Distracted observations

A busy news cycle in recent weeks makes it difficult for those of us with attention problems to remain focused to a degree that allows for an entire essay to be written about a solitary topic.

Random observations are the result. The scattered commentary below is posted with apologies to Kind Readers not afflicted with short attention spans.

• Caterpillar curiosity
Not sure why Gov. Mike Beebe was so public with his pursuit of a Caterpillar manufacturing facility. The Peoria, Ill.-based company said it planned to build a new $200 million facility that would employ up to 1,400 in the production of hydraulic excavator equipment.

Beebe appeared on CNBC touting his pursuit of the plant, and told Roby Brock that it was possible Whirlpool’s soon-to-be empty plant in Fort Smith could be a good site for Caterpillar.

But well before Beebe’s comments fanned flames of hope, Caterpillar officials were clear in noting their preference to build the site near a deep-water (ocean) port and near other Caterpillar operations. That combination is not available in Arkansas.

Caterpillar decided to build the plant near Athens, Ga., a location within easy transport to several East Coast ocean ports, and within a metro area capable of meeting the  large workforce needs.

• New harbor?
Speaking of ports, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the construction of an estimated $15 million slack water harbor somewhere along the Arkansas River between Fort Smith and Ozark. Not only could such a port be beneficial for the Fort Smith metro area, but it would also well serve Northwest Arkansas business and industry.

This is certainly good news, but it’s also news that provides a skeptic reason for pause. Government approval is often the easy part. Finding the funds to match the approval is the chore. Government approval is climbing Mt. Magazine; government funding is climbing Mt. Everest.

• Joining forces
Speaking of mountains, business and civic leaders in the Fort Smith region should soon figure out how they may get an invitation to this new effort by the counterparts in Northwest Arkansas and Little Rock to join forces.

The NWA and Little Rock leadership is on a path to helping each other with “economic development.” Specifically, they know it is often a battle to secure adequate funding for infrastructure and organizations (the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, etc.) in their respective regions. Battling together may produce more victories.

Fort Smith area folks have nothing to fear from this NWA and Little Rock pairing — unless we choose to not play, which has been a too frequent choice in years past.

Sure, Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders is working with Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan on transportation and other issues, but that’s not remotely comparable to what the good suit clubs in NWA and Little Rock will be able to accomplish if they successfully target their tangible and intangible resources.

• Severance tax hike
Speaking of resources, former natural gas executive and failed gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson is eager to raise Arkansas’ severance tax to 7% across the board. He says it will generate about $250 million a year that should be directed to road improvements.

Under normal market conditions, reasonable folks would nod favorably for Nelson’s plan. A 7% rate with removal of many exceptions wouldn’t cause natural resource exploration and production in Arkansas to be at a competitive disadvantage with other states.

But these aren’t normal market conditions. The price of natural gas — the primary target of a severance tax hike — is well below $4 per MMBtu, with market watchers predicting it will fall to just above $3 per MMBtu during 2012. (Link here for a more detailed report on market conditions.)

New technologies to discover and extract natural gas have produced a glut of this relatively clean energy source. Also, Congress, Obama and federal bureaucrats have proven to be Larry, Moe and Curly with respect to using this domestic energy source to pursue true energy independence.

Said all that to say margins are so poor to non-existent in the natural gas sector, and a severance tax hike in the next 2-3 years would be nothing short of an eviction notice for the thousands of good-paying jobs in Arkansas related to natural gas exploration and production.

• Stimulating development
Speaking of exploration, a few Fort Smith Elmer Gantry’s have raised the alarm of a sexually oriented business on Garrison Avenue. “Pleasures by Kasey” is located between a bar and a law firm, and across the street from a soon-to-open liquor store and about six blocks east of a city-owned structure that serves to help celebrate the history of prostitution in Fort Smith.

And in a nod to Karma, the adjacent law firm that objects to the opening of “Pleasures” is the same firm that successfully sued the city of Fort Smith when the city attempted to shut down Regina’s House of Dolls. Reports were that the city was stripped of at least $300,000 on the Regina’s deal — or just short of $4 per lap dance for every city resident. Let’s hope the owners of Pleasures by Kasey aren’t of the litigious nature.

Also, the Fort Smith Police Department was asked to investigate the city’s sexually-oriented business ordinance to see if more could be done to legally restrict the sale of legal products. A more than 50-page, detailed memo was the result.

It may be that Fort Smith resources are better spent cleaning (removing weeds, trash, old signage, busted concrete, etc.) along major traffic corridors. An intersection choked with weeds and cigarette butts is far more obscene than sex toys in an enclosed area seen only by consenting adults.

The only vibrators we should try to remove from Garrison Avenue are the large trucks that continue to rumble through and prevent the downtown area from realizing the city’s “Live. Work. Play” marketing tagline.