The former Town Club building in downtown Fort Smith has been acquired by Smith Auto Group for the purposes of locating corporate operations with up to 20 employees in the building that has been without a permanent occupant since the club folded in January 2010.

John Smith Jr., grandson of the automotive group founder and now the head of Smith Auto Group, said in a Thursday (June 12) interview with The City Wire that the about 13,000-square-foot, two-story building will undergo minor renovations before housing “centralized” accounting staff and other corporate functions.

Smith Auto Group is a third generation, family-owned dealership that has been based in Fort Smith since 1938. The first location was in downtown Fort Smith. In 1963, the facility was moved to 1215 U.S. 71 South, “on the curve” at Towson and Zero. The group has a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership and a Nissan brand. The group has five dealerships, eight brands and around 160 employees.

“We are so happy to go downtown. … I am hoping we are the first of many more to move downtown,” Smith said, adding that the Town Club is near the car lot the Smith company first opened in 1938. “We are moving about a block away from where we started.”

First National Bank of Fort Smith has held the note on the Town Club for the past several years. Sam Sicard, president and CEO of the bank, said it was an added bonus to sell the building to a company that will put it to immediate use.

“We are extremely pleased to sell the Town Club to a buyer who will bring jobs to our downtown. Smith Auto Group has been a great community partner in so many ways and they will be a great addition to the downtown community,” Sicard said.

SMITH EXPANSION
The auto dealer has made several moves since 1938, and in the past few years the company has invested around $15 million in the construction and ongoing construction of new dealership facilities in Fort Smith. A building for the company's Nissan dealership valued at $4 million was completed at 6520 Autopark Drive (near the Fort Smith Harley Davidson) in early 2012. A relocated Chevy-Cadillac facility, valued at around $11 million, is under construction adjacent to the new Nissan dealership.

In May 2012, Smith Auto Group acquired Jane, Mo.-based Hendren Auto Group, a move that more than doubled the number of dealerships owned by and brands sold by the auto dealer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Nothing’s been easy,” Smith joked Thursday when asked about the easy and hard parts of absorbing a new dealership while at the same time building new facilities.

He said the Northwest Arkansas dealership puts Smith Auto Group “in very good market. We feel very bullish about where we are, and there is a lot of growth heading north to Bentonville and Bella Vista.” He said one of the toughest parts of being in Northwest Arkansas is “trying to build our brand” in a region with many large auto dealerships.

“But it’s been a good move for us, it really has,” he said.

Smith admits that the Fort Smith market has been tougher in terms of auto sales, “but we’ve been able to grow, and it was through a lot of sweat and determination of the people who work here (Smith Auto Group).”

OTHER RECENT DOWNTOWN MOVES
Smith Auto Group is not alone in moving downtown. Steve Clark, founder and president of Propak, purchased the historic and white-tiled Friedman-Mincer building in May 2013 – also known as the OTASCO building – in downtown Fort Smith. With an acquisition and renovation estimate of about $2 million, Clark is in the process of converting the three-story, 24,000-square-foot building into offices for the about 40 employees of Propak. The company provides logistics, transportation and supply-chain management services.

On June 10, Fiery Moon Global announced plans to acquire the Masonic Temple in downtown Fort Smith from the Western Arkansas Scottish Rite Bodies. The facility, a three story concrete structure located at 200 N. 11th St. that includes an auditorium capable of seating 900, was initially listed for $750,000.

Fiery Moon, a media and event company, said the Temple Theatre, offices and dining area should be fully restored to their original grandeur and condition within 36 months.

“We are ecstatic to have found an existing site which will support our vertically integrated media and live event organization with all departments being housed in one location,” Fiery Moon Co-owner Dan Robinson said in a statement. “Not only have we found a building which meets our corporate needs, but to be part of restoring and maintaining a historic site is truly priceless.”

Officials with Fiery Moon did not disclose terms of the deal or costs of renovation.

The recent lackluster first quarter financials from Sam’s Club haven’t tarnished the image of CEO Rosalind Brewer who according to Wall Street’s Brian Sozzi, “shined on stage” at the retailer’s annual shareholder meeting.

Sozzi, CEO of Belus Capital Advisors, notes that Brewer’s 22 years at Kimberly Clark and her transition to Wal-Mart in 2006 to oversee 1,000 stores, to now infusing the tech revolution into Sam’s Club were primers for bigger things.

He also said Brewer may be on the short list of candidates to take over as CEO of Target. It’s a move that Sozzi said “would be a great fit given her appreciation of data, technology, supplier relationships, and experience in store operations.” Sozzi made those comments as an analyst for “The Street” while he was in Bentonville last week for Wal-Mart’s shareholder events.

Carol Spieckerman, CEO of NewMarketBuilders, doesn’t agree with Sozzi’s notion that Brewer is a good fit for the next Target CEO. If for no other reason, Spieckerman said Brewer still has an opportunity to make a big mark at Sam’s.

“Mindy Grossman, HSN’s CEO, would be a terrific choice for Target. ... Her complete turnaround of HSN from an old school shopping network and into a full-fledged digital entertainment company is setting a standard for others to follow. Target could use her big picture, digital-first mojo right about now along with her ability to build multi-media brand programs that transcend ‘channel’ strategies. At the same time, her understanding of how to build mutually-beneficial brand partnerships and relationships is in complete alignment with Target’s values, which would make for a smooth start,” Spieckerman said.

Target held its annual shareholder meeting in Dallas on June 11. The Minneapolis-based retailer said it’s board continues to look for a visionary leader to move Target forward. The three goals outlined by the executives at the Target meeting include; Increase U.S. sales and traffic; Improve the Canadian operations; and Accelerate Target’s omnichannel presence.

Jason Smith, CEO of St. Louis-based Shift Marketing Group, said he believes the worst is behind Target and whoever takes the reins will have a great opportunity to be part of an American turnaround story.

CHALLENGES / LEARNING
Brewer spoke to the media June 5 regarding the challenges and opportunities for growth that she and her management team see for Sam’s Club going forward.

“Sam’s Club is in the midst of a merchandise transformation, having the right merchandise is the most important work we can do to drive traffic in our clubs,” Brewer said. “The member experience is also migrating. It is different today than a year ago. We learned in the first quarter that convenience is what customers want today.”

Brewer told the media she wasn’t there to rehash the challenging first quarter results which disappointed Wall Street. For the first quarter ended April 30, Sam’s Club reported comp sales down 0.2%, while the average ticket down 0.3%. Net sales were $13.891 billion at Sam’s Club (including fuel), up just 0.1%.

Noting that the recent quarter was one of the most challenging in recent history, Brewer said the “combination of severe weather and the reduction of public assistance represented an approximate 90 basis point impact to comp sales.” That was enough to have turned comps positive at 1.1%, still well below the normal range for Sam’s Club.

While traffic and average ticket sales declined in the quarter, membership and other income grew 10.5%. This jump was related to the fee increase taken a year ago. Sam’s said new member signups were softer to start fiscal 2015.

Brewer said going forward the goal is build more value in the Sam’s Club membership, which is why the retailer just launched a cash rewards program on top of the coupon savings books that have been popular over the past year.

In fiscal 2014 Sam’s Club grew total sales to $57.2 billion, up $56.4 billion in the prior year. If it were a standalone company, Sam’s Club would be the eighth largest U.S. retailer based on sales revenue. Forbes notes that “Brewer is running a company that in size could stand toe-to-toe with Dow Chemical ($57 billion) and Caterpillar ($55 billion).” 

OMNI-VISION
Much of what Brewer shared during shareholders week highlighted Sam’s push to become an omnichannel – selling products through various methods – retailer.

She said the click-and-pull website program available to Sam’s Plus members is growing in popularity. Click and pull allows members to order their products online and then pick them up at their local Sam’s Club at their own convenience. The member drives up to the door and the goods are loaded into their vehicle. Sam’s highlighted one local member, restaurant owner “Catfish John” who faithfully uses click-and-pull program to save him time each day.

Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon also gave the program a plug when he addressed the media following the June 6 shareholders meeting. He said he used click and pull to stock up on soft drinks and Gatorade ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.

“Sam’s deserves credit for trying new things and experimenting with new member engagement ideas, particularly in the digital space however, it may be approaching a tipping point in which complexity will overtake everyday value perception. Various combinations of promotional programs, membership levels and time-sensitive savings offers require a vigilance on the part of members that can make Amazon seem like a straightforward choice by comparison,” Spieckerman said.

Sam’s Club also recently announced plans to develop more private label brands, something the retailer has avoided. Spieckerman said Costco is the undisputed leader when it comes to developing power brands in the warehouse club space and beyond. 

“For Sam’s to attempt to go up against that strength at this stage wouldn’t make sense as a frontline strategy. Costco is still a store-centric retailer at the end of the day and that’s why any moves that Sam’s makes in the digital space will be resources well spent, particularly tying digital to physical,” she said.

Spieckerman suggested Wal-Mart integrate Sam’s Club into its tethering and anytime/anywhere availability vision. 

“Why not make bulk items from Sam’s available for pick-up at a Walmart Express stores, for example? Wal-Mart is in the early stages of turning its physical scale into a killer omni-channel advantage over pure-play digital competitors. The same could hold true as it competes against smaller-footprint, single-format competitors like Costco,” Spieckerman said.

Four hundred business and community leaders came together on Thursday (June 12) evening to celebrate the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce at its 59th Annual Meeting and Banquet. With a focus on "A Bold Future," the event served to highlight achievements of the past year, and give guests a glimpse of several long-term goals set forth by Chamber and community leaders.

The event kicked off at the Van Buren Fine Arts Center with a Business Fair that featured more than four dozen local organizations and vendors. Representatives from each of the participating vendors were on-hand answering questions and sharing about the services and products they offer. Many also offered special giveaways and door prizes to those in attendance.

Following the Business Fair, guests made their way to the VBHS Commons Area for the dinner and banquet program. Lisa Huckelbury, Chamber Board Chairman, welcomed the crowd and recognized each of the Banquet sponsors. During dinner, Immediate Past Chairman Kenneth Fry introduced a "2013-Year in Review" slideshow and shared about the Chamber's recent achievements.

"The growth of the Chamber in the last few years has been incredible," said Fry. "The Chamber is going to be, if it isn't already, the premier organization in Van Buren and will pave the way for great things."

Jackie Krutsch, Executive Director of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, expounded on Fry's remarks and commented on the "Bold" theme of the evening.

"Our 'Bold' is about the future and what can happen in Van Buren, and in Alma, Fort Smith and the entire region," said Krutsch. "It is about a bold future for the state of Arkansas."

With that, she introduced Drew Williams, regional manager of Community Development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). Williams expressed his excitement on the area's significant growth over the last year and shared with guests about some of Crawford and Sebastian Counties business development statistics.

"In the past year, this region has had eight new projects that AEDC has worked with you all on, resulting in 1,200 jobs and a more than $150 million initial investment into the community," said Williams. "Crawford and Sebastian have also had ten expansion projects that resulted in 750 jobs and more than $135 million in initial investment. That is something to be really proud of."

Huckelbury continued with the "Bold Future" theme, listing several areas in which the Chamber planned to grow or expand programs to help strengthen the business community. She noted that the organization is committed to continuing its work with AEDC on incentive programs to recruit and retain businesses to the area, as well as further develop its education initiatives with local schools. She encouraged all members to "Be Bold and Daring," so as to help take the Chamber and community to the next level.

Following additional remarks about the Chamber's recent accomplishments and future goals, Krutsch and Casey Millspaugh, Chairman of the Chamber Ambassador Program, announced the Ambassadors of the Year. Raymond Harvey, Turf-Pro, and Lindsey Brown, Experian, were honored as the top ambassadors for the program.

The banquet was then "interrupted" by Les Baker of Bekaert, who began "questioning" Fry about the highly successful November 2013 recruitment drive, which nearly doubled the Chamber's membership base. Fry attributed the hard work to the 163 volunteers who took part in the drive, giving special recognition to leaders Lisa Huckelbury and Jim Petty. The "Blues Brothers," portrayed by Lance Lanier and Joe Ryan of Citizens Bank & Trust, then presented Huckelbury and Petty with custom fedoras honoring them as the "Godmudda" and "Godfather" of the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce.

In concluding the evening, Petty returned to the stage to announce the winner of the 2014 Iverson Riggs Memorial Award. The award honors an individual who has made exemplary contributions of time, talent or resources to the Van Buren community.  Citing qualities such as humble, servant, and leader, among many others, Petty announced that Cindy Faldon, Executive Director of the Boys Girls of Van Buren was this year's recipient.

"There is no one more committed to our children than Cindy Faldon," said Petty. "A recent survey showed that 57% of Boys and Girls Club alumni nationally say that the Club literally saved their life. Cindy is saving lives every day and we will never know the full impact that she has had on these kids and this community."

Faldon served in various roles at the Club for 11 years prior to assuming the directorship in 2010. During her tenure, the Club has more than doubled its average daily attendance in the afterschool and summer programs, and has seen the implementation of several character building curriculums, including SMART Girls and Passport to Manhood. In 2013, the organization completed a half-million dollar renovation and expansion of its building, adding more than 5,000 square feet of classroom, office and kitchen space to the Club. Faldon helped secure the funds for the renovation through private donations and a United Way Community Outreach Grant.

"She has been a steady rock for the Club and the kids we serve for many, many years and has a real heart for seeing them become confident, productive citizens," said Petty in his recommendation letter to the Chamber. "You need only see the response of the kids why they see her coming to know how they feel about her."

Faldon was presented with a plaque by the Chamber of Commerce and given a standing ovation by the crowd.

"You all make it possible for us to do what we do," said a tearful Faldon. "I simply go to work and love on these great kids every day. Thank you for this and for all that you do."

Hillshire Brands’ board of directors have recommended the termination of the company’s contract to acquire Pinnacle Foods and move toward the $8.55 billion offer by Tyson Foods.

“In accordance with the terms of the Pinnacle Foods agreement, on June 9, 2014, the Hillshire Brands board provided written notice to the board of Pinnacle Foods that it intended to change its recommendation,” Hillshire Brands said in a statement. “Upon receipt of that notification, under the terms of the merger agreement with Pinnacle Foods, Pinnacle Foods could propose changes to the merger agreement such that the Tyson Foods offer would no longer constitute a superior proposal. Pinnacle Foods made no such proposal.”

Pinnacle Foods stands to earn $163 million in termination fees that Tyson Foods has agreed to cover on behalf of Hillshire Brands. Pinnacle may force Hillshire to take the deal to its shareholders, but analysts do not expect shareholders to approve it, given there is far more value in the Tyson Foods offer.

“We believe our offer to acquire Hillshire Brands for $63 per share in cash is a superior proposal for Hillshire Brands shareholders,” said Donnie Smith, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “We're pleased the Hillshire Board has withdrawn its recommendation in favor of the Pinnacle Agreement, and now recommends the Tyson Foods offer, all as expressly authorized by the Pinnacle Agreement. We hope Pinnacle Foods will promptly accept the termination fee and not delay the ability of Hillshire Brands' shareholders to benefit from Tyson Foods' superior offer.” 

Hillshire Brands said it expects to hold its stockholder meeting as early as August. Hillshire Brands will also have the right to terminate the merger agreement on Dec. 12, 2014, regardless of whether a vote of its stockholders on the Pinnacle Foods merger has taken place by that date. Tyson Foods has announced that its offer will be held open until Dec. 12, 2014.

There’s a major shift at work in the packaged foods segment with snack items leading the charge. The shift is fueled by Millennials and Gen X consumers who aren’t in line with previous generations who heeded mom’s advice about snacking between meals.

The global snack food market is expected to exceed $300 billion in 2015, and IRI Worldwide reports that U.S. snack sales rose 2.8% last year, led by better-for-you products. Sally Lyons Watt, an executive at IRI Worldwide, recently described the snack category as a “competitive shark tank,” adding that snacking habits have evolved and other categories are benefiting.

Research by NPD Group also indicates that the more consumers snack, the healthier are their eating behaviors – an indication contrary to conventional wisdom. NPD found that that more consumers view snacking as one way to improve healthy eating habits.  Consumers following the healthiest diets snack twice as often as those with less healthy diets, noted the November 2012 report. Consumers with the healthiest diets consume 36% more snack meals a year than the average consumer, according to Snacking in America.

The report by NPD identified and examined the consumers who drive current and future snack consumption. Researched found those following a “most healthy” diet eat a wider variety of healthy snacks such as fruit, yogurt, and bars. 

“We are no longer as averse to snacking as we used to be – instead, snacking may be viewed as one way to improve healthy eating habits,” said Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “This way of thinking about snacking provides an opportunity for manufacturers to make health and wellness innovation part of their product development and marketing strategy.”

Seifer noted that in the 1980s the vast majority of Americans said they avoid snacking, but that sentiment has shifted. He said this doesn’t mean that snacking is still an indulgent activity but it’s become an opportunity to provide functional benefits or a way to get desired nutrients. He said protein bars have become popular because consumers understand that eating more protein helps stave off hunger and curbs appetites for sweets.

