Hot Springs, Arkansas - Hwy 70 East -  Bypass

A special meeting of the Scenic Gateway Steering Committee was held Tuesday, August 20, 2002, at the KOA Kampground on 70E. Committee members or representatives in attendance were (in alphab. order): Laurence Adkins, Anita Barrett, David Campbell, Cliff Caughman, Lynn Cole, Randy Cox, Carl Hughes, Tom Lucek, Carl McChesney, Kent Myers, Jerry Raetz, Les Warren, Bob Wheeler, Gerald Wheeler & Evan Yother. Not present: Steve Arrison*, Vickie Berni, Mike Bush, Jay Chesshir, Wyley Elliott*, David French, Peggy Maruthur, Ted Mullenix, Steve Teague*, Ken Wheatley, & Larry Williams. Members and guests introduced themselves by name and association. *Non-voting members.

Minutes of the July 11^th meetings were not reviewed and will be discussed at a future meeting. Please also review Minutes re 8.13 & 8.20 meetings for discussion/approval at our Sept. 24^th mtg.

Act 1197 discussion consumed much of this meeting. We voted and passed a Motion that our Scenic Gateway Steering Committee would not support Act 1197, as written. (Gerald made Motion and Carl Hughes seconded.) Tax increment discussion followed, as well as POA involvement re tax increment. Lynn cautioned SC re our jurisdiction, if any, in these areas.

Anita Barrett gave a report on the August 13^th P/O meeting. Several SC members covered various topics re recent S/G SC actions and shared w/us their experiences re this mtg. A report re the progress, to date, of the SC was presented. Approximately 75 pp attended, representing 50-60 p/o’s on 70E. Discussion re our SC Mission Statement netted over 40 supporters of our Mission Statement in this group.

Establishing a POA was discussed at length during this meeting of p/o’s. Several reasons were presented re establishing a POA in the 70E S/G; and, Randy Cox stated it comes down to value, civic pride, monetary, etc. If you can’t latch onto some value, you’ll never have any consensus on anything, per Randy. Establishing a POA would be handled through the S/G SC Property Owners Action Comm. Kent gave an example of a POA that is working and accomplishing much: Malvern Avenue. They considered value and improved appearances of area and activities to draw more pp in commercial business to that roadway. 30 pp belong to the Malvern POA. Darlene Garrett, Facilitator of Focus Garland County, was a guest today and had several constructive comments re POA’s. Les Warren shared about a POA in his neighborhood and 100% of the pp in area agreed to POA (needed, if filed). If voluntary (not formal), it is not mandatory to belong. We discussed access to City Attorney, David White re certain legal issues in question. Kent said yes, possibly; but, a POA would need own legal representative, if forming. Again, it comes down to the clout a group of pp can muster. Cliff Caughman maintained his opposition to a POA, or anything that might enhance a chance of a district being formed. Carl McChesney complimented Anita on organizing and monitoring the August 13^th p/o meeting.

Carl McChesney suggested formally adopting our Mission Statement and made a Motion, which was seconded by Kent Myers, and passed. He also gave update re Bridge concept: AR Hwy. Dept. will work w/us…but native stone on abutment walls is too expensive. They offered a pallet of other materials we can use (ie., brick whole or broken; stone look; other options). We won! according to Carl, and this is going to be great. Final details yet to be ironed out. City personnel at AR Hwy. Dept. meeting on July 22^nd were Kent Myers, Jean Wallace, Ron Koellre, & Jerry Raetz.

Lynn suggested we involve the S/G SC Bridge Concept Action Committee, created in agreement at the July meeting, in the full presentation to our SC. Perhaps this can happen at the Sept. 24^th or October S/G SC meeting.

Note: Our SC has met the following dates: April 18; May 20; June 4; July 11; August 13 and August 20^th (plus, our meeting at Branson in May). Future meeting dates are: Sept. 24^th - 11:00am to 12:30pm (w/Jay Chesshir presenting an economic development overview re marketing the S/G as well as current and future development efforts re the National Park properties) at the COC offices/Community Room (no lunch); and, October 24^th (w/ Roger Giddings presenting an overview of the National Park development plans) with time and site yet to be confirmed. Our members had several suggestions, concerns and questions to be posed to our upcoming speakers.

We agreed to forgo the Christmas Lights display efforts in the S/G this year. Our SC is probably going to sponsor a major ‘ground-breaking ceremony’ around the AR Hwy. Department’s start on 70E interchange. Also, we are exploring a SC blitz to Pigeon Forge this Fall or Spring ‘03.

Discussion followed with several other projects we could explore and adopt…perhaps spearheaded by the S/G P/O Action Committee and/or new (?) POA in S/G, with help by the City/County. (Landscaping, beautification and signage are examples of projects.) We decided to invite Jean Wallace (Director, H.S. Parks and Recreation), Julie Dickson (Beautification Committee) and Master Gardeners to an upcoming meeting. It was suggested that Jean Wallace could put together a formal proposal to the State re projects the S/G SC might embrace as our contribution to development of the S/G.

Lynn mentioned the H.S. Board of Director’s request on March 18^th (following Lynn’s presentation re the Scenic Corridor Study and concept) that a follow-up presentation be made to their Board approximately six months following the inception of our Steering Committee. The date will be October 7^th at 7:00 p.m. Lynn recommended the following SC members participate: Lynn with opening: history of SC to date…Wyley Elliott re Branson Blitz and COC etc. meetings…Carl McChesney re Bridge concept and developments…Ted Mullenix re SC P/O Action Committee status/meeting…Lynn will close with future goals and activities (i.e., ground-breaking ceremony re 70E interchange and Pigeon Forge blitz). Total presentation estimated at ten minutes…plus, Q & A. Kent has reserved time for our presentation on October 7^th. (Presenters will need to coordinate and fine tune materials prior to Oct. 7^th.)

Meeting adjourned at approximately 12:40 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted: