Hot Springs, Arkansas - Hwy 70 East -  Bypass

The second regular meeting of the Scenic/Entertainment Corridor Steering Committee (renamed ‘Scenic Gateway) was held on Monday, May 20, 2002, at Anita and George Barrett’s KOA Kampground located on Hwy. 70 E. Committee members or representatives in attendance were (in alphab. order): Laurence Adkins, Anita Barrett, David Campbell, Cliff Caughman/David Chittum, Jay Chesshir, Lynn Cole, Wyley Elliott, Tom Lucek, Carl/Sara McChesney, Ted Mullenix, Kent Myers, Jerry Raetz, Bob Wheeler, Gerald Wheeler, Larry Williams (represented by Mary Culpepper), and Evan Yother…& Wendy Ledbetter, S-R.

Minutes of the April 18, 2002, meeting were approved without further corrections.

Evan Yother presented a ‘picture’ summary re the May 7/8^th Branson Blitz (BB) conducted by twelve representatives of the Scenic/Entertainment Corridor Steering Committee.

Kent Myers reviewed his handout recap on the ‘Branson Trip’ (which he presented to the City Board of Directors). He highlighted in his presentation to us decisions made during our Committee meeting in Branson which included expanding the corridor along Grand to Convention Center Blvd. and up to the Convention Center, Embassy Suites and The Austin Hotel. He mentioned the potential Christmas lighting event along 70E & Convention Blvd. He discussed the need "to focus on building trust with the property owners" (along 70E corridor) and that we are planning to meet with them as soon as we can get the complete list of those bordering 70E. Kent also felt we should get a professional traffic consultant on board asap, as the need exists for a traffic plan. He stated that "caution should be exercised in attempting to attract new theaters to insure that the community can support them," and we might explore an opportunity of leasing out current facilities in H.S. to entertainers from Branson during their slow periods. Also, H.S. needs to consider marketing our attractions thru ‘vacation packages’ as is done in Branson.

Members on the BB added comments when appropriate and further information, opinions and findings as each had an opportunity to share with the Committee members present at the 5.20.02 meeting:

Bob Wheeler: Commented on the signage and the mixed pro and con feelings he experienced. Bob felt it was a positive trip and we learned a lot.

Wyley Elliott: Stated that Branson was in process of researching and redefining their focus to facilitate their return to the peak levels of their past…perhaps focusing on younger family visitor markets.

Jerry Raetz: Stated 85% of Branson is zoned commercial…there is no residential zoning in Branson.

[It was suggested Jerry present to the Committee a planned development review (such as he did in Branson) in the near future.]

Gerald Wheeler: Expressed his positive response to the ‘red carpet treatment’ we received…he felt this was directly related to our Committee having the Hot Springs City government involved. He also shared Branson’s officials compliments to our Committee re our forethought to plan ahead (i.e., dealing w/ issues and needs up front & being aggressive about developing our S/G).

Carl McChesney: Stated he felt the Hwy. 76 Strip was too ‘nude’ (i.e., no trees)…plus, the signs were not attractive and were cluttered. He referred to our eco-tourism positive approach w/ bikes and parks. He mentioned Branson’s concern re the ‘baby boomers’ & Branson retaining their business. Also, Branson’s bus tour business is down.

David Chittum: He liked being with those on our BB. He was also surprised at the Branson officials’ openness. He noted that transportation limitations/problems in Branson will not be an issue in Hot Springs (i.e., Branson ‘just happened!’ vs. H.S. being able to preplan development). He feels Branson could be more appealing if they dealt with their signage and utility line problems. Signs do add to the atmosphere in Branson! plus people can pull off Hwy. 76 into the businesses. He would like to see our S/G Committee try to get people to come and build and not discourage them. Also, we can be open in seasons that Branson is not.

(Lynn Cole added the officials shared w/us that visitors to Branson like to drive down the Hwy. 76 Strip because of the glitz and excitement re the theaters, even though traffic is heavy & slow.)

Evan Yother: Stated he enjoyed the trip & that it was fun! He commented on 76 business/traffic but that secondary roads were pretty, had sidewalks and not much traffic. Branson is trying to move traffic but people stay on 76. He wants us to work on getting people in H.S. to the S/G.

(Lynn commented that midweek, early May was a slower period/season for Branson, and they would have higher traffic on the secondary roadways during weekends or certainly in high seasons.)

Sara McChesney: Noticed the clutter and unsafe sidewalks along Hwy. 76; the lack of trees; the abundance of power lines; and, the unattractive signs. She feels Arkansas, as the ‘Natural State’, should strive to keep our S/G clean and organized.

