October 17, 2024 • 38 mins
Mayor Stephanie Orman of Bentonville, Arkansas, joins us to reveal her blueprint for building stronger community bonds. Learn how her academic background in communication and mediation has been pivotal in fostering connections through initiatives like the Great Neighborhoods Program. As we navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic, discover how Mayor Orman and her resilient city team adapted through creative virtual events and continued outreach, ensuring Bentonville stayed connected in the face of adversity.
Bentonville is on the cusp of transformation, and you're about to see why. From a staggering $700 million healthcare investment to the bustling business activity surrounding Walmart's headquarters, this city is becoming a hub of opportunity. We're showcasing Bentonville's allure, from its thriving arts and culture to its burgeoning food scene, all underpinned by strong community collaboration and a commitment to sustainable development. The story of Bentonville is one of progress and collaboration, reflecting a vision of making it one of the top cities in America.
Leadership and innovation take center stage as we explore the strategies driving Bentonville forward. Mayor Orman emphasizes the significance of teamwork and open dialogue in addressing infrastructure challenges and economic growth. You'll hear about the transformative impact of companies like EDGES Inc. and initiatives like Interface Methods, which are paving the way for equitable growth and diversity through storytelling and collaboration. This is a story of visionaries creating a brighter, more inclusive future for Bentonville.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the 4.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Bars podcast.
I'm Ken Leith and I'm PattiLeith.
We're your hosts for somecompelling dialogue, encouraging
our listeners to strengthentheir connections and build
strong communities, lifting eachother up and connecting in ways
that matter.
We named the podcast 4 Bars asa reference to how hard we work
to find a 4 Bars connection onour devices.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
And we wondered what could happen with relationships
if we worked as hard atconnecting.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Let's find out.
Welcome back to Four Bars, thePodcast, and we have with us
again today Mayor StephanieOrman of Bentonville, arkansas.
This is our part two of adiscussion with Mayor Orman
about Bentonville and the greatcommunity it's become and how it
has gotten to where it is, andreally we're going to today
(00:45):
explore a little bit more abouther role.
In that.
I'm Patti Leith co-host.
Ken Leith is with me.
Thanks for being here.
In the last episode, mayorOrman, you talked about the
things that are important inbuilding community and I think
you know our simple recipe forit is you need places and people
and activities and things right, and you've done a lot of
(01:07):
things that leverage those inour community.
You talked a little bit aboutthe neighborhoods program that
you put into place.
What was your inspiration forthat?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So I've always had a passion for connecting people
and what I found is when,especially in neighborhoods or
if you're living next door tosomebody, it's important that
you get along with your neighborand want to find resolutions,
because you're going to be somuch happier living here, you
know, and I you know.
I had my master's degrees incommunication and I worked in
(01:41):
sort of a mediation center andwe worked with different
neighborhoods.
So early on in my college lifeI was I became to see this come
(02:09):
to fruition with some programslike the Great Neighborhoods
Program and really bringingpeople together and see some of
my education or training come tolife in some of this.
Yeah, Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Could you define a little bit more about what the
Great Neighborhoods Program is?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Sure.
So we bring togetherneighborhoods in a monthly
meeting and connect them todifferent resources within the
city so it might be the policedepartment, it might be our
street department and reallytalk through some of the
concerns that they have in theirneighborhoods.
And how do we connect you tocity resources in an easy and
(02:49):
efficient manner to address someof those?
And we did put together theneighborhood block kit because
we think it's really importantfor people in a neighborhood to
come together and connect.
So if we can encourage blockparties or getting to know your
neighbor, you're going to have asafer neighborhood.
You're going to have aneighborhood that does want to
(03:09):
come together and findresolutions to concerns in the
neighborhood.
And I would say the city wantsto be a resource, but we
oftentimes need thoseneighborhoods or members of our
community to come together withus to find the best solution,
and so I really think that'swhat that program hopefully
offers for the public.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, Shortly after you came into office, the
pandemic hit.
That was obviouslylife-changing for everyone.
One of the things that you didas an individual not as Mayor
Orman, but just as a neighborwas you did outdoor huddles
around being good neighborsduring this time.
Can you speak a little bitabout the pandemic and the
(03:52):
challenges you faced and whatyou learned?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Well, you know, I came into office in 2019 and it
was about, you know, learningall the assets of the city and
starting to strategically plan.
And then 2020 hit and thepandemic hit, so we really had
to change course.
There was not necessarily aplaybook out there for the
pandemic and every day we get alittle bit of new information,
(04:18):
but during that time, what Ireally saw our city employees do
and what I'm really proud of isthey continued to show up.
They were your last point ofcontact on your worst day.
They were going into homesduring the pandemic because
they're the emergency responders, they're the people fixing your
water and sewer and electric,and so that that time, and
(04:43):
seeing our team members reactand show up every day that they
did, it taught me a lot.
We learned a lot about how tocontinue to operate those
services in a city, even wheneverything around you is kind of
shutting down and we did haveto shut.
You know, we had somefacilities like our library and
(05:03):
community center.
We had to learn how tocompletely shut down and then
reopen Right.
And so, definitely, definitelya learning process, but, again,
very inspiring when you come outon the other side and we've
come out better and stronger.
Right To see, to see how yourteam interacted, to see how the
community came together andinteracted, just like I think in
(05:25):
the first episode we talkedabout the tornado.
Yeah, sort of that same.
You said I definitely don'twant to go through it again, but
the inspiration on the otherside of it and just to see how
employees and the communityreacted is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, you are part of a group of leaders that
hopefully, to your point, willnever have to have another group
of leaders kind of learn and dothings that you had to do
without a playbook and youtalked about.
We talked a lot aboutcommunication in the first
segment and you and your office.
(06:02):
One of the things we noticedwas you started doing things
remotely, communicating outward.
What were some of the thingsthat you did and share with
people, Because we found them tobe very interesting and
something that wasn'tanticipated but made things feel
a little bit safer.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So we started to do things like the Mayor's Virtual
Coffee.
Right to do things like themayor's virtual coffee and make
sure that on a monthly basis wewere trying to connect our
members of the community tocurrent information happening in
the city.
We took initiatives indifferent departments.
I said I really want thecommunity to connect with our
departments, understand what youdo.
(06:40):
So you saw our policedepartment start to do things
like coffee with a cop nationalnight out, our our youth and
citizens police academy and justbringing people in and trying
to connect with them through theprocess.
We we were very intentional inthe city of Bentonville to reach
(07:00):
out to different communitygroups, so we went through the,
the pandemic, and try to connectwith them and just listen and
understand how do we make youfeel welcome in our city, how do
we make sure that we're gettingyou connected to our city?
And again, we wanted to be veryintentional with that and
(07:21):
that's the process that we wentthrough and through that.
You know we we actually have anevent this, uh coming saturday
that we're celebrating, which isour multicultural festival, and
I'm really proud of the processthat we went through to listen
to people and I hope people willcome out and enjoy uh just
getting to know uh communitymembers, different cultures and
(07:43):
and celebrating together thatconnectivity.
I always say there's so manymore things that connect us than
separate us.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
What do you attribute most to,as you think back on the last
five and a half years?
What do you attribute most tothe resilience that this
community has seen?
Speaker 3 (08:09):
I do think it's collaboration and it's
intentionality as well.
You have to be very intentional.
It's easy to draw back and justwant to move things along
without a lot of input, butthat's never the, in my opinion,
never the best way to go aboutit, because you always have
opposition out here.
(08:30):
So, and I think the ability forthis community to come together
and work on solutions togetherto be very transparent that's
another thing that I'm proud ofin my administration.
We're very transparent.
We have open public meetings ona lot of the hard topics, but
we're not afraid of them.
(08:51):
You know, I think it's easy tosit back behind a desk and make
decisions.
What's a lot harder is to goout and get the community input
and make decisions together andget people working in the same
pathway.
And again, I think a lot oftimes it's just listening,
because there's usually thatcommonality somewhere in the
(09:12):
conversation.
You have to be able to get toit and you have to be able to
listen to both sides and bringthem together, and I try to be
very intentional about that.
Again, I wish there were moretime and resources in the day,
because it does take time andresources to do that.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
We talked about in the last session.
We are a growing community, oneof the vastest in the country
and, again, very safe community.
But the complexities have tohave changed from when you first
came into office.
Now there's a large campusgoing on being built for Walmart
here, hummel Walmart but alsothere's a cycling community.
(09:52):
All these different things thatdidn't exist.
Tell us how that gets balanceda little bit.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Well, so I came into office in 2019, and May of 2019
is really when the home officesaid yes, we're building here
and we're going forward.
And so immediately, you know,connecting our city teams with
their development teams andtrying to make sure on all
fronts we make the process, youknow, as efficient as possible.
(10:18):
Say that experience has beentremendously humbling, but also
just impressive to see, you can,the whole southwest portion of
our campus is their waterdistribution system and I don't
have time to talk about it, butwhat they've put into that to
better the community.
(10:39):
We also have the Greenwayrunning right through that
campus and it's kind of unheardof for corporate campuses to
have that type of public access.
You also have tunnels anddifferent things being built
around that with some of ourprivate partners because they
are really engaged with safetyfrom a transportation standpoint
.
So a ton of collaboration inthat and just really proud of
(11:04):
that.
A ton of collaboration in thatand just really proud of that,
and I'm very excited because Ibelieve at least I got a note
that there's a ribbon cuttingcoming for it in the near future
.
You know, I do hope to be inoffice when that, when that
happens, and just to see thatcollaboration.
So that was really the catalyst, right.
I mean you could say beforethat, when Crystal Bridges and
(11:25):
different things opened again,those are sort of what I'd say
catalyst moments in the city ofBentonville, but definitely in
May of 2019, when they made thatannouncement, and that's when
we really our teams, we startedto really assess the
infrastructure.
We had to look we're looking atnew growth populations and new
(11:45):
growth patterns and reallygathering the data to be able to
do that.
And then 2020 hit and we hadthe pandemic.
So we were managing throughthat, trying on the back end to
understand our assets and whatwe had to do from a long-term
planning perspective.
Coming out of the pandemic in2021 is when we went to the
public for a bond extension andthat was a way to not increase
(12:10):
taxes on our public but be ableto have the funding.
And I always say, you know,fiscally sound cities, municipal
bonds are one way to be able todo these large infrastructure
projects, that that that youneed to be able to do,
especially if you know yourpopulation is going to increase
and when we know we havecatalysts large infrastructure
projects that you need to beable to do, especially if you
know your population is going toincrease and when we know we
have catalysts like the WalmartHome Office, we knew that was
(12:34):
happening.
So we went to the public.
We were able to get publicsupport on all of our bond
projects and there's a website,bentonvillebondcom.
You can go check the progressof all of ours.
So, again, being verytransparent with that process
and where we're at with it, it'sbeen challenging.
We saw increases in cost andeverything in the last few years
(12:57):
, so it's been very challenging.
But we have a good team, wehave good private partnerships
in the city of Bentonville andso the collaboration is really
pretty phenomenal.
Back in, I don't think you seeit like you see it in
Bentonville and a lot of otherareas or cities, and now
(13:17):
actually people are calling usat the city of Bentonville and
saying can we come in and talkto you?
How are you doing this?
How are you moving forward withthis?
But it's a transition for thecommunity too, because a smaller
community going to a largercommunity, so all those concerns
that come with that traffic andflooding and things of that
(13:38):
nature we really do have to beintentional about how we
strategically grow well, do haveto be intentional about how we
strategically grow well.
Yeah, and I'm actually veryproud of the things that we've
been doing in the city ofBentonville and we need to
continue to do those things andwe can need to continue to be
proactive.
It does start with thecommunication and getting people
(13:59):
around the table and saying,instead of out here you know,
sometimes it's easy out here toget you know, upset or worked up
about something it's a lotharder to say, okay, let's take
that conversation, let's put itaround a table, let's move the
conversation into an action plan.
Yeah, let's go find the fundingfor that action plan and then
let's actually get the projectdone.
(14:20):
And that's really been the waywe faced everything in the city
of Bentonville and you know, Ithink we've we've done a pretty
good job.
We was looking some, goingthrough some of the accolades,
the south's best cities on therise by southern living, so many
different things that we'vebeen recognized here on the last
(14:41):
few years in the city ofBentonville.
And I love our city, we have avery vibrant city and it's going
to continue to grow well andthat's a tribute, I think, to
city employees, but also just tothe overall community.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
It's not one person driving all of this, although
I'm very honored and feel veryprivileged to be able to have a
city and have the type of justlike I said community vibrance
that you see here speakingrecently about the project, and
(15:23):
it was evident from his commentshow much collaboration there
had been and how he felt thatthe discussions had made all of
it better, and so that's justamazing.
We were very excited when itwas announced for so many
reasons, because it's going tobe amazing for our community,
but then in 2020, when they saidyes, we're still doing it we
were all like yes.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, that was definitely good city, I think,
um, but it has to be becomingmore complex as we think about
it.
Um, again, we've gone from whenwe got here it was a nice small
town, uh, to where, yes,walmart has a new giant
headquarters and a lot of people, but also we.
We are now recognized as one ofthe top locations, if not the
(16:09):
top, for mountain biking in thecountry, which brings a lot of
people here who.
It's incredible, because youhave people from all over the
world coming here for variousreasons, whether it's business,
cycling and now medical cyclingand now medical.
How's all that coming together?
Because that's serving a wholelot of different interests all
at one time.
(16:29):
Trying to help them all cometogether.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, and our listeners may not know about the
medical things happening here.
Sure Good point Talk about thata little.
It's pretty epic.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I think there was about a $700 million investment
announced in the healthcareindustry and it's, you know, I
think Benville is just at thecutting edge on in a lot of
those categories, from thebusiness, from the supply chain
and logistics, obviously, withWalmart headquarters being here,
but from the outdoor recreationindustry, there's been
tremendous investment on boththe private side.
But also, you know, the cityhas an initiative around our
parks and our trail systems andwe're creating sort of that loop
(17:10):
around the city to betterconnect our city.
So there's a lot of initiativeswithin the city that I think
also grow economic development.
Two, we just had the Upsummitthis last weekend and so we had
some of the top aviation leadershere experiencing our airport,
(17:33):
which I think is one of the bestairports in America.
And so to the announcement ofthe health care industry and
sort of that.
I think it's going to berevolutionary what you're going
to see industry and sort of that.
I think it's going to berevolutionary what you're going
to see.
They're going to see some andwe're going to keep, we're going
to allow our residents to beable to have that, that high
quality medical care here sothey don't have to travel, you
(17:54):
know, five, 10 states away.
And so it's really it.
There really is a lot ofintentionality from the city's
part, but also from ourcommunity, to try to keep that
high quality of life here, andit's important because we've got
businesses here that haveworkers that they're bringing in
(18:17):
here, and so working together,collaborating and having that
communication and collaborationis really key to the success of
Bentonville and the continuedsuccess.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah, and getting people to collaborate.
It sounds easy, but it's notalways easy?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
It's not.
