Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh delivers 2022 State of the City

Mayor Rick Elumbaugh delivered the 2022 State of the City on March 31 via the City of Batesville Facebook page. (Readers can view the speech below.)

In the address, Elumbaugh covered highlights from 2021 and addressed subjects on which the team at City Hall currently has in its focus — such as the impact of the 2020 Census; the push for more economic development; positively working together with the food processing industry on growth as well as on odor reduction; the continuing development of the city’s water infrastructure; and more.

Scroll down to read the text of the 2022 State of the City.

2022 State of the City — Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh

January 2022 began my 16th year as mayor of the city of Batesville and I must admit I’ve treasured every minute. My greatest joy, other than my family, of course, is seeing our community working together every day to move this city forward. 

I am extremely thankful for each council member who has been willing to be a public servant and I want to thank each of you, for giving me the opportunity to serve as your mayor and continuing to place your trust in me to move Batesville forward.

As we come to what we hope is the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of our city has never been stronger. In our 200-year history, the citizens of Batesville have proven themselves time and again to be progressive, passionate, and hardworking, therefore, Batesville is one of the most forward-looking cities in the state.      

Over my tenure as mayor, I have seen our citizens set aside their differences to come together to invest in the future of Batesville. Citizens have a choice: to invest in this community or someone else’s. They understand that if they aren’t willing to invest in their own community, why would anyone else?

Early in my first term as mayor, the citizens of Batesville taught me a very valuable lesson.  We were facing several insurmountable obstacles, dealing with job losses from the closure of the White Rogers and GDX plants. In addition, the state’s demand that we fix the deficiencies in our wastewater system left me and many others apprehensive. Fortunately, the citizens of Batesville united and declared, “We will not go quietly! We will not stick our heads in the sand and hope for the best. We will meet every issue head-on. We will solve every problem, and MOVE our community forward.” I continue to be amazed and eternally grateful for this positive “can do” attitude of our citizens.

Tonight’s address will point out several of the previous year’s highlights and take a look at some of our greatest challenges.  More importantly, I will lay out a future vision for our community. 

Previous Year Highlights

Highlights from 2021 include: 

• The continued growth of the White River Wonderland Christmas Lights Display which included a Ferris wheel for the first time. Where else in Arkansas can you enjoy over 2 million holiday lights from the vantage point of a Ferris wheel?  In Batesville, of course, the official “Christmas Capital of Arkansas!”
• In celebration of the City of Batesville’s Bicentennial in 2021, and in recognition of Batesville being the oldest continually inhabited city in Arkansas, a commemorative time capsule was placed in Maxfield Park in September to be opened in 100 years! 
• The city was awarded a $250,000.00, 50/50 matching grant in May for the construction of Batesville’s first stand-alone splash pad on Westside and for additional playground improvements in Kennedy Park. 
• In May, the city also took a monumental step forward by creating the first Economic Development Program for the city. While this new program is a step in the right direction, unfortunately, our community still lacks the dedicated economic development resources to provide incentives for job creation and expansion.
• In August, the city council moved forward with contracting with Entegrity Solar for the construction of a large floating solar array which will likely be the largest in the United States. Entegrity will build and operate the facility. It is projected to save taxpayers substantial sums of money. Plans also include the construction of a solar-powered vehicle charging station at the community center.
• In other August business, the Batesville City Council continued its support for downtown revitalization by creating a Downtown Entertainment District. Our historic downtown has witnessed a revitalization like no other in Arkansas. The city is committed to the continued support of Main Street Batesville. I am excited about future growth and look forward to seeing new businesses open and the establishment of new housing located in our downtown area. 

The 2020 Census and the Regional Economy

When you look at the 2020 population data, the first thing you notice is that while Independence County grew 3.5% over the last ten years, the surrounding counties:  Izard, Stone, Cleburne, White, and Jackson counties actually lost population over the last ten years.  Izard County’s population is down -0.9%, Stone -0.3%, Cleburne -4.8%, White -0.3%, Jackson -6.9%. 

The only other adjacent county, Sharp, remained stagnant at a 0.00% change in population over the last ten years.

According to the US Census, Independence County’s population increased from 36,647 in 2010 to 37,938 in 2020. Of the county’s total population gain of 1,291, 943 of those were in Batesville and 160 in Southside representing a total population gain for the county’s two largest cities of 1,103.

If a community begins losing population, it can quickly become a death spiral.  Employers shy away from investing in communities with a declining population and workforce. It is important for our future that we adopt and pursue policies to encourage and support strong population growth.

Investors look for communities that are progressive, growing, investing in themselves, and creating new opportunities. Batesville continues to be that shining beacon in Northeast Arkansas. From 2016 to 2021, jobs in Independence County grew by 7.3% from 17,511 to 18,792 which outpaced national job growth. Of those 18,792 jobs in Independence County, 15,596 of those jobs are within the Batesville 72501 zip code. 

A Vision for the Future

Next, I want to focus on some of the challenges our city faces and look at opportunities within these challenges. 

Housing Shortage

First, one of the greatest challenges our city faces is a severe lack of affordable housing. In fact, some employers have said they want to expand, but can’t, because of the severe housing shortage. This situation existed before COVID-19 and is the direct result of the unavailability of land on which to build new homes inside the city limits. 