Anita Barrett: Mentioned the importance of H.S. and the S/G Committee doing a plan first as recommended at the Branson City meeting. She felt their signs were okay even though ‘goddy’ but signs must be maintained and be visible. Anita asked Lynn to state how BB trip costs were handled/paid.

[Lynn stated all participants handled their own expenses and costs re BB…stating she personally paid her expenses and others may have expensed their costs as it was a civic/business-related fact-finding trip. Lynn elaborated on recommendations by various Branson officials that H.S. needs a thorough plan up front re our transportation and intra-structure (i.e., get roads/highways in place before development occurs)…the developers will then come and build appropriately/naturally.]

Kent Myers: Stated this Committee might want to make Pigeon Forge, TN a possible fact-finding trip in the near future (i.e., officials in Branson felt Pigeon Forge would be more nearly compatible to our S/G development). {Note: Kent did an excellent five-page printed recap of the Branson Blitz which was handed out to Committee members when they arrived at the meeting. I will bring additional copies at the next meeting for those who would like a copy.}

David Campbell: While not on our BB, he goes to Branson twice a year. He has noticed the courtesy of drivers in Branson (i.e., even though there are not many signals you can still enter/exit traffic flow because drivers are considerate). He feels the traffic moves too fast on Shepherd of the Hills roadway, and people don’t get an opportunity to look at what’s there as they do when on the 76 Strip.

Lynn Cole: Mentioned we might want to contact Jennings Osborne re involvement in a potential Christmas lighting event in the S/G. Also, we enjoyed our Branson Scenic Railway excursion (w/Bobs!).

Other pertinent information re Branson: They are 16^th in the U.S. as a tourism destination…Branson has a 0.5% tourism tax on restaurant charges and 4% on theaters, hotels and attractions. Branson has a co-op marketing plan re special events through their "Marketing Partners’ Program, and the State of Missouri, Division of Tourism does co-op matching advertising/marketing w/ Branson (i.e., in 2002 = $440,000…in 2003 = $460,000 with $400,000 for TV and $60,000 for trade/print). They also do trade shows and boat shows across America. Timeshare is the fastest growing rooms business in Branson (now 10% of total rooms)…and they have the fastest t.s. growth record in U.S. Theaters in Branson have a range of 300 – 4000 seats, with most just under the 2000 number because of the ASCAP & BMI fees. Welk’s Champaign Theater has 2244 seats; and, they pay $75,000/ year in royalty fees.

{Lynn will have her BB notes as a handout at the June 4^th meeting.}

We broke for lunch around noon. Wendy Ledbetter left shortly before our break.

Carl McChesney gave a report on his recent meeting with Steve Teague, Assistant Chief Engineer and Planning with the AR Highway & Transportation Department. They worked together in the 1970’s, and Carl feels Steve is very progressive. Steve is looking forward to working with us and has requested he be considered a special ‘Transportation Advisor’ rather than a regular member of our Steering Committee.

Carl further stated: When the Hwy. 70 interchange is ‘let’ in October, 2002, and construction of the center column begins, there will be a watershed of public interest. This might be the perfect opportunity for landscaping, murals, (sculptures), bike and hiking trails, and other interests to be explored with the AR Hwy. Dept. State funds can go toward helping develop this area of the West side of Westinghouse. The two interchanges will consume a lot of land, but the AR Hwy Dept. will let us use this area.

A definite need exists for a comprehensive study of the entire corridor (i.e., Scenic Gateway). We are waiting for the Magic Springs data as the person in charge was promoted and no one has been on this traffic study in recent months. There is a consideration for re-creating the 40 mph section.

Carl & Steve also met with Paul Sims re our new ‘Metropolitan Planning Organization’ (MPO) which will make decisions on how planning priorities and scheduling are handled. The MPO tied into the 2000 census which moved Hot Springs area – now over 50,000 citizens - into the ‘urbanized area’ category; and, also qualifies us for special transportation funding. An MPO will be set up in H.S. to oversee our planning in the near future. More info will be forthcoming soon.

Tom Lucek commented on the Hot Springs designation as an MPO: We are one of only 76 new MPO’s established in the U.S. There is a total 61,700 MPO’s in U.S. An MPO sets up a five-year plan from date of establishment. The US 270 program impacts more than one mile of the Scenic Gateway – Hwy. 70E around Westinghouse. Again, the Magic Springs traffic study was mentioned as being important in this planning stage.