“And while the vast majority of our snack meals happen between main meals, the movement toward consuming snack foods during main meals should not go unnoticed. This time frame for snack foods currently represents about 22% of snack food eatings, which is up from 20% in 2010. While two percentage points might sound small at first, consider that there are more than 300 million people in this country and this increase represents more than 3.6 billion additional eatings,” Seifer noted in his NPD blog post.

The better-for-you health trend was evident in the new snacks recently unveiled at the Sweets & Snacks Expo held in Chicago on May 20. Quinoa, Greek-yogurt cakes and gluten-free pretzels were among the new products showcased in this year’s expo. It’s clear from the ingredients lists that product developers are being more health conscience as they formulate snacks with chia seeds, kale, sea salt and pomegranate. 

Following were some of the new products unveiled.

• Hostess Greek Yogurt Cakes
Hostess Brands is set to launch a line of snack cakes made with Greek yogurt, fruit and honey in apple cinnamon swirl and strawberry swirl varieties. The snack cakes capitalize on the popularity of Greek yogurt made with 25% less sugar, sweetened with honey and real fruit.

• Mary's Gone Crackers Everything Pretzels
Mary’s Gone Crackers expanded its vegan and gluten-free offerings to include a new variety of pretzels. Made with brown rice, quinoa, amaranth and millet, as well as flax, sesame, chia and poppy seeds, the Everything Pretzels include flavors from onion, garlic, sea salt and herbs. The product will be available beginning this summer.

• Snack Factory Greek Yogurt Crunch Pretzel Crisps
Synder’s Lance, debuted Greek Yogurt Crunch Pretzel Crisps from its Snack Factory division. The pretzels are coated in tangy Greek yogurt, and the product extends the brand’s line of thin, crunchy pretzel snacks, which also includes peanut butter and dark chocolate dipped varieties.

• The Popcorn Factory Lite Works Popcorn
Wasabi soy, dill pickle and sriracha are among the flavored pop corn products unveiled by the Popcorn Factory at this year’s expo. The new reduced-calorie ready-to-eat popcorn line contains half the fat of the brand’s traditional varieties.

• Oberto Chicken Strips
For jerky lovers seeking a lighter protein alternative, there is a new chicken variety from Oberto Brands. Flavored with smoky sweet barbecue or spicy buffalo Oberto Chicken Strips are made from cage-free chicken breast that is slow-cooked for nine hours in a patent-pending process. The company said it spent three years developing this product line that has score high consumer testing.

Crawford County posted its second consecutive month of declining home sales, while Sebastian County continues posting double digit improvements.

For the month of May, Crawford County posted $5.893 million in sales on 54 homes, a 1.03% drop from the previous May's total of 48 homes at $5.955 million. Sebastian County, on the other hand, saw 140 homes sold at a value of $17.003 million, a 10.26% increase from May 2013 when 108 homes were sold at a value of $15.421 million.

Randy Miller, executive broker at J.E. Jones Real Estate in Van Buren, said the biggest driver of numbers in both counties is jobs and what has hurt Van Buren is the loss of Allen Canning Company, which shut its Van Buren facility and transferred the jobs to Siloam Springs shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy protection.

"Unemployment hurts from the lowest level all the up to the top," Miller said.

With Crawford County's figures improving from April's 9.98% drop in sales and Sebastian County's 10% improvement instead of last month's nearly 26% improvement, he said the market is leveling itself out, meaning neither market should continue to see the highest of highs or the lowest of lows through the rest of the year.

"I don't think that you'll see a continued 10% (improvement in Sebastian County) each month. There's always a leveling we see in this market. We don't have big dips. It's always been gradual for us in this part of the country," Miller said. "I don't anticipate that it will be 10% for the next few months, but it would be exciting if that would happen."

That said, both markets are up so far in year-to-date totals, with Crawford County posting a 24.26% increase in sales over the same January to May period last year, while Sebastian County is up 8.22% during the same period.

He added that the primary driver of Sebastian County's numbers were residential developments at Chaffee Crossing, while Crawford County has continued seeing an influx of investors diving into the rental market. And Miller said it's starting to spread to the entire Fort Smith area.

"What I have seen in both counties are individuals who are downsizing and moving to a duplex, triplex or quadplex instead of a smaller house. It will be something that produces income plus provides them a nice place to live."

Miller said he is also seeing an increase in the number of single family homes that are being used as rental units, but he said the region's unemployment figures do not improve in the coming months, it could stunt growth in residential sales.

That said, he said the market is still a good one for someone looking to get into the market if they are able to secure financing.

"There are still good purchases for buyers if they can get financing for a house that is a repossession. There's still quite a few HUD and bank repos that are good buys in good neighborhoods. And lenders want to lend money, but it's just can individuals qualify?"

Home Sales Data (January - May)
• Crawford County
Unit Sales
2014: 230
2013: 184

Total Sales Volume
2014: $24.890 million
2013: $20.031 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $98,300
2013: $109,900

• Sebastian County
Unit Sales
2014: 517
2013: 451

Total Sales Volume
2014: $65.729 million
2013: $60.734 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $110,500
2013: $111,750

May was a milestone month in Northwest Arkansas as the growing region reached 500,000 in population, helped by those moving to Benton and Washington counties.
The population growth combined with steady home values and low interest rates has kept real estate broker Nicky Dou busy this year.

“Today is the middle of the year. I’ve officially got more in closed and pending sales than in all of last year with two more transactions,” said Dou, CEO of Real Estate in Northwest Arkansas and broker for Keller Williams.

Agents across the two-county area sold 648 homes in May with a cumulative value of $124.432 million, according to MountData.com analyst Paul Bynum. While the total number of May transactions were down 8.9% from the year-ago period and total values slid 3.5% year-over-year, agents report staying plenty busy.

The May decline comes from a tough comparison with May 2013. Bynum said last year was one of the best on record in Northwest Arkansas and anything remotely close to those levels is good.

George Faucette, CEO of the local Coldwell Banker franchise, said his agents were active writing deals in May. He said the firm’s unit final sales were up 10% in May, compared to the prior month, and average sales price was down about 4%. In pending May business that will close this month or next, Faucette said units sales were down slightly, but sales volume rose 2% thanks to a 4% rebound in average prices.

He said the foreclosed property sales continue to diminish which is reflected in the average sales price being slightly higher, but it’s also the reason that closed and pending new business for the region has slowed somewhat from a year ago.

Dou said in all of 2013 she had 66 closed sales totaling $18.6 million. At this point in 2014, her sales pending and finalized total 69 with $19.5 million in production values. She said the overall market is strong, especially for new construction. She and husband Jerry Dou represent three subdivisions in Benton County — Hyde Park, Kerelaw Castle and Rolling Acres where she said homes are selling well.

Bynum said there were 2,660 homes sold in the first five months of this year by agents in the two counties. He said it took an average of 60 days to obtain a contract. Total sales through May equaled approximately $484 million, down about 3% from last year.  Units sales are down 4% year-over-year, but the median sales price is up slightly at $147,460 this year, which is about $84.5 per square foot.

Jim Long, an agent with Crye-Leike in Bentonville, said he is having a good year as there is adequate buyer demand in this market. He said the lower levels of existing home inventory is helping to keep prices moving upward. He said sellers are getting about 97.8% of their listing price, which is slightly higher than a year ago.

Housing is a largely a local metric linked to job growth and other factors and the Northwest Arkansas housing sector appears to be moving ahead faster than the nation. Economists with Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, recently scaled back its housing forecast reflecting the impact from the harsh winter weather earlier this year and slower underlying economic growth.

“After incorporating the effect from a 1% decline in the first quarter, real GDP is now expected to rise just 2% in 2014. New home sales and single-family housing starts are also expected to rise much more slowly, with new home sales climbing 8.4% to 465,000 units, while single-family housing starts climb 10.9% .

Wells Fargo notes that new home prices are expected to moderate further in coming months, with the median price rising just 2.6% to $276,000 in 2014. With more modest sales, new single-family home construction will also rise slightly less than previously projected. Wells Fargo also warns that many markets are finding themselves out of balance with home prices having been pulled higher by an influx of investor purchases and exceptionally tight inventories well ahead of any fundamental improvement in demand. 

Local real estate experts believe sales in Northwest Arkansas will continue to pick up through the summer months and they expect the back half of 2014 to be as good as last year, which started out strong and tapered somewhat toward the year’s end.

Bynum reports there is 6.7 months of home inventory in the two-county area, which he classifies a balanced market.