It takes an effort and it takesintentionality.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
And I think the key to that is finding that
connection and finding wheretheir passions are right and let
those private partners, letthose community members engage
with their passions.
And what I found is thepassions are actually all really
good for the city ofBentonville.
So whether it's medical care or, you know, just jobs, it's
(19:06):
great for the city ofBentonville.
So when you can connect onthose fronts and I also say that
I think Bentonville is veryneat because we have this sort
of combination of arts andculture, outdoor recreation and
business, and having those threeelements in a city the size of
ours, just it's really kind ofunheard of and related to the
culture.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
The food scene is really kind of unheard of and
and related to the culture.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
The food scene is really elevating here too, which
is, for us foodies, amazingwe've been saying that for a
long time is that for the size,excuse me, for the size of the
city, even though it's growing?
You normally do not have themix and the volume of amenities?
The education system here iswonderful and just something
(19:51):
that people just wanting to growand I think, as we see, we're
going to probably see more,because it's just difficult
these days, whether you'reliving on one of the coast or
something people are looking for, something with a little bit
more stable.
Now we do have some weather,like anyone else in the country,
but, um, the support here isreally incredible.
As you move forward, thinkabout next, um, next phase of
(20:16):
growth can is there anything onthe horizons that you could
share with us?
Speaker 3 (20:21):
well, I think we have to stay focused.
We have plans and we need tomake sure that those plans
continue to get executed.
Infrastructure is a big topicwith us and I think if we focus
on infrastructure, we can helpreally industry business both
small and large businessesbenefit from that.
We can help housing benefitfrom that.
(20:42):
In the city of Bentonville we dohave, you know, our utilities
are under this, under us, and soone of the some of the things
that public may not know, butbehind the scenes, in 2021, when
the Uri storm came through,which was the winter storm, we
actually, instead of passingalong rates we had, we did an $8
(21:02):
million utility bond and thenwe took $8 million from reserves
because we are a fiscally soundcity to be able to cover that.
So we didn't have to pass thatalong to our rate payers.
So those are things we're verywe're, we're very intentional
about.
On the back end of reallyunderstanding, I'm a big
advocate for federal and statefunding in water and sewer
(21:26):
infrastructure.
I think if you do some research, you'll see how, on a national
level, we're going to seetremendous deficiencies in those
areas.
So we have to be able to havethat conversation at a state and
a national level to understandthose core infrastructure
elements and for me, water andsewer is.
(21:49):
You know, often, oftentimes wetalk about roads and that's very
important to, and finding thefunding for that, but that core
water and sewer infrastructureis is really key yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
It's a basic need.
It really is, yeah, yeah, it'sa basic need, it really is, yeah
, yeah.
So when you think back on yourtime in office and I'm reminded
of a conversation we had beforeyou got into office when I asked
you, you indicated you wereinterested in running.
And I asked you why and yousaid I believe Bentonville can
(22:22):
become the best city in America.
We are well on our way.
What are you most proud of?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh gosh, there's a lot of things that I'm proud of.
I'm proud of moving throughmajor disasters and coming out
better and stronger on the otherend.
I think that's a real testamentto the resilience of the city
of Bentonville.
I have to give you know that'scertainly not just the mayor
(22:50):
involved in this, because Ireally have to give credit to
all of our employees and justthe community on that factor.
I'm also really proud of how wewere very data-driven and that
leads us to our long-termplanning and we're also getting
things done.
I said I can give you numerousprojects that we've accomplished
(23:14):
that have had a very longhistory and they're getting done
with my administration.
So I'm very proud of that.
We have a lot to do as well,and so you have to.
I think, as mayor, you really,if you want to be mayor of the
city of Bentonville, you've gotto have that positive attitude.
You've got to have that energyattitude, that aggressive
(23:37):
attitude to say you know, knowwhat we are going to grow, how
do we get around the table andhow do we have a strategic plan
and how do we grow.
Well, and you've got it.
It's a 24-7 job, I say, in thecity of Bentonville as mayor and
you really need to have apassion to want to do that.
Long term, we're going to grow,we're going to grow well and
(24:01):
we're going to do that by comingtogether and collaborating.
And again, I always say, likeour goal my goal when I spoke to
you has never changed.
We want to be the best city inAmerica to live, work and play.
And I think when you see whatwe just talked about from all of
(24:21):
these announcements, one thingwe didn't talk about is sort of
the entrepreneur and startup.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Oh yes.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
That's big here now.
That atmosphere in Bentonvilleyou don't see that type of
engagement, I think, on thosesectors in cities of our size.
So that's phenomenal as well.
So you really you have to haveall of that.
And so we that secret sauce,that's a lot of the secret sauce
in Bentonville.
(24:48):
You know we have to continuouslybe concerned about traffic and
we have to continuously beaggressive in addressing that.
And I tell people right now Icould have more roads being
worked on, but you have tostrategically plan that as well.
And so you know, as we planroads, we we do them oftentimes
in phases, um, to try to getthat and try to have the least
(25:10):
amount of impact on our currentbusinesses that are there.
And really thinking throughthat and being intentional and
working through that isimportant, yeah, um, as well.
So there's there's a lot ofmoving parts to what's happening
in the city of Bentonville.
So keeping those all connectedand running, like I said, I'm
proud of what we've accomplishedin Bentonville and I really
(25:32):
think we have a bright futureworking together.
But we have to make sure thatthat positive conversation and
that collaboration piece of thatcarries through, because if we
don't, if we don't do that, evenin a city that has so many
different assets that, like thecity of Bentonville, if you, if
(25:55):
you, can't bring people togetheraround that conversation, I
think that that can deter youquickly.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
As you're talking, we're small business owners and
entrepreneurs.
The level of support thatyou'll get from community
members, if you just ask, isamazing.
And as you're talking, I'mthinking back in 2011,.
We were looking at and talkingto investors for one of our
software products and themessage was you're not going to
(26:27):
be able to do it there and today.
That is not the message.
Today we work with a lot ofcompanies that are growing and
they're being told there's somuch there to grow.
So the shift has beenmonumental and we're just
excited to to live here and towork here.
So you are known for your workethic.
(26:47):
It's amazing.
I've always known.
I've known you for probably 20years or so, close to, yeah,
I've always respected that aboutyou.
Can you speak a little bitabout that and how that's helped
you in this role?
You know?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
I don't know.
I tell people, you know, I'vehad a job since I was 16.
Yeah, I've always just feltcompelled to make sure that and
especially in a leadership rolelike you're showing up.
If other people can see you,that you're engaged and you're
working as hard as you possiblycan, then when you ask things of
(27:25):
them, when you ask them to dothe overtime or to help us clean
up 24-7 with a storm, hopefullythere's some respect in that
that they see you doing the samething.
So I always tell people I'm notgoing to ask you to do
something that I wouldn't do,and so that's sort of my
philosophy around work ethic andI just think it's easier to do.
(27:50):
Also, when you're passionate,you're so passionate about the
community and providingcommunity that I can raise my
kids in and we can feel safehere, and so it's just, it's a
passion.
So again, I felt humbled andhonored to be able to lead in
that capacity.
So, from I enjoy work, you know,I enjoy bringing people
(28:14):
together and I actually enjoylistening to different sides too
.
You know, sometimes, whenpeople are very you know, like I
said, they're usually callingus on their one of their days.
That is not going so well forthem, right?
So you know, sometimes it'shard for because they only have
the information that they have,and so sometimes it's hard to
(28:36):
hear some of it, but you have tobe willing to hear it, to get
better and come together, and soI think that's you know.
Like I said, I've always had astrong work ethic, but I'm very
passionate about my work, and soit makes it rewarding and
easier.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I think, as you're talking through a lot of that,
um, just the term leadership, weagain, we work with a lot of
organizations, a lot ofcorporations.
Um, leadership is so important,communication is important,
collaboration, but steadyleadership, um, and you lead
leaders, um, that process ofleading people, what is?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
it that you do that.
That really helps to empoweryour leaders.
You know, I like to bringpeople, I like to be
collaborative, I like to bringpeople in.
I would say an open-door policy.
So let me hear your side of thestory.
And then we've got to mutuallyagree that we've got to get to a
better place or a betterresolution.
(29:46):
Right, it takes, it takes can'tjust be me solving the problem,
and so that's usually how I'mgonna uh look at things.
But I think people know thatI'm gonna be.
If you come and talk, they knowthat I'm going to be fair, I'm
going to be consistent and I'malso uh, you know, from a
standpoint of getting thingsdone, I'm going to be passionate
(30:07):
about that piece of.
We've got to see a result, abetter result from from whatever
, um, the concern is, and sothat's, that's how, that's just
how I operate, not only as mayorbut in life, I think.
So I'm not different as mayoras I am in, you know, a family
(30:27):
life or anything like that.
So that's.
You know, I don't know, I'velearned a lot being mayor, and
so, you know, I think there'sdefinitely things that when you
look back, you go, okay, maybe Icould have approached that
different.
But I think that's part of beinga leader you have to be humble
enough to say are there areaswhere you can grow and get
better?
And if you're not willing to dothat, you're not going to be a
(30:49):
successful leader.
And when other people see youdo that, I think it's
encouraging to them too.
Because, look, none of us areperfect.
Right, we have to recognizewhere we could have.
You know, is there a way that wecould have went about a
situation better and be willingto say that to somebody too.
And when they see that theyunderstand, they connect with
(31:10):
you as well.
Because my expectation of adepartment head or whatever, you
know, we're going to have goalsand I'm going to be expecting
that we hit those goals, but I'malso going to bring to the
table that, hopefully, thatempathy and understanding.
You know there may be somethingelse going on in that person's
life to where we're not hittinga goal.
(31:30):
Right, let's, let's understandwhat that is, let's come to the
table and figure out a pathwayfor together, for them.
And again, you know I'm myleadership style is definitely
collaborative, communicative andI would also say
results-oriented.
Important ingredients forsuccess, we tell people that all
(31:53):
the time we're with people.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
So you are.
We have an election coming upand you are running for
re-election.
Yeah, what is it that you mightshare, kind of as we close out
today, as far as your vision forthe future of Pentonville as
mayor?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Well, we have a lot of projects out there that I
would like to get completed inthe next four years and so and
we've been very intentional ofgetting the data that has driven
some of our decisions, ourability to have the funding for
these projects.
