BENTONVILLE -- Elected and appointed officials heard about the city's vision to develop a comprehensive plan during an annual training workshop Friday.
The workshop was from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's an opportunity for planning commissioners, council members and board of adjustment members to hear from leaders and other planning experts.
At A Glance
Plan Timeline
Bentonville officials are working to create a comprehensive plan to guide the city for the next 15 to 20 years. City officials will send out requests for proposals in mid February and hope to have a contract with a firm by April. The public engagement process should start in July. The plan is slated to be adopted by City Council by December 2016.
Source: Staff report
It allows city department heads to present information, it trains those elected or appointed for their positions and keeps them up to date on city activity, Troy Galloway, community and economic development director, said.
This year's training was different as the planning process was a large focus, Galloway said. Typically, department heads would present their long-term plans and explain day-to-day operations.
Mayor Bob McCaslin told those present their jobs were important to the city's future.
"If you don't have an intentional plan, things still happen," he said. "We're going to continue to grow. There's no doubt about it."
Galloway presented the city's process in developing the plan. When possible, it will nest with the Northwest Arkansas Council's three-year plan announced this week, he said.
The city adopted a plan in 2000 and updated it in 2007. The update was a "boiler plate plan" that didn't have key elements to be successful, Galloway said. The new plan will guide the city for 15 to 20 years.
"We have to remain true to ourselves. We have to remain Bentonville, but in that we have to change," he said.
The plan will include what Galloway termed branches and sequels. The branches will be different options if conditions change and modifications are needed. Sequels will provide a look beyond the horizon so steps can be made if the plan's execution happens faster than anticipated, he said.
The plan will be developed with community input and feedback to make sure it includes what people want.
"It's got to engage the public," Galloway said. "If it doesn't engage the public, it's probably not going to happen."
The millennial generation will choose where they want to live and then find a job as opposed to moving because of a job, he said. It's crucial quality of life components are a focus to continue to draw a skilled and talented workforce.
"We need to continue to create a community where people want to call home," Galloway said.
Plans define vision for the city. They assist the Planning Commission, City Council and staff in making decisions, he said.
"Good plans shape good decisions," Galloway said. "That's the bottom line."
Attendees also heard from Beau Thompson and Jon Stanley about the Planning Department, its function and the process a development project goes through before it's constructed.
John Gaber, from the University of Arkansas' Department of Political Science and Public Policy, spoke about planning and its history in the country.
"Planning is not management," he said. It's seeing where the city is at and getting it to where it wants to go.
Gaber explained comprehensive planning is long-term and integrates everything; whereas strategic planning is short-term and focuses on one thing.
Jim von Tungeln of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and past president of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Planning Association, addressed state legislation in relation to city planning.
He encouraged decision-makers to frequently ask why they are doing things the way they are. He said he's seen municipalities make decisions that contradict each other and prevent growth.
"Planning is good government," he said.
Stephanie Orman, Ward 1 alderwoman, said she likes that the city has a definite direction and everyone is on the same page. The training will help her articulate to the public the plan and why it's moving in that direction, she said.
"I think the public appreciates that," she said. "I appreciate these guys being open to us to help us learn."
Scott Eccleston, planning commissioner, said he was able to learn about planning from an educational, practical and local perspective from the different speakers.
"I feel like we're on the cusp of serious change, and we have the right team from the Board of Adjustments to planning to staff and City Council," he said. "I feel like we're on the same page, and this training was, I think, just perfect timing."
The big challenge is to take the economic development approach outlined in The Bentonville Blueprint and tie it into the plan over the next two years, Galloway said.
The Bentonville Blueprint is a five-year economic plan the City Council approved this week.
"Community development is economic development; economic development is community development," Galloway said. "One cannot happen without the other."
NW News on 01/31/2015