Home Sales Data (January-May)
• Benton County
Unit Sales
2014: 1,723
2013: 1,736

Volume Sales
2014: $316.563 million
2013: $317.923 million

Median Sales Price
2014: $146,650
2013: $149,900

• Washington County
Unit Sales
2014: 935
2013:1,048

Volume Sales
2014: $165.514
2013: $178.877

Median Sales Price
2014: $148,813
2013: $145,000

Wal-Mart has 400 million reasons to aggressively test company-owned heath care clinics in its retail stores, which it recently began piloting in Texas.

With more than 1.1 million Americans working at Wal-Mart, the retailer said it is facing $100 million in added insurance costs each fiscal quarter as more workers have signed up for coverage in compliance with the Affordable Health Care Act.

When recently asked about the health clinic test Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon said, “Wal-Mart is not that hard to figure out when you look at it from a pure math perspective.”

Last year the national average total health care cost per employee topped $12,000, rising 5% from the year before, according the National Business Group on Health. Employers typically cover 75% or more of that total cost as a benefit to their workers. That number was based on surveys off several hundred employers across the country.
www.businessgrouphealth.org/

“When an employee goes to see a doctor they pay a co-payment. As a self-insured employer, we end up writing a check for the cost of that visit, through a third party administrator like Blue Cross Blue Shield. By controlling the clinics ourselves we can offer a nominal fee for our insured employees because we don't have to pay for the outside doctor's visits,” Simon recently told reporters during the retailer’s shareholder week.

He added that if enough employees use the service then Wal-Mart can fund it through the savings not being paid to third party providers. 

“At this point you can really get the price down for the general public,” Simon said.

Sound familiar?

It was Simon and Wal-Mart who pushed for the $4 generic prescriptions that radically changed the pharma industry in 2006. Analysts have wondered when Wal-Mart would try another major move with respect to health care, and they largely approve of this pilot clinic project as a way for the retailer to shave expenses, increase efficiencies and further build their brand.

CLINIC PLANNED FOR ROGERS WALMART?
Simon said the test is small. Only three clinics are open in Texas and the company has earmarked about 12 openings by the end of this year.

The health clinics are not to be confused with other clinical projects operating in about 100 stores. Wal-Mart said those are lease arrangements in their stores and this new project is the company’s first effort to own and control its own primary care clinics.

For now the three pilot clinics in Texas consist of two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and one is outside of Waco. Wal-Mart declined to confirm that there is a clinic planned locally in the Walmart Supercenter at Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers, Ark. However, there is a sign in that Rogers Walmart that says “Another Wal-Mart Concept Coming Soon.” The banner is health care related with eight photos depicting health and wellness which is located at the former clinic site in that store which was operated by Northwest Health System.

Wal-Mart said its Care Clinics offer primary care services at affordable prices for its own insured workers ($4) and the general public ($40). Insured Wal-Mart employees and store customers can also expect to pay lower prices on additional services beyond the office visit, such as vaccines, and lab tests for which separate charges apply, the company said.

Wal-Mart partnered with QuadMed to staff the clinics with licensed nurse practitioners. The clinics are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
 
THE SIMMONS FOODS EXPERIENCE
The Walmart Care Clinics aim to foster wellness and preventive care, such as screenings, vaccinations and lab testing as well as basic acute care, including diagnosis and treatment for flu and other seasonal illnesses. In addition, the clinic will also help manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure, Wal-Mart noted in its release.

The move to control health care costs by bringing primary care in-house is not a new phenomenon. Many of Wal-Mart’s suppliers are already doing it. HanesBrands said for every $1 it spends providing employees an in-house clinic in Winston-Salem, N.C., it reaps $1.40 in savings.

Locally, Simmons Foods began in-house clinics in 2007 in three of its manufacturing facilities — Siloam Springs, Van Buren and Southwest City, Okla.

Christy Pianalto, director for the Simmon’s health clinics, said the program has been a huge success. The poultry company provides access to the clinics for its employees and their family members free of charge. This eliminates the need for a co-pay plan and has allowed the company to require deductibles be met for coverage outside the clinic. Simmons works with Dr. Stephen Johnson, a family physician in Siloam Springs to staff the three clinics.

“Dr. Johnson works hard to help meet the schedules of workers. He has another physician and five nurse practioners who help staff our three clinics. The clinics offer a wide range of preventive and acute care. They perform lab work, x-rays and do simple outpatient procedures like mole removals,” Pianalto said.

POSITIVE OUTCOMES
One of the major reasons Simmons, Wal-Mart and other employers are bringing health care in-house is because it also reduces absenteeism and keeps operations running efficiently.

A December 2010 research paper by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Studying Health System Change noted several positive outcomes of a well-managed in-house clinic.

“By far the strongest motivation for implementing workplace clinics is to contain direct medical costs. In the short term, exerting greater control over direct costs, such as specialist visits, non-generic prescriptions, emergency department (ED) visits and avoidable hospitalizations, is a key employer objective. In the long run, improving population health by preventing and managing chronic conditions is a major objective,” the report noted.

Other factors included:
• Employers also view onsite clinics as a way to boost productivity, reduce absenteeism, and prevent disability claims and work-related injuries.

• Some employers implementing primary care clinics also see opportunities to improve access to and quality of care.

• Some employers view workplace clinics as an important benefit that helps to attract and retain competitive workforces, while enhancing their own reputations as “employers of choice” in their industries and communities.

The study also said a return on investment for such clinics could take up to five years, depending on the scope of services offered, turnover among employees and the level of employee participation in wellness plans.

Fort Smith native, Dr. Brian Cross is returning to Arkansas to join Drs. Tony de Mondesert, Jacob Joseph, Derrick Richardson, and Chris Van Asche in the Cooper Clinic Department of Gastroenterology.

Cross earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and completed his internal medicine residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Ky.

He is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Cross’ office will be located on the 2nd floor of the main Cooper Clinic location at 6801 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith. He will begin accepting new patients July 7.

Cooper Clinic is a physician-owned multi-specialty group with doctors in 25 specialties/subspecialties at 16 locations.

Wal-Mart has acquired Stylr, the 13th tech move in three years as the retailer works to build infrastructure to support the next generation of retail. The deal was announced via a blog post by @WalmartLab executive Gibu Thomas late Monday (June 16).

“As we continue to integrate digital and physical retail to create new and unique experiences for customers, we’re thrilled to add Stylr to our mobile team. Over half of Walmart smartphone users have used their device in-store to assist with their shopping, and with 80% of our customers under the age of 35 owning a smartphone, we expect this to grow dramatically. We are excited about the opportunity to serve these customers with indispensable digital tools that bring the convenience of online shopping into our physical stores and integrate our online and offline experiences to enable our customers to shop anytime, anywhere,” Thomas, senior vice president of mobile and digital at Walmart.com, noted in the blog announcement.

Stylr is a fashion finding app that helps consumers find clothes in nearby stores. The Stylr app allows consumers to flip through a rack of clothes on their smartphone. It pulls in inventory from local stores, letting shoppers find what they want, then reserve it at the store directly from the mobile device. The app will be pulled from the iTunes store later this month as the company moves inside @WalmartLabs.

Wal-Mart does not disclose the terms of its tech acquisitions. The retailer did say the two company founders, Eytan Daniyalzade and Berk Atikoglu, will join Walmart’s San Bruno office. Stylr is a small shop with just the two founders at the time of the acquisition.

Both founders are Stanford-educated engineers and have a history of working in the technology industry. Atikoglu previously worked at Cisco and Facebook, and Daniyalzade has experience at Adapt.tv, Chartbeat, Microsoft and McKinsey.

Thomas said @WalmartLabs routinely visits with many companies to discover new innovations and learn best practices. He said @WalmartLabs recently connected with Stylr, which was funded by Dreamit Ventures, a New York incubator.

“We were really impressed with Eytan and Berk’s ability to quickly develop and grow Stylr. ... They built a great experience for their users and we loved their passion for bridging digital and physical shopping experiences – and together we realized the opportunity to create a greater impact on more consumers, brands and the overall ecommerce industry with Stylr as part of the Walmart family,” Thomas said.

For now Stylr won’t be integrated into Walmart’s own mobile apps but Thomas said the retailer will “leverage best practices and insights” from the Stylr app. Together the teams will work more broadly on enhancing digital capabilities in sync with physical retail.

“Needless to say, we are excited to welcome these incredibly talented guys to join the @WalmartLabs team and help us accelerate our digital transformation of the in-store experience. We can’t wait to see what they come up with,” Thomas said.

Although the first quarter U.S. GDP hit negative territory for the first time in almost three years, two trucking and shipping reports suggest the U.S. economy is growing and may improve during the second half of 2014.

The American Trucking Associations’ Truck Tonnage Index was up 1% in May after a revised 0.9% gain in April. For the first five months of 2014, tonnage is up 2.9% compared to the same period in 2013, according to the ATA index. The index is off just 1% from the all-time high in November 2013 (131.0).

The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the real change in tonnage hauled by the fleets, was 1.8% above the previous month.

Shipments were up 1% and spending on shipments were up 1.1%, according to the most recent Cass Freight Index.

“North American freight shipments and expenditures continued to buck the historic trend and increased again in May. The first five months of 2014 were the strongest since the end of the great recession,” noted the Cass report. “While this seems counter to the dismal GDP reading for the first quarter, which shows a one percent drop or a contraction in the economy, much of the decrease in GDP can be attributed to declining inventories, slowing exports and weather‐related issues. Many other economic signs, especially growth in the manufacturing sector, point to an uptick in the five‐year recovery and a continued increase in freight movements.”

Cass uses data from $22 billion in annual freight transactions processed by its information processing division to create the index. The data comes from a Cass client base of 350 large shippers.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the gains aren’t as healthy as in 2013, but they are more broad. (Costello’s video report on the May index is at the end of this story.)

“While the year-to-date improvement is running behind last year’s robust 6.3% increase, gains this year are more broad-based,” Costello said in the ATA report. “It isn’t just heavy freight for sectors like tank truck and flatbed from energy and housing that are improving this year. Now, generic dry van trailer freight is doing better as well, which wasn’t the case in 2013. This is a good sign for the economy."

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 68.5% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods, according to the ATA. Trucks hauled 9.4 billion tons of freight in 2012. Motor carriers collected $642.1 billion, or 80.7% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Rosalyn Wilson, a supply chain expert and senior business analyst with Vienna, Va.-based Delcan Corp., said May shipments were 3.6% higher than a year ago and 26.4% higher than shipment levels at the end of the 2009 recession.

“The health of the freight market is a very good indicator of the direction in which the economy is moving. All indications point to moderate growth in freight over the next couple of months, which will bode well for the economy in general,” Wilson wrote.

Wilson, who authors the Cass report, said increased activity is creating problems in the shipping industry, which are not helped by new federal hours-of-service rules that reduce the time a driver can be in a truck.

Broadly, the Department of Transportation rules reduce a driver’s average maximum allowable hours of work per week from 82 hours to 70 hours, a 15% reduction. A controversial part of the new rules, which went into effect in July 2013, is the 34-hour restart rule. Officials in the trucking industry have said the rules do nothing to promote safety and instead drive up costs for the industry which are then passed on to consumers.

“Capacity problems are being experienced in both the trucking and the rail industries as volumes grow. The impact of productivity‐reducing truck regulations has exacerbated the driver shortage, further limiting capacity despite the strong growth in the size of the truck fleet in 2014.”

Brad Delco, a transportation industry analyst with Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., also sees positive activity in the sector.

“My sense is freight activity is up 3%, plus or minus 1%,” Costello said in an e-mail interview. He added that industry capacity – number of trucks, trailers, rail cars, etc. – is down between 1.5% and 2%.

Delco estimates that the hours-of-service rules have a negative 2%-3% capacity impact “for those carriers that actually follow the rules.”

The Cass index included the following details about overall economic health.
• Although the performance of the economy was very weak overall, freight continued to gain momentum and accelerated in the second quarter.

• The downward revision in first quarter GDP is not a harbinger of things to come. The bad weather contributed to a substantial drop in business inventories, which is a negative factor for GDP but an overall positive for the economy.

• Retail sales slowed in April, but picked up again in May. Home construction is picking up again now that the weather is better, despite rising mortgage rates.

• The employment picture looks better with a steady increase in jobs creation and a decline in claims for unemployment benefits. In its latest weekly unemployment report, the Labor Department reported that claims for unemployment fell to the lowest level since 2007.

A taste of Oklahoma City's Bricktown is coming to downtown Fort Smith with the news Tuesday (June 17) that Varsity Sports Bar and Grill has been sold to the company behind Oklahoma City-based Bricktown Brewery, according to the new owner who spoke at Tuesday's Central Business Improvement District meeting.

According to Managing Partner Buck Warfield of BT Concepts, Varsity will change names with the change in ownership and will temporarily close later this year was the new owner spends between $500,000 and $750,000 in renovations on the property along Garrison Avenue.

The Fort Smith location will be the first outside of Oklahoma for the company, which also has locations at the Remington Park Casino in Oklahoma City, as well as locations in Edmond, Shawnee and a location opening in mid-July in Owasso.

As part of the renovations scheduled to begin sometime in August — set to coincide with the closure of Varsity — the company will make several changes to the building on the corner of 4th Street and Garrison Avenue. Changes include adding an entrance on Garrison, as well as adding a concept similar to beer gardens on the west side of what is currently the pool room.

"As I stared at the footprint of the building, it became apparent to me that what is now an existing … west side pool room … it seems natural to me to punch through that wall to create that indoor, outdoor dining experience," Warfield told the CBID commissioners during the groups Tuesday morning meeting.

That outdoor space will include an area Warfield billed as a "music space," which is said has become an important part of the Bricktown Brewery developments.

"We'd like to relocate the planters (trees, bushes, etc.) and pour that and create a natural stage. It's just a perfect place for it," he added.

The expansion of the building to the west would include matching brick on the building addition, as well as replanting all landscaping currently in place. New landscaping would be added, as well as garage-like doors to allow the addition to have open air.

The changes also include the iconic neon Varsity sign that has been a fixture of Garrison since the 1990s coming down and being replaced with a similar sign for Bricktown Brewery. The company will also add, though a timeline was not necessarily presented, a mural to the side of the building advertising either Bricktown Brewery or Adelaide Hall, or possibly both, Warfield said.

Adelaide Hall will continue to operate on the second floor of the building at 318 Garrison Avenue, though Warfield said it would be advertised separately from the restaurant, adding that an exterior entrance will be added.

In all, he said staff at the restaurant would increase by about 125%, from its current 30 employees to more than 70 once renovations are complete and the restaurant re-opens sometime in October.

Warfield would not disclose a sale price from current owner Stacy Beal. BT Concepts is operating the facility, he added, and noted that staff would be retained even through renovations.

STREET CLOSURE PLANS
In other business, the CBID heard from City Administrator Ray Gosack about concerns regarding the closure of A Street in the downtown area. The commissioners had proposed closing the street in order to create a more pedestrian-friendly corridor to enhance development already in place in the area, as well as spur further development along the riverfront.

In a memo to the Board, the city administration presented a study from Oklahoma City-based Traffic Engineering Consultants that showed potential problems with traffic flow should A be closed, as well as turning B Street into a two-way street, versus the one-way flow currently present on A and B Streets.

Among the concerns by the engineering firm is a bottleneck that would be created along Riverfront Drive as a result of the street closure.

"Closure of North 'A' Street eliminates or reduces the capacity from a four lane street to a two lane street," wrote Steven Hofener, a principal at TEC. "Although the existing traffic is within acceptable limits for a two lane two-way street, the ultimate widening and traffic increase along Riverfront Drive will create a bottleneck at the proposed two lane, two way North 'B' Street section."

He also notes the head-to-head truck traffic in an urban environment that would be created by the closure, creating more "conflict points," as well as eliminating B Street's current parallel parking.

Gosack told the CBID there was also concern from prospective developers along the river that there was not enough vehicular access for employees and visitors, which would only be exasperated by the closure of A Street, largely driving decisions to locate elsewhere in town. Gosack specifically mentioned the proposed Fort Smith Public Schools Events Complex, which is slated to be built on airport property should a millage pass by a vote of residents next year.

CBID Chairman Richard Griffin was not pleased with the presentation made by Gosack and made his opinion known.

"There's a whole lot of things that can be done (to improve access)," he said. "You've got H Street, you got E Street, you got the Spradling possibilities. And all at once you guys are in here pushing us saying, 'This is a bad idea.'… Why the push back?"

Gosack said it was presenting possibilities to the CBID based on feedback from developers who have chosen to not develop along the river, adding that access has to be available for development to occur.

"If we don't provide adequate vehicle access, we're not going to realize the dream of riverfront development and the community is telling us they want to see riverfront development. So we are here to support development of the riverfront and having development along the riverfront is going to require having vehicle access so that employees, residents, customers, anyone who wants to get in and out of the riverfront can do so conveniently."