Members discussed and voted the Committee’s name change from the original Scenic Corridor or Scenic/Entertainment Corridor to the ‘SCENIC GATEWAY.’ (Other options were: Entertainment Scenic Gateway…Grand Scenic Gateway…East Grand Gateway…+ adding 70E to name.)

General discussion, comments and opinions followed (but nothing voted upon) re meetings of the Steering Committee: (Anita Barrett) Meetings should be open to any 70E property owner to attend whenever they wanted + she felt Ted Mullenix should be back on this Committee…(Laurence Adkins) County supports doing whatever these property owners want done…(Kent Myers) Asked Ted if he wanted to rejoin our Committee?…(Ted did so.)…(Anita) Stated possibly a mistake re H.S. City Board of Directors accepting the Scenic Corridor Study guidelines at the March 18, 2002 meeting…(Kent) Will explore with the Board about this issue…

Cliff Caughman asked Jerry Raetz about rezoning and C5…what will the Scenic Gateway Steering Committee do if a buyer changes his/her mind and doesn’t want to build whatever they initially stated they would (i.e., committed to a theater but later wants to build a gas station complex)?

Jerry Raetz responded that once a C5 permit is issued by the City of H.S. (i.e., a Olive Garden would be a ‘permitted use’ vs. a motel would be a ‘conditional use’ application), then staff will consider if the requested change does, or does not, follow the Scenic Corridor Study guidelines adopted by the City Board on 3-18-02. Cliff challenged this.

Ted Mullenix stated: ‘You’ (the Committee) aren’t taking time and listening…that he can tell us what works, and we should slow down and listen to ‘us’ (i.e., Ted and Cliff & ???others)…that ‘you’ (Committee) have the ‘cart before the horse.’

Kent Myers stated, again, that acceptance of the Study guidelines may have been premature…but, they are only guidelines and can be adaptable.

Lynn commented that nothing is ‘cast in concrete’ re the Study guidelines. Also, members of our Committee are listening…to officials and theater owners in Branson…to property owners on our Committee, and others. This whole process is about education and doing it right.

David Chittum stated it was good (important) to have the Committee working on this (project/concept).

Gerald Wheeler commented that Lynn brought our group together as a Committee, and planned the Branson Blitz which was a good thing for us. He said he had planned to build on his S/G property but is now waiting to see what happens. However, re Act 1197: With the present wording, it will not fly…the property owners in the S/G are against it and will not go for Act 1197.

At this point, Lynn asked: "Where do we go from here?"

Evan Yother stated he liked the name and idea of the ‘Scenic Gateway,’ and, that this Steering Committee should work together, stay together…keep communication open in the Committee and move ahead.

Carl stated the Hwy Dept. can do special things for us that will be good. Our Committee should pursue.

Evan responded that a (formal) committee behind requests will have more weight (to get projects thru).

Gerald commented that the City should do the maintenance (landscaping, etc.) rather than the AR State departments doing it. Also, projects will help and add to one another.

Anita Barrett made a Motion - and group discussion added to the Motion – that our Steering Committee hold a S/G 70E-fronting property owners meeting within six weeks. People to be invited will be those owning property between the Convention Center Blvd. and the 70E Interchange. Either Anita or the City can send invitations re meeting date, time & place (she has $75 collected for postage, etc.). Evan Yother seconded the Motion. It passed with approximately a two-thirds affirmative.

Discussion followed re this property owners’ meeting…how to conduct and who should be there, etc. Evan asked, what is our goal re Steering Committee? Ted stated he wants only S/G property owners at that meeting. Anita stated that the success of the meeting depends on having an Agenda and a S/G Steering Committee property owner member to moderate the panel (someone who has been a S/G property owner for awhile). It was agreed City personnel need to be at the meeting to answer questions.

Anita made a Motion our Steering Committee meet and prepare the Agenda and Goal Statement to present at the proposed Property Owner meeting…plus, send an announcement letter to appropriate property owners. (Note: I have no second or vote on this 2^nd motion in my notes. However, the Committee decided to do this.)

Lynn and Kent inquired re where and when a Steering Committee pre-P/O meeting should transpire? We agreed on Tuesday, June 4^th. Ted Mullenix volunteered to hold our meeting at the Music Mountain Jamboree from 11: a.m. – 1: p.m. and graciously volunteered to provide lunch for us. T.Y. TedJ

We adjourned our meeting at 1:45 p.m. Thanks again to Anita for a wonderful lunch!!! (Our group must enjoy one another’s company….some of us hung around outside chatting another hour! )

Respectfully Submitted:

Lynn Cole, Coordinator/Facilitator