Then we've been intentionalabout the design and through
(32:31):
that design, covering thecommunity input and really
working through these projectswith the public, and we've been
results oriented.
And again, I think you cancheck out the website
bentonvillebondcom to see allthose projects above and beyond
our normal O&M operating budgetthat we're doing.
(32:51):
So I just think to keep focused, to keep moving forward, it's
important to embrace the currentleadership and I also think,
hopefully, I've earned just therespect of the public.
I think that's really, reallyimportant.
(33:12):
I'm sort of proven in thatposition and again, you know
we're a growing city, we've gotlots of things to continue to
work on, but I think the publicif they've ever, you know,
knocked on my door would tellyou that I'm very intentional
about working together and wemove through a lot of concerns
(33:36):
and problems in that manner.
I'm very proud of, again, howwe've reacted through some major
pandemic and tornadoes and comeup better on the other side.
So I think I'm proven in thoseaspects.
Talked a little bit about ourbudget, we have to produce a
balanced budget.
We do, we've done that yearlyand we still we get.
(33:59):
We get things done andstrategically from a planning
standpoint, we've uh, you know,we've rebuilt a major sewer line
out to our uh, uh, to the NACAplant.
Um, and the first things thatcame into office that was given
to me um, we are expanding ourwastewater or NACA starter
treatment plant.
(34:20):
We're almost done withfinishing that aspect of it and
that's a regional plant thatBentonville is a part of but
we're the main city flowing tothat plant.
But it's a great regionaleffort that helps some of the
other cities in the area as well.
We're getting ready to expandour downtown plant.
(34:40):
So strategically being focusedon that infrastructure and I
could talk for days aboutinfrastructure and I've learned
a lot about water and sewer andelectric and roads and I think
taking that knowledge andkeeping that progress moving is
really important for the city ofBentonville and it's important
(35:01):
for us to be able tostrategically grow well and not
lose momentum in that We've.
Also we're undertaking updatingour land use plan right now.
We I think our consultantswould tell you that, from a
public input standpoint, the waywe've went about updating our
Bentonville plan has been, it's,unheard of in the industry.
(35:23):
We actually created aninteractive land use map where
you could click into your pieceof property and actually talk to
us about it.
So you know, again from thatcommunication piece, from that
strategic plan piece, I justthink we would lose a lot of
momentum and I'm hoping that thepublic sees everything that
(35:46):
we're doing and we can moveBentonville forward.
And again, we're always bettertogether and that's going to be,
hopefully, the message goingforward.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
You mentioned something earlier that I want to
sort of wrap up with.
You talked about the importanceof positivity.
Can you share with thelisteners how you think
positivity contributes tocommunity?
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Well, one of the things I try to live by is
always assume positive intent,right, and I think when you go
to a meeting and that's reallyat the forefront of your thought
process, that's how you findthose areas where you are
connecting and you're on thesame page and you build from
that.
And I just think it's reallyimportant, especially in this
(36:32):
day and age where sometimes it's, you know, with some of our
social media and differentoutlets, you know it's easy to
not be intentional with thatconnectivity piece and it's easy
to not be intentional with thatconnectivity piece and it's
easy to not be positive.
Yeah To, it's.
It's much, I think, harder tobe intentional and bring people
(36:52):
together initially, but theresults on the back end so much
better, right, and so I justthink that's sort of the
attitude that I hope that peoplesee when we approach issues at
the City of Bentonville and Ithink when we do that I do think
I definitely have the exampleswhen we do that and we're
intentional about it, theoutcome is so much better, yeah,
(37:13):
fantastic.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thank you so much for being here.
This has been a delight to hearmore and learn more about you
as a person and you as theleader of this great city, so
thank you for being here.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
We truly appreciate it and we will be putting some
resources on our website just togive you a little bit more
information about that note andabout connectivity and, as we
heard Mayor Orman share with us,it's about communication and
collaboration and reaching outand it's part of the secret
sauce To those of you outlistening and watching.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Thanks for being here .
We hope to see you next time.
The 4 Bars podcast has beenbrought to you by Edges Inc.
A growth advisory firm based inBentonville, arkansas.
I founded the company in 2001.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Edges promotes growth , people, companies and ideas.
Our team collaboration tool,called Interface Methods, is a
basis for teams to work togethermore collaboratively,
understand each other and acceptdifferences and address
challenges together.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We also started a nonprofit called Unform your
Bias.
We teach kids and their adultinfluencers how to utilize
storytelling as a means toreduce bias in the world.
We hope you'll check us out,subscribe to our podcast and
look at our website.
Welcome to the 4.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Bars podcast.
I'm Ken Leith and I'm PattiLeith.
We're your hosts for somecompelling dialogue, encouraging
our listeners to strengthentheir connections and build
strong communities, lifting eachother up and connecting in ways
that matter.
We named the podcast 4 Bars asa reference to how hard we work
to find a 4 Bars connection onour devices.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
And we wondered what could happen with relationships
if we worked as hard atconnecting.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Let's find out.