Gosack added as part of the discussion that a Kelley Highway extension is being evaluated since a developer mentioned it as a way to bring it to downtown, though there are no plans to do the extension at this time.

At this point, the CBID is moving forward with its original plans for pushing for closure of A Street near the river, though the plan could change depending on options presented to it by the administration and the direction the Board of Directors takes. The Board has ultimate say so with regards to the street closure.

It’s been three years in the making but the Springdale Chamber of Commerce made public an economic development plan aimed at creating 3,700 jobs by 2017. The $2.6 million economic growth plan was unveiled to the media and general public on Tuesday (June 17) in downtown Springdale.

The “Ignite Springdale” campaign has already gained corporate investment support to the tune of $1.4 million pledged by 30 companies such as Arvest, Northwest Health, Harp’s, AT&T and Tyson Foods. (The complete list of supporting companies is at the end of this report.)

Chamber officials plan to recruit six new Springdale-based technology businesses to our tech park for about 250 new tech jobs with average salaries between $57,000 and $92,000. 

Lisa Ray, president for Arvest Bank Springdale, said professional job growth is one of the four initiatives of “Ignite Springdale.” The job growth will come from the business recruitment in the technology sector, in addition to helping existing companies expand and add more jobs to their payrolls.

“We have 19 projects on the table between retention expansions and new recruitments and we continue to work with the state economic development team to put attractive deals together,” said Perry Webb, Springdale Chamber CEO.

He said they are waiting to hear back on nine deals out to corporate offices for local expansions. Webb adds that the “Ignite Springdale” campaign results should increase local payrolls by $200 million, helping to generate $1.4 million in additional tax revenue for the city.

He said the economic plan was fashioned from information, ideas and concerns gleaned from community leaders in 2010. The business professionals cited a need for more tech jobs, better retention and expansion incentives for businesses already located in Springdale, a new workforce training model that will ensure high school students are ready for the open jobs in manufacturing, retail and other professional services. Lastly, Webb said the plan aims to instill a new sense of pride in Springdale among its residents as it advocates for improvements that enhance quality of life.

“We need to elevate Springdale as a hometown choice for the professional moving here. We need more professionals living here and we know that quality of life is a must,” Webb said.

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse applauded the chamber efforts and said the initiatives are in line with where the city is putting its attention.

DOWNTOWN ENERGY
Sprouse said the excitement and investments that have recently been flowing into downtown Springdale are a sign that there is enough energy at work this time to keep the flame burning.

Ray, also a director for the Downtown Springdale Association, seconded that sentiment noting that the recent $100,000 gift from Tyson Foods to downtown improvements was given because the corporation recognized that a better downtown Springdale is key to improving the quality of life for the city residents and all of Northwest Arkansas. She said the support from the Care Foundation ($493,000) to construct Turnbow Plaza was another huge vote of confidence.

The Walton family recently invested $1.22 million in two downtown properties along Emma Avenue and all eyes are waiting to see what becomes of this retail space located just two blocks from the Shiloh Square trailhead and Turnbow Plaza, which expected to be completed later this year.

“We are starting to see a sense of pride build up in downtown Springdale again, thanks to these projects and outside investments,” Webb said.

“Ignite Springdale” Investor List
Centennial Bank
Farris Insurance
Innovative Business Furniture
Miller Bokus Lack Architects
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
NWA Regional Airport
One Clean Sweep
Jeff Williams
Cross Church
Frez-N-Stor
Ozark Film & Video
Around the World Travel
Kinco Constructors
Lewis & Clark Outfitters
Bank of America
Whittle Truck Sales
Brenda Green
Keaton Smith
Arvest Bank
Tyson Foods
Engineering Services Inc.
First Security Bank
Harps Food Stores
Northwest Medical System
Ozarks Electric Cooperative
AT&T
J.V. Manufacturing
Mathias Properites
SourceGas
City Title & Closing

Sebastian County is on the hunt for an election coordinator for the third time since November 2013 after the latest hire tendered his resignation Monday (June 16).

In a memo Tuesday (June 17) that gave the media about a two hour notice of a special meeting of the Election Commission meeting, Sebastian County Judge David Hudson said Robert Cowan — who was hired as election coordinator May 23 — had resigned. A memo to the Election Commission and County Clerk Sharon Brooks sent Monday notifying them of the resignation, the judge cited personal reasons for the departure.

"In consideration of family and business interests, the time required for elections coordination is not compatible with Mr. Cowan's schedule and available time," Hudson wrote.

Cowan previously served as vice president of finance at Rheem Manufacturing Company's air conditioning division in Fort Smith, as well as director of finance for United Technologies of Indianapolis and as a regional controller for Procter & Gamble in Greensboro, N.C.

Tuesday's special meeting was an executive session for the commission to interview Suzanne Morgan, who had been a finalist during the last round of interviews when Cowan had been hired. Morgan's resume said she previously served as a business manager for Fort Operating Company of Fort Smith, as well as a special education aid at Van Buren Public Schools and as a legal assistant for a Dallas-based law firm.

Hudson told The City Wire he would not be posting the position again since it was only filled weeks ago, instead depending on the applications and resumes that were submitted during the interview process that led to Cowan's hiring. He added that he would like to quickly fill the position since three elections are upcoming.

"We know at this time that we have two elections scheduled on the same day on August 12, the Fort Smith Library and the Barling city directors. There's three individuals running for city director in Barling. Both of those elections are August 12. Then there's a school election that's in September. … And then you have the November general election. So the meeting today is to consider another individual that we had interviewed and had considered a top candidate for this position so we can move on."

Hudson said he was unaware of any state statute that would require the county to again post the position before it could be filled.

Before the special meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday (June 17), Hudson said he and Brooks had interviewed Morgan and Sebastian County Human Resources Director Steve Hotz confirmed that Morgan had previously been interviewed in May.

Election Commission Chairman Lee Webb told The City Wire he would like to see the Hudson wait before moving to hire a new coordinator, adding that he wanted to make sure the right person was in place instead of having high turnover continue.

One area of contention between Webb and Hudson is Hudson's desire to keep Cowan on temporarily to assist in the transition from himself to another candidate, which could possibly include Morgan. Webb said Cowan has not been on staff long enough to be able to assist in a transition and would instead like to see former Election Coordinator Jerry Huff return in a consulting capacity to assist the election commission in the short term. Huff's retirement set in motion the first attempt to hire now former Election Coordinator David Mansell, who resigned after a series of ballot mistakes. Mansell was subsequently replaced by Cowan.

"I would prefer getting Jerry back. I don't think Bob's up to speed enough on where we need to be at. He hasn't actually completed a complete election by himself other than the runoff, which we had a lot of help with."

During a Tuesday meeting of the Quorum Court, Hudson secured more than $2,900 in funding to pay out accrued leave time and other items from Huff's term. Hudson also stated during the earlier election commission meeting that if Huff were to return, it would have to be in a consultant's role since the state does not allow someone receiving retirement pension benefits from the state to be placed back on the salary.

As for how to solve the problem of the revolving door, Webb did not have a solution, but noted that the job may need to bumped from a part-time, $27,000 per year position to a full-time role with higher pay in order to find a quality candidate should Hudson choose to move to another candidate besides Morgan.

"I believe it's a bigger job than what it's posted as. I think there's a whole lot more to it once someone gets ingrained in it. They say it's not really worth what it's getting paid and takes a lot more time than what Jerry probably ever put down on his time log."

No further action has yet been taken on whether to retain Cowan for the transition, hire Morgan or call Huff back for consulting services. Hotz said more information could be available as soon as next week on what next steps could be taken by the county.

Hong Kong has relaxed its import protocol for U.S. beef products for the first time since 2005, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. On Tuesday (June 17) Vilsack announced Hong Kong has agreed to accept all U.S. beef products from animals of any age since restrictions were put in place in December 2003, following the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) positive animal in the U.S. (one of only four cases found in the U.S.)

Since 2005, only deboned beef from all cattle and certain bone-in beef from cattle less than 30 months of age could be shipped from the U.S. to Hong Kong. Earlier this year, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador and Sri Lanka also lifted their longstanding restrictions to provide full access for U.S. beef and beef products.

"This is great news for American ranchers and beef companies," said Vilsack. "Hong Kong is already the fourth largest market for U.S. beef and beef product exports, with sales there reaching a historic high of $823 million in 2013," Vilsack said.

In the first four months of 2014, U.S. beef and beef product exports to Hong Kong topped $307 million.

He added that the World Organization for Animal Health granted the United States negligible risk status for BSE last year.

“We welcome this move by Hong Kong and will continue our efforts to break down barriers and expand access for high-quality, safe and wholesome U.S. food and agricultural products in Hong Kong and around the world," Vilsack said.

