First nine weeks for mayor have been productive, busy

More than two months into his first term in office, Mayor Nathan See is positive about the progress being made.

It’s been nine weeks — 44 business days — since he moved into the mayor’s office on Jan. 2.

“It’s going well,” See said of the beginning of his term.

“I think we have a lot of progression moving forward. I know that we have a lot of opportunities for our city to grow in aspects of business, work force housing and industry, parks and recs, green space and so, I would like to keep focused on those initiatives on how to move Pea Ridge forward in the next five to 10 years.

“That’s why I’ve asked the staff to put a five- to 10-year plan together for their departments so we can have a vision that we can share — alright, this is where we’re headed and we are going to be able to stay on path to catch that vision,” See said.

“You can always have a goal. Never change your goal. You may have to change your plan to get to that goal,” he said.

“The goal that I would like to have is to have local amenities for all ages and be able to have businesses that are attractive to all ages,” see said.

“My first month was pretty active in meeting different people who are interested in investing in Pea Ridge. We have a lot of people who want to serve and volunteer,” he said. “It’s good to have those people. We are forming committees for different things to help the city grow.”

See has implemented hosting meetings for department heads once a quarter so each department head can share his plans and projects and everyone can stay informed.

“I gave them a list of 10 things, goals I’d like them to work toward — cultivating leadership, character, integrity,” See said. “They need to be unique and think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas to grow the city.”

The mayor’s goals for the future for department heads includes cultivating leadership (accountability, character and integrity); capital improvement projects across all departments; working with developers/investors; impact fee; five- to 10-year vision for city departments; growing relationships with other agencies (city, county, state); communication (sick day, vacation day, etc.); and training (do adequate training with staff).

“It’s an open dialogue. We talk and build relationships,” he said, adding that he, too, is working at meeting with various government officials. “My motto is I’d rather meet them before I need them.”

“In the aspect that I need Benton County Emergency Management, I’d like to get more involved in county, state, and federal

government and put names on faces so I know who I call in various situations,” he said.

“I’m always on the look out for the betterment of city, and being proactive to what we need in future,” he said.

See implemented a new app for city residents and created city email addresses for all city officials. He plans to have photographs of each city official with their titles on the city’s web page. He is working with various social media accounts.

A new fire chief and a planning director have been hired.

He has scheduled work sessions for City Council members to preview, study and discuss issues scheduled for the Council meeting.

The city has purchased property in the Givens subdivision to mitigate flooding in the area.

He said he has several bond projects slated including sidewalks on McCulloch Street, North Davis Street, Lee Town Road and Greer Street.

He has plans for a beautification committee to begin in March.

Changes have been made in the tech review meetings that have previously includes all members of the Planning Commission as well as developers, engineers, and city building officials. He said in order to make the meetings more professional and efficient, he plans to schedule one Planning Commission member and the city engineer with the developers.

“Regionally, this is what everybody does,” he said of the tech review.

See also has scheduled a shredding event providing the opportunity for city residents to shred documents and plans to work more closely with the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce.