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Fayetteville, Arkansas


Mith242

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Interesting. It's also a funny label for the area, and it fits. I felt the same way about Mtn. Home when I lived there. It's not really "the South" but it's in Arkansas, so therefore too far south to be the Midwest.

I admit I don't know a lot about Mountain Home, but I guess I would have always thought of it being more southern than NWA. Granted maybe the large influx of new people give it a different feel there. I don't think they have attracted the same out of state people as we have though. If I'm not mistaken aren't a lot of people there basically moved in as their new 'retirement home'? In most of Arkansas the cost of living is pretty low compared to most other places. Helps make that retirement money last longer.

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I admit I don't know a lot about Mountain Home, but I guess I would have always thought of it being more southern than NWA. Granted maybe the large influx of new people give it a different feel there. I don't think they have attracted the same out of state people as we have though. If I'm not mistaken aren't a lot of people there basically moved in as their new 'retirement home'? In most of Arkansas the cost of living is pretty low compared to most other places. Helps make that retirement money last longer.

Mountain Home is at least as far north as Fayetteville, if not a bit more.

Actually, wikipedia coordinates: MTN HOME: 36

Edited by thewizard16
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Interesting. It's also a funny label for the area, and it fits. I felt the same way about Mtn. Home when I lived there. It's not really "the South" but it's in Arkansas, so therefore too far south to be the Midwest.

"Sunbelt" is being used to refer to cities aa geographically diverse as Pheonix, Dallas, and all the way to Atlanta. It's sort of a ridiculous blanket moniker to me. I remember when I was kid I always thought of us as being "Midsouth" because of the Midsouth Wrestling Federation. :P In my little world, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and maybe Louisiana are in the Midsouth.

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"Sunbelt" is being used to refer to cities aa geographically diverse as Pheonix, Dallas, and all the way to Atlanta. It's sort of a ridiculous blanket moniker to me. I remember when I was kid I always thought of us as being "Midsouth" because of the Midsouth Wrestling Federation. :P In my little world, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and maybe Louisiana are in the Midsouth.

Yeah I like the term Midsouth and wish it was used more often. Outside of extreme southeast Arkansas I just feel there's a bit of a difference in the rest of Arkansas that isn't quite like other areas of the 'Deep South' or Southeast. Oklahoma and Texas certainly have aspects of 'southern culture' but are different. Some people even argue that they aren't really part of 'The South'. I think parts of Louisiana are also a bit like this. Over time there likely could have a more distinct Midsouth culture develop. There just hasn't been quite enough history for this to happen yet. Anyway sorry to get us so off topic here. :lol: I probably need to move some of these posts into a better fitting topic.

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Yeah I like the term Midsouth and wish it was used more often. Outside of extreme southeast Arkansas I just feel there's a bit of a difference in the rest of Arkansas that isn't quite like other areas of the 'Deep South' or Southeast. Oklahoma and Texas certainly have aspects of 'southern culture' but are different. Some people even argue that they aren't really part of 'The South'. I think parts of Louisiana are also a bit like this. Over time there likely could have a more distinct Midsouth culture develop. There just hasn't been quite enough history for this to happen yet. Anyway sorry to get us so off topic here. :lol: I probably need to move some of these posts into a better fitting topic.

The only problem witht "midsouth" is that's what Memphis, Mississippi, and Little Rock consider themselves part of, all of which are a lot more "southern" in flavor than NWA. It's a hard one.

M

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The only problem witht "midsouth" is that's what Memphis, Mississippi, and Little Rock consider themselves part of, all of which are a lot more "southern" in flavor than NWA. It's a hard one.

M

Yeah I wasn't really meaning from a NWA view. We'd still be one of those areas that stuck out. But to be honest we would also stick out if we got grouped into the Midwest as well. We're just one of those weird boundary areas.

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Yeah I wasn't really meaning from a NWA view. We'd still be one of those areas that stuck out. But to be honest we would also stick out if we got grouped into the Midwest as well. We're just one of those weird boundary areas.

We are truly a unique place--the best of all worlds!

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It appears some developers are finally fed up with the Planning Commision and City Council.

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/63568/

I can't say I completely disagree with the developers, as the council does seem to have a habit lately of leading developers down a list of changes that need to be made for approval, and then holding the project up for a long period of time, or just simply denying it after changes have been made for some new reason.

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It appears some developers are finally fed up with the Planning Commision and City Council.

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/63568/

I can't say I completely disagree with the developers, as the council does seem to have a habit lately of leading developers down a list of changes that need to be made for approval, and then holding the project up for a long period of time, or just simply denying it after changes have been made for some new reason.

Yeah, but I guess I can see it from both sides. It is very frustrating on the developer's side. But the city also needs to insure smart growth as well and can't just assume the developers will do it all themselves. Although there wasn't as much emphasis as other issues I think a big problem is the differences between the Planning Commission and the City Council. Seems like there have been a number of instances in the past two years where the developers were turned down by the Planning Commission only to go on to the City Council and be approved. I don't think you can just get rid of the Planning Commission and dump everything on the City Council. But it does seem that there needs to be some better arrangement. The City Council seems to be more realistic while the Planning Commission focuses on ideals.

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Washington County's search for more space is in the news again. The Public Works Committe toured several locations that are possiblities for expansion including the downtown area, the county jail area in south Fayetteville and off Joyce Bvld. in north Fayetteville. There will be a public input hearing on April 24th from 4:30 to 6:30 PM in the Quorum Court Room at the courthouse. As a refresher, what the county is trying to determine is whether to move the courts away from downtown or expand downtown. The challenge downtown is finding space to use and parking.

The issue of space has at least a partial solution in the Terminella Building just down College from the courthouse. The owner is willing to sell the recently completed building at what is said to be below the appraised price. This would be 20,000 sq. ft. that the county could use as it sees fit and help enable it to stay in the central part of town instead of moving to the edge as the jail and north Fayetteville would be.

County Judge Hunton raised the possiblity of a joint parking venture with St. Paul's Episcopal Church and First Baptist Church. The three entities are adjacent to each other at the College Ave./Dickson St. intersection and so could share a parking deck. Parking is always an issue downtown and this would be a win-win situation for all groups. St. Paul's and First Baptist have both made major improvements to their facilities recently and so should have a great interest in increasing the available parking. A possible 300 space deck on the lot across from the courthouse with a skybrige connecting it to the courthouse at $5 million was mentioned as a possiblity which seems a very reasonable idea when split between the three groups. Hopefully all will see the positives for the community as a whole in making this a reality.

NWA Times article

Edited by zman9810
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Washington County's search for more space is in the news again. The Public Works Committe toured several locations that are possiblities for expansion including the downtown area, the county jail area in south Fayetteville and off Joyce Bvld. in north Fayetteville. There will be a public input hearing on April 24th from 4:30 to 6:30 PM in the Quorum Court Room at the courthouse. As a refresher, what the county is trying to determine is whether to move the courts away from downtown or expand downtown. The challenge downtown is finding space to use and parking.

The issue of space has at least a partial solution in the Terminella Building just down College from the courthouse. The owner is willing to sell the recently completed building at what is said to be below the appraised price. This would be 20,000 sq. ft. that the county could use as it sees fit and help enable it to stay in the central part of town instead of moving to the edge as the jail and north Fayetteville would be.

County Judge Hunton raised the possiblity of a joint parking venture with St. Paul's Episcopal Church and First Baptist Church. The three entities are adjacent to each other at the College Ave./Dickson St. intersection and so could share a parking deck. Parking is always an issue downtown and this would be a win-win situation for all groups. St. Paul's and First Baptist have both made major improvements to their facilities recently and so should have a great interest in increasing the available parking. A possible 300 space deck on the lot across from the courthouse with a skybrige connecting it to the courthouse at $5 million was mentioned as a possiblity which seems a very reasonable idea when split between the three groups. Hopefully all will see the positives for the community as a whole in making this a reality.

NWA Times article

Yeah I hadn't gotten around to posting about it yesterday. But I had heard they are going to need more parking. I got the impression maybe government regulations required it or something. I think a 300 space parking garage would be useful there. I realize it's a bit far from downtown and parts of Dickson for most. But I think close enough if you had to. I also admit I'm wondering about that skybridge.

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Here's the first views of what the square improvements will look like. The rock work is great and although the tress are small now- when they get bigger the square will be a Spring wonder. The concrete sidewalks aren't quite as nice as the aggregate IMO, but the tint does help. The second photo is a closeup of the new lighting and water fountain- nice features indeed.

DSCN0762.jpg

DSCN0766.jpg

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Here's the first views of what the square improvements will look like. The rock work is great and although the tress are small now- when they get bigger the square will be a Spring wonder. The concrete sidewalks aren't quite as nice as the aggregate IMO, but the tint does help. The second photo is a closeup of the new lighting and water fountain- nice features indeed.

Thanks, Z. It does seem like they are making rapid progress. I understand the first Farmers' Market is this weekend--I hope that's true and I hope they are ready!

M

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Thanks, Z. It does seem like they are making rapid progress. I understand the first Farmers' Market is this weekend--I hope that's true and I hope they are ready!

M

I didn't realize that- I don't think it will be ready, especially if it rains like it is supposed to. It could be used but they will to work around a lot of construction material. They have started on the west outside part of the square already and are making good progress but it'll be weeks before it's all done.

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Yeah thanks for the pics zman. With the crappy weather lately I haven't gotten down there to check things out. Overall things do look nice. I think things still look a bit bare on the corners. I see they basically did just put in little saplings to replace the other trees. I guess we'll just have to let the vegetation grown and fill in. I'm also curious to see what trees that did plant. Looks like they picked some sort of flowering tree. I thought there was some interesting trees over on the east side of the Square. Not positive what kind they were. But I'm wondering if they're all gone as well. While flowering trees are nice I hope they are all the same type of tree.

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I think Fayetteville should pursue a municipal utility, like Austin Energy in Austin, TX.

That would allow the city to best incentivize green/sustainable building practices in Fayetteville.

Austin Energy provides rebates for residents installing solar panels, etc. Its pretty amazing what they do to encourage energy efficiency.

http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Effic...bates/index.htm

A municipal utility might give the city enough pull (and revenue sources) to prevent more giant powerlines being built in historic areas.

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I think Fayetteville should pursue a municipal utility, like Austin Energy in Austin, TX.

That would allow the city to best incentivize green/sustainable building practices in Fayetteville.

Austin Energy provides rebates for residents installing solar panels, etc. Its pretty amazing what they do to encourage energy efficiency.

http://www.austinenergy.com/Energy%20Effic...bates/index.htm

A municipal utility might give the city enough pull (and revenue sources) to prevent more giant powerlines being built in historic areas.

It sounds like an interesting idea. For our area I'm wondering if wind power might be a better solution. Does anybody know very much about Ozarks Electric? I know sometimes their customers get rebates back from them. Although I don't think that it's necessarily because of things like this. Speaking of power I've been a little curious how much power do we get from Beaver Dam compared to the coal power plant near Gentry. I imagine the power generated from Beaver Dam can be somewhat sporadic. During the summer time when demand is at it's highest is also probably the time that you don't have the turbines going to keep the lake level up as things dry out. I still like the idea of a possible wind farm in the general area. But either way I think it would be a good idea for Fayetteville to possibly look into some alternative ideas. Let's face it Arkansas isn't a leader in this particular area. I believe some states have even set mandates to require a certain percentage of their energy be from 'green energy'. I don't foresee Arkansas doing anything like this anytime in the near future. So I think Fayetteville would have to be the pioneer in this like it has in other areas. But it would fit in well with some of the environmental aspects the city has been striving for.

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It sounds like an interesting idea. For our area I'm wondering if wind power might be a better solution. Does anybody know very much about Ozarks Electric? I know sometimes their customers get rebates back from them. Although I don't think that it's necessarily because of things like this. Speaking of power I've been a little curious how much power do we get from Beaver Dam compared to the coal power plant near Gentry. I imagine the power generated from Beaver Dam can be somewhat sporadic. During the summer time when demand is at it's highest is also probably the time that you don't have the turbines going to keep the lake level up as things dry out. I still like the idea of a possible wind farm in the general area. But either way I think it would be a good idea for Fayetteville to possibly look into some alternative ideas. Let's face it Arkansas isn't a leader in this particular area. I believe some states have even set mandates to require a certain percentage of their energy be from 'green energy'. I don't foresee Arkansas doing anything like this anytime in the near future. So I think Fayetteville would have to be the pioneer in this like it has in other areas. But it would fit in well with some of the environmental aspects the city has been striving for.

IIRC, Ozarks Electric gives rebates like dividends depending upon their profits and performance. Being in a cooperative is sort of like being a stockholder. I don't remember it having anything to do with how much energy you use, don't use, or what you might be doing to conserve. However, it's been quite a few years since we were with them and my memory is less than keen on these types of details.

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Fayetteville got some more recognition, although this time not positive. There's an article in the New York Times about how the school district isn't 'protecting' a kid who's being bullied. The newspaper implied the school district isn't doing anything to the bullies. The kid's mother even told the newspaper she was worried the bullies were going to one day 'kill him'. Anyway it made the school district, and for that matter the city, look pretty bad. First of all I certainly don't condone what's happening to this kid. But I somehow think we're not hearing the whole story on this. The school district is now getting smalled with e-mails from people who have read the article. Ironically now the school is being 'cyberbullied' by people. Unfortunately it's something like this that ends up taking away a lot of the work it's taken to clean up the image of this area. Reading some of the e-mails directed to the school it's obvious not everyone has forgotten some of the old stereotypes of the Ozarks and Arkansas. One person also claimed this was a sign of our 'infamous bigotry'. When was Fayetteville known for infamous bigotry anyway? Ironic since Fayetteville was the first city in the 'Old South' to integrate it's schools. Anyway you just hate to see stuff like this happen. Both for the kid and the city and area's image. While I really don't think this kid is as innocent as his mother portrays him. I also don't think he's done anything to deserve what's happening to him either. It's also a shame that after having so much praise for the city in recent years now get overshadowed by something like this.

I hate to say I told you so, but.....

It sounds like the more info that comes out the less the 'victim' this kid appears to be. I'm still not saying he deserved it, but it sounds like in a number of instances he actually might have instigated the incidents himself. It's also sounding like he himself has been bullying other kids. There still could be more that's not in the open. But I get the feeling the Mom felt her kid was an innocent angel and took his side of the story a bit too far and made this a big ordeal.

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I hate to say I told you so, but.....

It sounds like the more info that comes out the less the 'victim' this kid appears to be. I'm still not saying he deserved it, but it sounds like in a number of instances he actually might have instigated the incidents himself. It's also sounding like he himself has been bullying other kids. There still could be more that's not in the open. But I get the feeling the Mom felt her kid was an innocent angel and took his side of the story a bit too far and made this a big ordeal.

But look at how many readers and viewers it brought to the media outlets that jumped on the story- The NY Times got a lot of attention out of it and will probably never report any of the new information. It was a sensational story and sometimes the whole factual story gets lost in such reporting.

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But look at how many readers and viewers it brought to the media outlets that jumped on the story- The NY Times got a lot of attention out of it and will probably never report any of the new information. It was a sensational story and sometimes the whole factual story gets lost in such reporting.

Exactly. I doubt the NYT will follow up on it. Now lots of people will think about that article anytime the name Fayetteville pops up.

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I was surprised to see that the Forest Hills project on Wedington was recommended for denial by city staff. This is a residential planned zoned district just off I540 that is to include aproximately 600 residential units plus over 200,000 sq ft of non-residential space. Although it would add a lot of traffic to a already congested Wedington it sounded like a better addition to the city than, say, the massive Lindsey project going in off Wedington.

According to city staff the concern about Forest Hills is that it isn't consistent with the City Plan 2025 in creating a complete, compact and connected neighborhood so it's good to see the city taking a stand behind the plan. I haven't seen a published set of plans for Forest Hills so hopefully the developers will put them out for all to see. The city planning commission will discuss the project at 5:30 pm Monday at the city administration building downtown.

City staff is also recomending denial of Villas at Stonebrige out by Stonebridge Golf Club. This is a residential project of 91 singles family lots plus 15 three story buildings but is well outside the built up part of town. Sounds like a good project - just in the wrong location.

The former Aspen Ridge south of 6th St, now named Hill Place, is up for discussion also. This sounds like a very good replacement project and should hopefully be approved. This should help the south side of Fayetteville continue it's redevelopment much like the BioBased Inc. building will.

NWA Times article

Edited by zman9810
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I was surprised to see that the Forest Hills project on Wedington was recommended for denial by city staff. This is a residential planned zoned district just off I540 that is to include aproximately 600 residential units plus over 200,000 sq ft of non-residential space. Although it would add a lot of traffic to a already congested Wedington it sounded like a better addition to the city than, say, the massive Lindsey project going in off Wedington.

According to city staff the concern about Forest Hills is that it isn't consistent with the City Plan 2025 in creating a complete, compact and connected neighborhood so it's good to see the city taking a stand behind the plan. I haven't seen a published set of plans for Forest Hills so hopefully the developers will put them out for all to see. The city planning commission will discuss the project at 5:30 pm Monday at the city administration building downtown.

City staff is also recomending denial of Villas at Stonebrige out by Stonebridge Golf Club. This is a residential project of 91 singles family lots plus 15 three story buildings but is well outside the built up part of town. Sounds like a good project - just in the wrong location.

The former Aspen Ridge south of 6th St, now named Hill Place, is up for discussion also. This sounds like a very good replacement project and should hopefully be approved. This should help the south side of Fayetteville continue it's redevelopment much like the BioBased Inc. building will.

NWA Times article

I'm not sure if it was this development or another one. But one wasn't recommended because it was being built at the very edge of the city with nothing else around it.

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I'm not sure if it was this development or another one. But one wasn't recommended because it was being built at the very edge of the city with nothing else around it.

The Villas at Stonebridge was the one described as out of town. It is reached by Dead Horse Mountain Road ( wonder what is the story behind that name). That's out at the far east southside of town. Probably some day it in will be in town but let's fill in the spaces before it gets there. The leap froging needs to stop.

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