While Hong Kong is officially part of China, it serves as its own customs and quarantine administration zone and so maintains its own rules and regulations.

This news comes at a good time for Tyson Foods, one of the largest beef processors in the U.S. Shares of Tyson Foods rose 32 cents to close Tuesday at $35.47 on the news.

This upward tick comes after a two-week downward spiral as Tyson shares have lost 18% of their value and suffered two downgrades from Wall Street brokers who believe Tyson’s $8.6 billion bid for Hillshire Brands was overpriced at a 70% premium for Hillshire stakeholders.

When Melissa Terry and her husband Flint Richter were children, they grew up on a farm, him near Springfield, Mo. and her in central Arkansas. Their background in farming is one reason they chose to purchase a nine-acre farm in August 2012 that sits in southeast Fayetteville.

Their land is zoned for residential but they are hoping to have it rezoned to agriculture to expand their ability to use the land for agricultural purposes.

“Our goal for our girls (age 6 and 8) is that they grow up knowing how to cultivate, preserve, and prepare fresh, healthy food; how to care for animals; and to find joy in their own powers of observation (such as noticing) sunrises and cool clouds; learning the names of birds, identifying different types of native grasses, plants, trees;  knowing what an heirloom seed is and why that's important, etc.” she said.

Melissa Terry’s family is not alone. Across the United States, including in Northwest Arkansas, the idea of urban agriculture is increasingly popular.

URBAN AGRI LEGALITIES
Laws vary in each Northwest Arkansas town for farm animals on land zoned for residential uses but the two extremes are Springdale and Fayetteville. Springdale does not allow any kind of farm animal (such as chickens) and Fayetteville recently changed its ordinances to allow an increasing number of chickens/ducks and bees, and now goats.

The number of animals from each species that is allowed is based on the plot size. The City of Fayetteville offers a detailed PDF that explains what is allowed under the ordinance, which passed in March 2014.

Bentonville and Rogers allow for bees and four hens. The city requires a permit and an inspection of the property, which must have the necessary housing for the animals and an appropriate sized lot. None of the major towns in Northwest Arkansas allow for roosters (male chickens) because of noise ordinances.

Increased interest has driven the evolving city ordinances, officials from Bentonville and Fayetteville agree.

“I anticipate that (the ordinances) will be under constant review based on what the citizens are telling us they need,” said Troy Galloway, city of Bentonville community and economic development director.

Peter Nierengarten, Fayetteville’s sustainability and resilience department director, said Fayetteville’s recent change in ordinances stems from the desire to help solve the local food distribution issues and allow people to supplement their income and have better access to healthier food. The ordinance changes also include more allowances for people to sell fresh produce they grow themselves from their home.

A grass-roots group in Springdale is working to get ordinances changed to allow chickens in the city limits (on land zoned for residential). They’ve met with resistance from the City Council, which as of this writing had not placed the issue on its agenda.

Tiffany Selvey lives in Springdale and works a 4,000-square-foot garden in her backyard. She’s part of the efforts to get chickens allowed in residential areas.

“In the last several years different people have approached the city council to ask for the ordinance to be changed to allow backyard hens in areas zoned residential. We are the hometown of Tyson and George’s, so it seems given that we could have backyard hens for eggs and pest control. Sadly, that's not the case. In the last few years, when all of our surrounding towns have made ordinances to allow backyard hens, Springdale will not change,” she said. “There are many reasons chickens could be beneficial in residential areas. Food security is an issue in our town, with some of our elementary schools at 90% or more free and reduced lunch rates.”

Continuing, Selvey said: “Those 2-4 eggs a day could make a real difference in the health of our children. Food insecurity aside, chickens provide excellent pest control, feasting on disease-carrying pests such as ticks. They also provide nutrient-rich free fertilizer, which appeals to me for obvious reasons. For those of us buying free-range, organic fed eggs at farmer's markets, we can save a lot of money. The average cost of organic, non-GMO fed chicken eggs, when you raise them at home is around $2 a dozen. And you get free fertilizer.”

Selvey added that there are efforts in town to ask for chickens to be allowed in educational gardens.

In regards to her own garden, Selvey gives credit for that interest to her grandfather.

“He is 80 years old and still maintains a huge garden in my town,” she said. “When I have questions, he's better than the Internet for information. As a child, I remember walking through the garden with him. The magic of growing food started way back then. ... After becoming a mom, I decided that I wanted to make a significant improvement in the health of my family, as well as a dent in the grocery budget.”

The desire to have healthy food is what led Dr. Malcolm Hayworth, an oncologist from Fayetteville, to start raising sheep in the 1980s. His father did the same when Hayworth was growing up in the northeastern United States. Hayworth is technically not in an urban area as his property is just outside city lines. However, he’s one of the area’s original “hobby” farmers and he has wisdom that would help others interested in starting their own urban agriculture program.

For one, make sure to provide veterinarian care for the animals (yes, chickens need to be vaccinated) and also make sure to purchase animals for the purpose they are intended. For example, some sheep are used mostly for meat, which is Hayworth’s purpose, and others are more for wool growth. The same is true for chickens. Some are better for laying eggs while others are better for harvesting.

LOCAL BUSINESS IMPACT
As the interest in urban agriculture grows, so does business for companies that offers supplies and expertise in the field. Farmers Co-op has 14 locations from Mena to Bentonville including Fort Smith, Bentonville and Fayetteville.

CEO Jay Carter said they are seeing a lot of urban agriculture business.

“It’s not just in Arkansas,” he said. “We’re seeing growth (in urban agriculture) across the nation.”

Farmers Co-op offers everything from high quality animal food to plants and raised garden beds. Customers can order chicks through the co-op but goats are not available, Carter said.

Two main reasons are contributing to the rise in urban agriculture, he said. One, more people want non-contaminated food that they know where it comes from. There’s also an increased interest in organic/natural food.

FARMING ORGANIZATIONS
Besides individuals showing more interest in urban agriculture, there’s also a growing number of organizations in Northwest Arkansas dedicated to local, community grown food. Terry is Programs Coordinator for Feed Communities in Fayetteville.

“Our two program priorities are increasing healthy food access and improving healthy food choices,” she said.

Terry emphasizes that the programs are designed to support sustainable food security because if the focus is on the insecurity, the needs will never end.

“In Northwest Arkansas we don’t have a food shortage, we have a distribution shortage,” she said.

Feed Communities works to create networks of service providers to make sure that healthy food is readily available throughout the community.

Tri Cycle Farms is located roughly at Sycamore and Garland in Fayetteville and has operated since 2011. The organization works with volunteers to raise chickens, food and bees. They hope to soon have goats, said Don Bennett, founder/director. They also offer education classes about growing food and how to prepare it.

“We need to address the food insecurity issues with awareness, education and empowerment,” he said. “We’re able to impact the neighborhood and community from the middle of town.”

J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. was chosen as a “2014 Company of the Year on Workplace Substance-Abuse Prevention” by the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace.

Since implementing hair testing in 2006, J.B. Hunt’s random positive drug rate has declined by 84%. The program has proven so successful other transportation companies have begun using hair testing during pre-employment screening, according to the release.

“J.B. Hunt drivers are among the most professional and safety conscious on the highways,” said Greer Woodruff, senior vice president of safety and security. “We protect their great reputation by preventing those with a life style of drug use from joining their ranks.”

Springdale-based Tyson Foods is trying to make amends for unlawful dumping of untreated industrial wastewater into a southwest Missouri stream that killed at an estimated 100,000 fish.

But this week the Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said he has filed a lawsuit against the meat giant who operates a chicken processing facility in Monett that last month illegally discharged wastewater containing a high acidic animal feed supplement into that city’s sewer system.

Koster said the discharge caused the city's biological wastewater treatment system to fail, and contaminated water containing a high level of ammonia flowed into Clear Creek, leading to the fish kill.

"Missouri's waterways are among our state's most important natural resources," Koster said. "Tyson's conduct threatened the vitality of Clear Creek as a resource for Southwest Missouri. Tyson Foods must be held accountable for dumping pollution into the waterways of Southwest Missouri, and this conduct must not happen again."

Koster's lawsuit includes six counts against Tyson for pollution of state waters and violations of Missouri's hazardous waste laws. He is seeking penalties against Tyson, compensation for the damage to the stream, and reimbursement for the state's costs in investigating the incident.

Tyson Foods prides itself for strong and responsible corporate citizenship and publicly apologized for the mishap in a local newspaper ad.

"We’re sorry about what happened and have started trying to make things right," Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman told The City Wire.

