responses were
primarily EMS-related. In 2008, there were nearly 5300
calls. The city placed into service two new ambulances. The
site location of the next substation will be a priority of
the new administration. That facility, serving extreme
southwest Rogers, should be on line in 2010. I have
challenged Chief Jenkins to develop an apparatus assessment
so that short term/long term needs can be addressed in the
next bond issue. Our city’s emergency preparation manual is
also outdated. I am hopeful we can initiate a full re-write
of this document and even conduct a table-top exercise to
“test” its contents.
Planning and Transportation
In 2008, the city enhanced mobility with the completion and
dedication of the Promenade Interchange, Pauline Whitaker
Parkway, and the intersection of New Hope Road and Horsebarn
Road. The connection of Walnut to New Hope along Promenade
Boulevard provided significant relief for those seeking
north-south accesses in west Rogers without the need to use
I-540. In east Rogers, the completion of South First Street
north to Olrich improved access to an area of the city
surrounded by a number of schools.
The Street Department continues to do their work in the
background, quietly saving the City millions of dollars by
completing projects in-house. In 2008 they widened Dixieland
Road from Rogers High School south to Laurel, installed
drainage boxes under Arapaho, and cleaned out Blossom Way
Creek in response to heavy rains and flooding west of
Bellview. The Street Department also partnered with the
University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Game &
Fish, and the Watershed Conservation Resource Center in a
stream bank restoration project. These projects and more
were completed above and beyond the Street Department’s
routine assignments.
Several projects that were started in 2008 include the
realignment of Pleasant Crossing Boulevard at Pleasant Grove
Road, Horsebarn Road Improvements and various signalization
improvements.
Projects still under construction include 26th Street from
New Hope to Pleasant Grove, Pleasant Grove from I-540 to
Bellview, and the Pleasant Grove Road Overpass at Exit 81
Projects currently under design include: 21st Street from
New Hope to Perry Road, Perry Road from Bellview to 21st,
the Olive Street overpass and approaches, Fir Street
overpass, Bellview Road from Perry, south to the City
Limits, Garrett Road and Cross Creek modifications, Price
Lane from 8th to First Street, Persimmon from Dixieland to
13th, and Pleasant Grove from Bellview to Horsebarn
Throughout 2009, the projects that are under construction
will continue. Pleasant Grove overpass will be completed in
the Spring of 2009, and Pleasant Grove Road from I-540 to
Bellview will be nearing completion by the end of the year.
The Olive Street Overpass will start in 2009, as well as the
Arapaho Road improvements and Garrett Road re-alignment.
Design for the remainder of the projects will be completed
next year with right-of-way acquisition and utility
relocation beginning as funds allow in preparation for the
upcoming bond issue.
With the support of our partners at the Federal Aviation
Administration and Arkansas Department of Aeronautics, the
Rogers Municipal Airport continued progress toward
completing the east parallel taxiway and associated runway
safety area improvements. Construction of the south segment
of the new taxiway began in July. The Airport hopes to
finish the east-side taxiway work in 2009. Aircraft storage
capacity will get a significant boost in 2009 when the new
36,000 SF Beaver Lake Aviation hangar is completed. The new
hangar will accommodate multiple aircraft providing
additional opportunities for both based and transient
customers. Construction of a new and improved fuel farm is
also planned for 2009.
In the Planning Office, 2008 followed the national trend in
building—down in most areas. Fifty large scale development
plans were reviewed and approved, compared with 92 a year
earlier. During the recent lull, staff has taken the
opportunity to review development codes resulting in new
tree preservation and sign ordinances. Also under review are
utility franchise agreements. Later this year, the new
Drainage Manual should be ready for public input. The staff
hosted another successful developer conference. Our
Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) supported
infrastructure at Habitat Trails Subdivision on Old Wire
Road and a number of public service projects. The majority
of block grant funding was spent on four facility
projects—sidewalks and drainage on Persimmon Street, the
drainage project in northeast Rogers, design work for the
Price Lane widening, and the Adult Wellness Center Park.
This year, more work along Persimmon Street, assistance for
the Adult Development Center Building project, funding at
the new Non-Profit Center of Excellence, and additional
fencing at Veterans Park will consume our federal
entitlement dollars. Rogers Water Utilities
At Rogers Water Utilities, 2008 saw the addition of a new
treatment train and solids handling facility which should
double the capacity of the treatment plant this spring.
Construction of a new elevated water storage tank began and
should be completed this spring. The utility began
construction on an expansion of its administration building
and refunded three outstanding bond issues saving ratepayers
hundreds of thousands of dollars. The water system grew by
376 meters—about a 1% increase. Water sales were off by 11%
due to voluntary conservation measures and a mild, wet
growing season. Currently, our water system capacity is
adequate for the next twenty years with our wastewater
treatment capacity adequate for about sixteen years of
growth.
Parks and Recreation
2008 was a landmark year for Parks. The two most
high-profile projects were the renovation of Veterans Park,
and the construction of miles of trails.
In 2008 we undertook a major renovation to the baseball
and softball facilities at Veterans Park, which will be home
to both the Mounties and War Eagles beginning in 2009. The
funds we expect to spend there will, dollar-wise, make it
the largest outdoor recreation project in the history of
Rogers. Major trail projects in northwest Rogers were
completed, and engineering is underway for multiple sections
in the southwest quadrant of our City. In all,
fifteen-thousand feet of new trails were completed in 2008,
and another fourteen thousand are underway, or on the
drawing board. Through the cooperation of the Rogers
Community School Recreation Association, our programs,
leagues, and facilities serve a large number of residents.
As an example, the Rogers Activity Center has nearly 8,000
members and our adult softball and soccer programs are the
largest in Arkansas. Youth soccer is fourth largest in the
state. We look for ways to better serve all segments of the
population. We will open a new recycling facility on North
Arkansas Street near Stave Mill Road. At that location, we
will be handling more types of recyclables than ever before,
as well as providing a drop-off point for tree limbs and
yard waste. With this new facility comes the challenge of
educating our citizens on the new location and the
importance of preserving the only landfill in northwest
Arkansas by diverting recyclables from the waste stream.
At the celebrated Adult Wellness Center, national
recognition came for the innovative ways we are helping
people age successfully. We were awarded the NuStep Pinnacle
of Wellness Award, the first ever Environmental Protection
Agency’s Building Healthy Communities Commitment Award, &
the Arkansas Parks & Recreation Facility of the Year Award.
These awards brought Rogers into the national spotlight once
again including features in the Journal of Active Aging and
on the EPA’s website. Last summer we opened the much
anticipated AWC Wellness Garden. Upwards of 1,000 people a
day are still utilizing the center, and we’ve recently
signed up our 10,000th member. Although the new member
growth has slowed from our first year, the retention rate of
existing members has greatly improved. In 2008, the
SilverSneakers program brought in over $100,000 in
additional revenue to help supplement the operating costs of
the center. This year, we plan to establish the Adult
Wellness Center Foundation, enhance the Volunteer program,
and continue to improve retention of our members.
Code Enforcement and Animal Services
The building industry continued to decline in 2008. Single
family permits were down 53% from 459 in 2007 to 213 in
2008. Commercial construction, remodels, and additions also
declined in 2008 by 14% from 189 permits in 2007 to 162 in
2008. Valuation of these projects declined by approximately
50%. Total revenues for the building department were down by
41%. The building department continues to cross train
inspectors to better meet the needs of builders and the
department.
The Building department maintained a Class 4 rating with the
Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule.
Code Enforcement continued a busy year dealing with
unsightly property, litter and graffiti. The department
removed or covered graffiti in over 300 locations around
town. 2008 was a busy year for abandoned houses as people
left due to foreclosure, many times leaving no one to
maintain the property. Code Enforcement did gain access to
the Benton County land database making it easier to research
property owners, or in the case of foreclosure, the mortgage
holder. There were over 4500 notices, letters, and contacts
with property owners concerning issues related to property
maintenance.
Rogers Animal Services had 5391 calls for service in 2008.
658 notices were issued along with 94 citations. These
include dog at large, no city tags, and no vaccination. Over
2700 animals came through the shelter in 2008 with 434 of
these coming from Bentonville. Animal licensing was up 45%
over 2007. Animal services obtained used police radios for
animal control to use to dispatch animal control officers
and we purchased two new animal control vehicles. The
shelter implemented a new software program to streamline the
shelter operations to include calls for service, tracking of
addresses, adoptions and redemptions.
Library and Museum
2008 was another busy year at the Rogers Public Library.
Over a half-million items were circulated during over
277,000 customer visits. Almost 5,400 new library cards were
issued during the year. Staff answered almost 60,000
reference queries. With the help of the Friends of the
Library, public WI-FI became available late fall. The
Library continued to provide online homework assistance
through a Wal-Mart grant and works closely with Rogers’
schools to encourage literacy and provide informational and
recreational materials for all ages and educational levels.
A new popular audio book format called playaway was added
during the year. This compact, easy to use digital audio
book is convenient for listening to a book no matter where
one’s location. Meeting the demands of a growing patron base
continues to be the focus of the Library staff.
