Ozark on the verge

guest commentary by Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, chancellor, Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus

“For towns, I’ll take this one.”

That quote is from William Stafford, one of my favorite poets, and it applies to Ozark, Arkansas. Just a 30-minute drive from my home in Van Buren, Ozark is a town, like many small communities in the Fort Smith region, on the verge of an economic and social reset.

As a community, Ozark has many amenities: beautiful riverfront ready for development, picture-perfect downtown, destination restaurants (Rivertowne BBQ and Wiederkehr Weinkeller), a great school system, a growing college, Turner Memorial Hospital, and a family-oriented sports culture best illustrated by the Ozark Area Youth Organization. The people associated with these amenities are equal parts energy, enthusiasm, commitment and service-orientation.

The citizens of Ozark, led by the efforts of the Planning Commission and the City, recently completed a comprehensive plan for the future. Goals of the comprehensive plan are: Creating Neighborhoods of Choice; Building Family Wealth; and Influencing Community Growth.

A summary of the plan revealed that Ozark is on the verge of growth. The summary states that “Ozark is a growing city, reversing declining population trends seen between 1980 and 1990. As the city has grown, its population has also aged. The city has a large proportion of residents over the age of 65 with over 10 percent being over the age of 75.”

Communicating and brainstorming with city, county, and business leaders on this fact—which has occurred in the Franklin County Works (part of the Arkansas Works Initiative Gov. Mike Beebe began in October 2008). Strategizing based on these statistics for future city planning is essential.

Ozark is certainly on the verge in terms of community health and wellness. As the comprehensive plan states, “This (older population) can at least partially be attributed to residents choosing to age in place because of the community’s high quality of life and immediate access to health care.”

In any smaller, rural community, immediate access to health care is not just critical — it’s a life saver. Turner Memorial Hospital is more than an amenity, and our new Veteran’s Clinic, opened in May 2010, is extremely convenient. Many of our citizens cannot afford the cost or time to travel to Clarksville or Fort Smith hospitals, or to the closest Veteran’s Hospital, which often involved a trip to Fayetteville.

The “verge,” in this case, revolves around Ozark and Franklin County’s renewal of a 1% county-wide tax that supports Turner Memorial, Fire Departments, and other health and emergency related services. The 1% tax goes before Franklin County voters on the November ballot. An affirmative vote for this extension will allow the hospital to continue to receive financial support from the county for the next 10 years.

Main Street Ozark, in collaboration with the citizens of Ozark, created a new branding campaign for the city: “Ozark:  Where it All Begins.” The concept, after the consultants interviewed countless business owners and residents, speaks to the location and amenities of the Ozark area. Float trips on the Mulberry, wine tastings in Altus, camping in the Ozarks, or young people locating in our community and starting families are examples that influenced the campaign. Again, Ozark is on the verge of creating an identity, and we need the consistency and follow-through to ensure its adoption and effective marketing.

Ozark is on the verge — and on the outskirts right now — of tourism and recreation in the region. With Wakarusa, the Old Applegate Festival, The Harvest Festival at Mulberry Mountain, the Wiederkehr Weinfest, and Rods and Ribs, Ozark has plenty of events and activities that complement the region.

But working together and thinking beyond Ozark is the only way to make this happen. Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, the Marshal’s Museum in Fort Smith, Mt. Magazine State Park, Historic Downtown Van Buren and the Scenic Railway, Wine Country — the region itself — make us a tourist destination. We as a community have to recognize that we can’t do the marketing alone, and we need our partners, such as the Western Arkansas Mountain Frontier and adjacent Advertising and Promotion commissions, to join together.

Ozark is on the verge in terms of education. Yes, the ATU-Ozark Campus has increased enrollment nearly 400% since 2004, and we plan to have around 1,400 students enrolled this fall. We conferred 313 degrees last spring — nearly triple what we conferred in 2004.

While those statistics are impressive, I am the first to say that it’s not good enough. The number of individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher is just 11% in Franklin County, and the number of individuals, 25 years or older, with less than a high school education is nearly 30%. And, as Gov. Beebe says repeatedly, education and economic development go hand in hand. These concepts are interchangeable, and our Franklin County Works group and Sustainable Communities’ group, ROCN (Revitalize Our Communities Now), have focused on these statistics more than any other, recognizing the challenge it presents to attracting new businesses and retaining the industries we have.

Finally, Ozark is on the verge of participation — and this is a good thing. Ozark is part of the new Regional Alliance, a formal structure by which the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce has involved surrounding, smaller communities, like Charleston, Booneville, Ozark, and Paris, in economic development efforts. Like all of the small communities in our region, Ozark can’t go it alone. The Alliance is key to our future growth and success as a city and a regional partner.

And if Ozark embraces all of these opportunities and challenges, then we won’t be on the verge for long.