Over the last 15 years, the city has made significant strides in the modernization of the City Zoning Code including reducing minimum lot widths allowing for higher densities in new subdivisions to help reduce street and utility costs per lot, and reducing overall square footage requirements to give developers more flexibility. We have also reduced setback requirements, added provisions for zero lot lines, and provided for planned unit developments. 

A developer expects to find readily available land with adequate utility services either on or immediately adjacent to the property he wants to develop. He doesn’t expect or want to have to deal with getting land annexed, working through zoning issues or delays as a result of public hearings and their requirements under the law. Land to be developed should already be inside the city with the utilities available and when it’s not, developers often just move on to communities where shovel-ready land exists. 

Water Infrastructure

Once a public water treatment facility reaches a certain point in its design capacity, the state health department requires that entity to begin addressing how to best expand or replace the facility. Last year, the city authorized our engineers to begin work on either the expansion or replacement of the water treatment plant that first opened in 1967. The city continues moving forward with design selection, assigning cost estimates, and developing a timetable for the large, near future, infrastructure project. 

St. Louis Street

On more than one occasion, concerned citizens have brought the issue of the narrowness of the lanes on St. Louis Street to the city council. From the White River bridge to Main Street, St. Louis Street measures approximately one mile and could be widened to resemble Harrison Street. The segment does not currently qualify for federal safety money and such a project would require a local match of several million dollars to move forward. 

Recreation

Our community invested in state-of-the-art baseball, softball, tee-ball, and soccer facilities and also, the community and aquatics center. These facilities provide recreational opportunities for every age group. The outdoor aquatics center replaced the Mickey Mouse Pool and the daily cost is still the same, remaining at $5.00 per person.

There is, however, one particularly under-served segment of our community, our special needs families. The time is long overdue for our community to build an all-inclusive playground in Riverside Park that is designed to accommodate individuals with special needs. I hope that you will support efforts to bring this much-needed project to fruition.

Currently, our citizens and visitors who enjoy skateboarding, cycling, running a “pump track” course, beginning mountain biking and those wanting to learn these skills have nowhere to go. It is time for our community to continue moving forward by adding these facilities to Riverside Park as well.

Canoeing and kayaking on Poke Bayou will continue to increase as more individuals take up the sport. Creating a place where mothers and dads can safely teach their kids the basics of canoeing or kayaking is much needed. The Miller Creek bottoms are an ideal place for such a park and could also provide other outdoor activities, which could include bird watching, hiking, picnicking, and walking or running trails.

Economic Development

As I noted earlier, in May of 2021 the city of Batesville created an economic development program to focus not only on job retention and growth, but also on retail development in order to bring new opportunities in categories that are currently underserved.

Economic development and the attraction of new jobs are time-consuming and expensive. Just a few weeks ago our economic developer traveled out of state to meet with a company wanting to build a facility here. Arkansas Economic Development Commission representatives were present and made the standard state offer for the type and size of the facility that was being proposed. When the subject turned to what local incentives were being offered by our community, the answer was that Independence County had offered a set dollar amount of “in-kind” site work, but there were no other local incentives available to entice companies to locate here. 

It’s time for our community to move forward with a funded economic development program. For our community to be competitive in job recruitment, it is paramount that a local incentive program is established. The program should also be empowered to acquire land and create “shovel-ready” sites. As Governor Beebe used to say “A community needs to have skin in the game.”  

Food Processing Aromas

The agriculture and food processing industry in Independence County employs thousands of workers and contributes over 200 million dollars a year to the economy of this county. They are a vital component of our regional economy. 

While state environmental laws may not address unpleasant odors emitting from the poultry plants, it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes the aromas emitting from these facilities are very unpleasant, overwhelming, and constitute a threat to the quality of life we have worked so hard to improve.

I have met numerous times with industry management and corporate representatives regarding the odor issue. They have acknowledged the odors are unacceptable to them as well. I personally believe they ARE taking our concerns seriously. 

I feel that we are much more likely to accomplish odor reduction and elimination by working with our industry partners rather than taking a confrontational approach. As these companies execute their growth plans for their future in our community, I am hopeful the occurrence of these odors will be largely eliminated. However, in the meantime, I pledge to you that I will continue working diligently to further reduce the occurrence of these unpleasant aromas.

Summary

Tonight, I have given you a look back at the previous year’s highlights and touched on some of the challenges we face. Lastly, I have laid out a vision for the future of our community.

I would be remiss not to mention the city of Batesville’s valued employees. These men and women are the “boots on the ground” that keep city services running twenty-four hours a day. Working on streets, collecting trash, clearing roads during inclement weather, or repairing broken water lines. They continue to amaze me with their talent and drive to keep the city services going.

I would also like to give a special thanks to several employees that retired from the city over the last fourteen months. These include Marty Thompson, 46 years; Robert Davis, 33 years; Charles Farrier, 28 years; Milli Lewis, 13 years; William Wells, 22 years; Rex Brightwell, 28 years; Darrell Liles, 17 years; William Cantrell, 27 years; and Eugene Townsley, 46 years. These nine employees had a total combined 260 years of experience.

Batesville has a bright future because of the determination of YOU, our citizens, to create the kind of city we can be proud of and the kind of community our children and grandchildren will want to return to and build a life here at home. 

It will remain my sincere hope that my dedication as your mayor and the devotion of city residents will continue to move Batesville forward with the same enthusiasm that has proven successful over the last fifteen years. 

May God bless our country during these turbulent times and may He continue to bless the city of Batesville, Independence County, and the citizens of our community in the days to come.