At the Rogers Historical Museum, three major exhibits were
produced, one traveling exhibition was hosted, and the first
online exhibit was added to the website. Over 42,000 people,
including nearly 25,000 area schoolchildren were served by
exhibits and programs. Over 900 objects were added to the
permanent collection and a full collections inventory of
over 37,000 items was completed. The Museum Commission
selected an architect for the planned expansion and
preliminary building and interpretive plans were developed.
In 2009, the Museum will open four exhibits and host four
major events.
Rogers District Court/City Attorney
The move to a fulltime District Court Judge in 2009 and the
election of Brad Karren to that post highlighted activities
in RDC. Effective this year, the judge is a fulltime
employee of the state and the city shares the costs of his
salary with the state and Benton County, pursuant to the
pilot program launched with the approval of Amendment 80 in
2000 and legislative actions which followed. The court
received and disposed of nearly 27,000 criminal and traffic
cases, 895 civil cases, and 881 small claims cases in 2008.
$775,000 in fines and $130,000 in costs were apportioned by
the court last year. This year, the threshold for civil
cases increased to $25,000 which will likely increase the
caseload substantially beginning this year. Plans for a
night court and teen court are anticipated this year.
In the City Attorney’s office, nearly 3,000 defendants were
processed with a third of that number actually tried in
District Court. Hot check submissions were down
substantially due to increased debit card use by merchants.
On the civil side, while the caseload was down, the office
was kept busy with the tempo of the city’s growth with work
on right-of-way acquisitions, construction projects, and
contract reviews.
Finance and Human Resources
Our finance department received the coveted Distinguished
Budget Presentation Award for the first time in 2008—a
testament to outstanding work in arguably our most important
duty—fiscal management. Careful oversight of this area of
government is the linchpin for controlling costs and
promoting accountability. We also saw decreases in life
insurance and long term disability rates, improved
productivity through the implementation of a safety policy,
and, for the second straight year, our health insurance
premiums remained unchanged. A light-duty policy was
established for injured workers to help reduce workers
compensation costs. As stated earlier, the city has exceeded
all benchmarks in its fiscal policy—balanced budget and
reserve balances—while adding to the fleet management fund
at the police department, perpetual care fund at the
cemetery, and giving significant raises for employees.
Other Departments
We have many other departments and relationships that
support the city’s program of work that need
acknowledgement. Our primary economic development partner,
the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce, continues to advocate
on our behalf for job creation, retail and restaurant
development, and long-range planning through the Vision 2025
process. Main Street Rogers has a new leader and a terrific
vision for the future of Historic Downtown Rogers. Our
webmaster, DesignWorks, has enhanced our website for better
interactivity and timely postings. We also completed the new
maintenance facility at the Rogers Cemetery. And, our
Information Technology department continues to leverage new
technology for more efficient and economical service. Rufus
Ramey and his team are among the most talented and
resourceful people we have. Our reliance on these platforms
necessitates this type of performance.
Conclusion
We have recently ushered in a new President and a new
direction for this country. The common theme for this
transition has been change. I am not afraid of change. In
fact, I consider myself a change-agent. I subscribe to the
principle of the late Sam Walton who said that “…everything
around you is always changing. To succeed, stay out in front
of change.” That’s precisely what we’ve been doing in Rogers
for the last ten years—assessing who we are, where we are,
and where we need to be headed.
Our goals have been to create and maintain destination
character in all we do. We want to be the preeminent
location for shopping, dining, and hospitality. We’ve
achieved these successes thanks to our wise investment in
infrastructure. We’ll simply use the proceeds from this
investment to improve quality of life services. In the end,
we’ll not only be the place people enjoy visiting—we’ll be
that place they want to live.
I would be remiss if I did not address the recent ice storm
and the city’s response. We have all been challenged by the
effects of this storm. The widespread loss of power,
dangerous road conditions, and the level of damage caused by
massive accumulations of ice on vegetation stressed our
resources and quality of life unlike anything I’ve seen in
the thirty years I have lived in Rogers. We should all be
proud of the heroic and dedicated work of the hundreds of
employees and volunteers who have responded to our needs.
The recovery will take time and it will be expensive. But in
the end, the spirit and perseverance of our city will stand
out. I plead for your patience and cooperation as we work
through all of these issues.
Finally, I believe the future is bright for Rogers. In this
period of uncertainty, let us resolve to keep in mind those
whom we serve and the hardships they face. Let us resolve to
keep their government in service—never a burden—to them.
Before I close, I think it is also important to remember the
sacrifices of those who serve us in uniform. We mourn the
loss of SFC Anthony Woodham and LCpl Kyle Wilks, both of
whom died on foreign soil last year. Let us resolve to find
the necessary time to remember their last full measure of
devotion, appreciate our many blessings, and the benefit of
living in such a great city and country.
God bless you all. And, God bless America.
|