"Through newspaper ads, we’re publicly apologizing to the people of Monett and Pierce City. We’ve met with some community leaders and we’ve asked to meet with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to see how we can help improve Clear Creek," he said. "We’ve also taken a hard look at how we manage environmental matters at Monett and are improving our processes because we don’t want this to ever happen again."

The ad notes that Tyson can not reverse what has happened, but the meat company said it plans to make it right.

“Water is a critical natural resource and we work to protect it at all of our locations ... We’ll be looking at opportunities to partner with non-government organizations that work on ecology projects in Missouri to address issues in the creek. As we learn more and have these discussions, we’ll then be able to better determine how we can help resolve these issues. We’re committed to making amends,” Tyson management noted the public apology which ran in the local newspapers following the accident.

Van Buren-based Arkansas Lamp has launched a new product line and a new company name to signify the growth the company is experiencing. President Jeff Null of Arkansas Lamp said the company would be changing its name before the end of the week to Arkansas Lighting to coincide with the launch of the company's new line of LED fixtures which include ceiling lamps and wall sconces.

"Instead of being Arkansas Lamp, it's going to be Arkansas Lighting," Null said. "When most people think lamp, they think table or floor lamp. But we're more than that, so we're trying to broaden the perception of what we do."

Null said the new line includes more than the lamps the company started with in 1972 and allows what will now be called Arkansas Lighting to seize an opportunity in the marketplace. The company has about 60 employees.

"We have seen an opening in the market for decorative LED wall or ceiling sconces, and not just in our core (hospitality) business, but others like multi-family (housing) or medical. We think this is a perfect niche for that. It enhances our existing market and gives us new ones."

He said residential and business customers are looking for "energy efficient, no maintenance, excellent light quality" products and moving into the LED market would be good for both consumers and the Van Buren manufacturer, what Null said was "a win all the way around."

Null acknowledged that consumers in the past have complained about newer types of bulbs having a blue-ish tint or not becoming bright quickly enough, "but LED doesn't have that problem," with Vice President Greg Null discussing the benefits of LED.

"These highly efficient fixtures consume about 80% less energy than their incandescent equivalents and about 40% less than fluorescent fixtures. Plus they last many multiple times longer so that owners don't have to spend maintenance time and effort on replacing burned out bulbs."

As for whether the company was changing directions with the introduction of the new product line and the name change, Null said the company is just taking opportunities that present themselves.

"It's not that we're changing directions, we're trying to expand the opportunity. These (fixtures) are fully usable in a hospitality setting and we expect to sell a lot of them, but it's good (to have a product available) for other segments we've not been in before. So we hope to broaden our market."

The new product line was launched at the HD Expo in Las Vegas May 14, with another showing at the LightFair on June 3 and since that time, Null said the company had sold "several thousand" fixtures to companies in the multi-family residential industry though he declined to provide specific sales figures.

He said many locals will not see a huge difference with regard to the launch of the new product line other than the change in name and logo for the time being, but that could change as the LED fixtures become a larger and larger part of Arkansas Lighting's core business.

"If that continues, we'll add permanent people to the (LED fixture assembly) line. Right now, we can handle it with the people we've got."

But even a small bump in sales could push the company to expand either its assembly line or warehouse space or possibly both in addition to the company's already announced expansion earlier this year.

"We think all of those things will happen. We've done some limited expansion of one of our assembly lines. We're still at the scaling point to operate more or less like we've always done. But it won't take much more growth before we start looking at more assembly lines or more warehouse space, but we're not there yet."

Northwest Arkansas is known for calling those hogs, but at Mason Creek Farm near Fayetteville, it’s not about sports, it’s a way of life. Rose Konold, owner of Mason Creek Farm, has developed a new hog breed known as Boston Mountain Hogs.

She said the breed is a sturdy lean and long hog suited for pasture raising, which she does year round, selling winglets for finishing to other smaller local farms and finishing some herself which are marketed to local restaurants and area farmer’s markets.

Realizing that there are strength in numbers, Konold recently organized a local breeder’s association for the Boston Mountain Hog. The group of about 30 met in Fayetteville Wednesday, (June 18) to select their board of directors. The group also has a trademark pending for the recognized breed.

Members in the local breeders group came from as far away as Edmond, Okla., to hear more about marketing opportunities with new brand trademark, which is also U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Animal Welfare approved.

Konold recently met with Whole Foods, who toured her Fayetteville farm looking for potential pork suppliers this region, which will include the new store coming to Fayetteville, in Little Rock and soon-to-be two in Tulsa.

“By pooling our resources the farmers in this association will be able to supply enough meat all bearing the same quality label for larger retailers like Whole Foods,” Konold said.

The group is also eager to work with B&R Meat Processing, new meat processor which recently opened in Winslow. B&R also is USDA and Animal Welfare certified, key for the Boston Mountain Hog trademark.

“I think the timing is ripe for our breeder’s association to take off. We continue to get requests we can’t meet for winglets to raise. We have about two dozen members in our group with breed sows at this time. We expect the trademark approval by early 2015,” Konold said.

BREED SELECTION
The Boston Mountain Hog breed was bred for more bacon and longer loin meats, Konold said.

“Everybody wants the bacon, but’s there’s only so much bacon on the Berkshire and Tamworth breeds we were raising. So through gene selection we bred for a longer hog, with large litters. Because it’s pasture raised and not confined, it needs big eyes and ears and hair to better weather the elements,” she said. “The breed also gives a consistent chop with just enough marbling to be forgiving to the general public who tends to overcook their pork.”

Because the breed is pasture-raised they are leaner than commercially produced hogs, but Konold said she also uses some grains to help finish the hogs at Mason Creek.

“Hogs are what they eat. They graze and eat roots for six months and they get finished with grain, at Mason Creek,” she said.

Al Tynon runs a large hog farm in Northeast Oklahoma raising Tamworth, Berkshire and soon, Boston Mountain Hogs. His farm is located near the Lo Ma organic dairy and he feeds whey from that dairy to his hogs which are raised on pasture.

“Our hogs are leaner and known for their sweet flavor,” Tynon said.

He markets his hogs online and is eager to see what co-oping as a breeder group will do for overall sales.

RETAIL OUTLETS CHANGE PORK HABITS
The group said they were surprised to see the markup at retail when selling directly to grocers like Whole Foods, Ozark Natural Foods and Allens.

“Whole Foods gets 50% to 60% mark up. It’s half that Ozark Natural Foods and less at Allens, when I worked them,” Konold told the group.

She said Ozark Natural Foods sells out of the pork when they have it because people who try it can taste the difference.

As more consumers want to know where their food comes from and who it’s sourced, retailers are taking note. Springdale-based Harps Foods announced a new partnership with Seaboard Foods to supply 100% natural pork, minimally processed with no solution or other additives to the regional grocer.

“The new pork program will improve our customers experience and will allow us to provide a more consistent quality pork product at the same great price points,” said Carey Otwell, Harps director of meat and seafood. “Sometimes it pays to not be the biggest guy on the block because being a smaller company, we have the ability to partner with single source suppliers, which means one pork processor can supply all of our pork needs and we can control quality at a whole new level this way.”

The new Harps branded pork program will roll out to the public this fall in which Harps will begin branding their pork under the “Harps” name. All of Harps meat is cut in-store by meat cutters.

Harps said Seaboard Foods raises its pigs on farms located throughout the Plains, including neighboring Oklahoma and Kansas, and is a 100% USA owned and operated company, with headquarters in the Kansas City metro. Seaboard Foods controls every step along the way in its integrated pork production system.

ANIMAL WELFARE
SeaBoard is a commercial pork processor that still uses a controversial practice known as gestational crating. Many food retailers and restaurants have joined the movement to abandon pork sourcing from companies that use the gestation crates. 

Cargill, announced June 8 it will end the use of gestation crates on its company-owned pig facilities by 2015 and its contractors’ facilities by 2017.  

“Cargill’s decision brings us closer to the day when gestation crates will be relics of the past in the pork industry. Americans simply don’t support locking animals in cages barely larger than their bodies, and Cargill is right to be leading its industry away from the practice,” said animal rights activist Paul Shaprio, vice president for the U.S. Humane Society.

Cargill’s announcement follows similar announcements from more than 60 of the country’s largest food retailers— including McDonald’s and Costco—declaring plans to eliminate the confinement cages from their supply chains.

Additionally, Smithfield Foods announced plans to move away from gestation crates, and meat giant Tyson Foods said “future sow housing” should allow animals to turn around.

For Konold and her fellow breeders who adhere to the Animal Welfare Approved criteria,  pasture raising is the only method that will do.