Welcome back to Four Bars, thePodcast, and we have with us
again today Mayor StephanieOrman of Bentonville, arkansas.
This is our part two of adiscussion with Mayor Orman
about Bentonville and the greatcommunity it's become and how it
has gotten to where it is, andreally we're going to today
(00:45):
explore a little bit more abouther role.
In that.
I'm Patti Leith co-host.
Ken Leith is with me.
Thanks for being here.
In the last episode, mayorOrman, you talked about the
things that are important inbuilding community and I think
you know our simple recipe forit is you need places and people
and activities and things right, and you've done a lot of
(01:07):
things that leverage those inour community.
You talked a little bit aboutthe neighborhoods program that
you put into place.
What was your inspiration forthat?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
So I've always had a passion for connecting people
and what I found is when,especially in neighborhoods or
if you're living next door tosomebody, it's important that
you get along with your neighborand want to find resolutions,
because you're going to be somuch happier living here, you
know, and I you know.
I had my master's degrees incommunication and I worked in
(01:41):
sort of a mediation center andwe worked with different
neighborhoods.
So early on in my college lifeI was I became to see this come
(02:09):
to fruition with some programslike the Great Neighborhoods
Program and really bringingpeople together and see some of
my education or training come tolife in some of this.
Yeah, Fantastic.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Could you define a little bit more about what the
Great Neighborhoods Program is?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Sure.
So we bring togetherneighborhoods in a monthly
meeting and connect them todifferent resources within the
city so it might be the policedepartment, it might be our
street department and reallytalk through some of the
concerns that they have in theirneighborhoods.
And how do we connect you tocity resources in an easy and
(02:49):
efficient manner to address someof those?
And we did put together theneighborhood block kit because
we think it's really importantfor people in a neighborhood to
come together and connect.
So if we can encourage blockparties or getting to know your
neighbor, you're going to have asafer neighborhood.
You're going to have aneighborhood that does want to
(03:09):
come together and findresolutions to concerns in the
neighborhood.
And I would say the city wantsto be a resource, but we
oftentimes need thoseneighborhoods or members of our
community to come together withus to find the best solution,
and so I really think that'swhat that program hopefully
offers for the public.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, Shortly after you came into office, the
pandemic hit.
That was obviouslylife-changing for everyone.
One of the things that you didas an individual not as Mayor
Orman, but just as a neighborwas you did outdoor huddles
around being good neighborsduring this time.
Can you speak a little bitabout the pandemic and the
(03:52):
challenges you faced and whatyou learned?
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Well, you know, I came into office in 2019 and it
was about, you know, learningall the assets of the city and
starting to strategically plan.
And then 2020 hit and thepandemic hit, so we really had
to change course.
There was not necessarily aplaybook out there for the
pandemic and every day we get alittle bit of new information,
(04:18):
but during that time, what Ireally saw our city employees do
and what I'm really proud of isthey continued to show up.
They were your last point ofcontact on your worst day.
They were going into homesduring the pandemic because
they're the emergency responders, they're the people fixing your
water and sewer and electric,and so that that time, and
(04:43):
seeing our team members reactand show up every day that they
did, it taught me a lot.
We learned a lot about how tocontinue to operate those
services in a city, even wheneverything around you is kind of
shutting down and we did haveto shut.
You know, we had somefacilities like our library and
(05:03):
community center.
We had to learn how tocompletely shut down and then
reopen Right.
And so, definitely, definitelya learning process, but, again,
very inspiring when you come outon the other side and we've
come out better and stronger.
Right To see, to see how yourteam interacted, to see how the
community came together andinteracted, just like I think in
(05:25):
the first episode we talkedabout the tornado.
Yeah, sort of that same.
You said I definitely don'twant to go through it again, but
the inspiration on the otherside of it and just to see how
employees and the communityreacted is pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, you are part of a group of leaders that
hopefully, to your point, willnever have to have another group
of leaders kind of learn and dothings that you had to do
without a playbook and youtalked about.
We talked a lot aboutcommunication in the first
segment and you and your office.
(06:02):
One of the things we noticedwas you started doing things
remotely, communicating outward.
What were some of the thingsthat you did and share with
people, Because we found them tobe very interesting and
something that wasn'tanticipated but made things feel
a little bit safer.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So we started to do things like the Mayor's Virtual
Coffee.
Right to do things like themayor's virtual coffee and make
sure that on a monthly basis wewere trying to connect our
members of the community tocurrent information happening in
the city.
We took initiatives indifferent departments.
I said I really want thecommunity to connect with our
departments, understand what youdo.
(06:40):
So you saw our policedepartment start to do things
like coffee with a cop nationalnight out, our our youth and
citizens police academy and justbringing people in and trying
to connect with them through theprocess.
We we were very intentional inthe city of Bentonville to reach
(07:00):
out to different communitygroups, so we went through the,
the pandemic, and try to connectwith them and just listen and
understand how do we make youfeel welcome in our city, how do
we make sure that we're gettingyou connected to our city?
And again, we wanted to be veryintentional with that and
(07:21):
that's the process that we wentthrough and through that.
