Opportunities possible

Might we consider that the 2010 Census numbers released Thursday (Feb. 10) are more than just numbers tracking population growth and shifts. They may also contain insight into opportunities missed and, more importantly, opportunities possible.

First, let’s look at the numbers.

Fort Smith’s population grew by 7.4% between 2000 and 2010, with the city remaining Arkansas’ second largest behind Little Rock. Sebastian County remained the fourth most populous county (125,744) in Arkansas, and Crawford County remained the 12th most populous county with 61,948 residents in 2010.

Population in Arkansas grew from 2,673,400 in 2000 to 2,915,918 in 2010, a 9.1% increase.

And, as a point we’ll pick up later in this essay, 55% (+132,657) of the state’s total population growth occurred in Benton, Washington, Crawford and Sebastian counties. If that percentage doesn’t wake you up as to the potential in a geographically narrow and economically dynamic four-county corridor, please dial back your blood pressure medicine.

Let’s briefly address the opportunities missed.

Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack had the good grace to point out the obvious miss in noting that Fort Smith’s population growth rate (7.1%) was below the Arkansas rate (9.1%) and the U.S. rate (9.7%).

“That is somewhat of a concern. Fortunately we have done infrastructure planning and growth planning to provide the services and land area for growth. But what we have to focus on is job creation. Without job creation, we won’t have growth,” Gosack explained.

Bingo. Good jobs equal good growth. Period. For too much of the first decade of this new century, our business and civic leadership failed to ensure that aggressive and forward-thinking economic development was the plan of the day.

Instead, they made excuses about the “benefits” of “slow and steady” economic growth and held fast to the belief that manufacturing would, as it had in the past four-plus decades, continue to provide a bright and prosperous future for the regional economy.

Potential bright spots of the first decade included entrepreneurial programs at the emerging University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center — a quasi-independent effort funded by the city of Fort Smith, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and UAFS.

Unfortunately, the entrepreneurial programs at UAFS have taken a back seat to a UAFS business college more focused on promoting the business college than promoting business. The IEC was fully absorbed by UAFS and hasn’t been seen since.

Also, Fort Smith business and chamber leaders had an opportunity to tap into commercialized technology emerging from advanced technology labs at the University of Arkansas. We were afraid to take the risk, and now Fayetteville and Springdale appear to have the lead on nanotechnology businesses and other job creating technologies that will most likely be commonplace in the next decade.

Quantifiably, the relative lack of population growth may result in as much as $1 million a year less in local, state and federal revenue coming to the city of Fort Smith, or about 2.5% of the city’s general fund budget. What we can’t quantify is too much to consider and still have a good day.

Let’s now briefly address opportunities possible.

It’s possible that the opportunities possible will come from new Fort Smith business and political leadership, a Chaffee Crossing that is finding its development rhythm, a University of Arkansas at Fort Smith that is finding its four-year feet, the Ozark campus of Arkansas Tech University doing more to provide much-needed practical workforce training, the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority, and a growing awareness of the practical reasons to be close friends with the business and political leadership in Northwest Arkansas.

Mike Malone, the paid director of the powerful and results-oriented Northwest Arkansas Council, was courteous enough to use part of his weekend to give The City Wire some insight into why it’s important for the two geographically connected metro areas to expand the connection beyond simply geography. The council has been studying which sectors will generate the best potential for continued economic growth in that region.

“Several of the sectors are going to give us opportunities to collaborate to grow jobs on both sides of the Boston Mountains,” Malone noted.

Hear that? He’s talking about “both” sides of the Boston Mountains. That means the guy helping direct the group that can make things happen, wants to work with us to make things happen. Or, we have an opportunity to work with a group to better capitalize on economic conditions that resulted in Benton, Washington, Crawford and Sebastian counties representing 55% of the state’s total population growth in the past decade. And we should also note that 47% of the state’s population growth (+113,283) occurred in Washington and Benton Counties.

Thankfully, we now have a Fort Smith Mayor who understands that life is even more worth living in Fort Smith when we’re better connected to life outside Fort Smith. And Mat Pitsch, who is part of the effort behind the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA), is on track to create a unique economic development entity. RITA is not only improving freight and logistics in the Fort Smith area, but gives business leaders in the Northwest Arkansas area legitimate financial motivation to connect to business and political leadership in Crawford and Sebastian counties.

In addition to tourism connections (visitors to Crystal Bridges are also Marshals Museum visitors and vice versa), Malone notes that “Food Processing, Transportation/Logistics and Commercializing Technology are also sectors where I think we’ll see some opportunities to grow together.”

Grow together. Damn sure like the sound of that. Let’s all say it in unison, “Grow together.”

But the “sound of that” will be hollow if we don’t also send legislators to Little Rock who are more focused on the practicalities of socio-economic development and much less focused on Sunday School politics. That we have Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, and Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, and Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, and Rep. Terry Rice, R-Mena, is some hope that the folks in this region have the capability to send decent leadership to Little Rock.

And the “sound of that” will be hollow if we don’t elect Fort Smith City Directors who are more focused on the next generation rather than the next election.

Please know I’m optimistic about our potential to make big things happen in the next 10 years. I’m optimistic that the folks who say We Can’t will be no match for the folks who understand the Opportunities Possible.

To wrap up this rambling about opportunities and possibilities, please allow me to openly plagiarize City Administrator Gosack: What we have to focus on is job creation. Without job creation, we won’t have growth.

Let’s choose growth.