You know we we actually have anevent this, uh coming saturday
that we're celebrating, which isour multicultural festival, and
I'm really proud of the processthat we went through to listen
to people and I hope people willcome out and enjoy uh just
getting to know uh communitymembers, different cultures and
(07:43):
and celebrating together thatconnectivity.
I always say there's so manymore things that connect us than
separate us.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
What do you attribute most to,as you think back on the last
five and a half years?
What do you attribute most tothe resilience that this
community has seen?
Speaker 3 (08:09):
I do think it's collaboration and it's
intentionality as well.
You have to be very intentional.
It's easy to draw back and justwant to move things along
without a lot of input, butthat's never the, in my opinion,
never the best way to go aboutit, because you always have
opposition out here.
(08:30):
So, and I think the ability forthis community to come together
and work on solutions togetherto be very transparent that's
another thing that I'm proud ofin my administration.
We're very transparent.
We have open public meetings ona lot of the hard topics, but
we're not afraid of them.
(08:51):
You know, I think it's easy tosit back behind a desk and make
decisions.
What's a lot harder is to goout and get the community input
and make decisions together andget people working in the same
pathway.
And again, I think a lot oftimes it's just listening,
because there's usually thatcommonality somewhere in the
(09:12):
conversation.
You have to be able to get toit and you have to be able to
listen to both sides and bringthem together, and I try to be
very intentional about that.
Again, I wish there were moretime and resources in the day,
because it does take time andresources to do that.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
We talked about in the last session.
We are a growing community, oneof the vastest in the country
and, again, very safe community.
But the complexities have tohave changed from when you first
came into office.
Now there's a large campusgoing on being built for Walmart
here, hummel Walmart but alsothere's a cycling community.
(09:52):
All these different things thatdidn't exist.
Tell us how that gets balanceda little bit.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Well, so I came into office in 2019, and May of 2019
is really when the home officesaid yes, we're building here
and we're going forward.
And so immediately, you know,connecting our city teams with
their development teams andtrying to make sure on all
fronts we make the process, youknow, as efficient as possible.
(10:18):
Say that experience has beentremendously humbling, but also
just impressive to see, you can,the whole southwest portion of
our campus is their waterdistribution system and I don't
have time to talk about it, butwhat they've put into that to
better the community.
(10:39):
We also have the Greenwayrunning right through that
campus and it's kind of unheardof for corporate campuses to
have that type of public access.
You also have tunnels anddifferent things being built
around that with some of ourprivate partners because they
are really engaged with safetyfrom a transportation standpoint
.
So a ton of collaboration inthat and just really proud of
(11:04):
that.
A ton of collaboration in thatand just really proud of that,
and I'm very excited because Ibelieve at least I got a note
that there's a ribbon cuttingcoming for it in the near future
.
You know, I do hope to be inoffice when that, when that
happens, and just to see thatcollaboration.
So that was really the catalyst, right.
I mean you could say beforethat, when Crystal Bridges and
(11:25):
different things opened again,those are sort of what I'd say
catalyst moments in the city ofBentonville, but definitely in
May of 2019, when they made thatannouncement, and that's when
we really our teams, we startedto really assess the
infrastructure.
We had to look we're looking atnew growth populations and new
(11:45):
growth patterns and reallygathering the data to be able to
do that.
And then 2020 hit and we hadthe pandemic.
So we were managing throughthat, trying on the back end to
understand our assets and whatwe had to do from a long-term
planning perspective.
Coming out of the pandemic in2021 is when we went to the
public for a bond extension andthat was a way to not increase
(12:10):
taxes on our public but be ableto have the funding.
And I always say, you know,fiscally sound cities, municipal
bonds are one way to be able todo these large infrastructure
projects, that that that youneed to be able to do,
especially if you know yourpopulation is going to increase
and when we know we havecatalysts large infrastructure
projects that you need to beable to do, especially if you
know your population is going toincrease and when we know we
have catalysts like the WalmartHome Office, we knew that was
(12:34):
happening.
So we went to the public.
We were able to get publicsupport on all of our bond
projects and there's a website,bentonvillebondcom.
You can go check the progressof all of ours.
So, again, being verytransparent with that process
and where we're at with it, it'sbeen challenging.
We saw increases in cost andeverything in the last few years
(12:57):
, so it's been very challenging.
But we have a good team, wehave good private partnerships
in the city of Bentonville andso the collaboration is really
pretty phenomenal.
Back in, I don't think you seeit like you see it in
Bentonville and a lot of otherareas or cities, and now
(13:17):
actually people are calling usat the city of Bentonville and
saying can we come in and talkto you?
How are you doing this?
How are you moving forward withthis?
But it's a transition for thecommunity too, because a smaller
community going to a largercommunity, so all those concerns
that come with that traffic andflooding and things of that
(13:38):
nature we really do have to beintentional about how we
strategically grow well, do haveto be intentional about how we
strategically grow well.
Yeah, and I'm actually veryproud of the things that we've
been doing in the city ofBentonville and we need to
continue to do those things andwe can need to continue to be
proactive.
It does start with thecommunication and getting people
(13:59):
around the table and saying,instead of out here you know,
sometimes it's easy out here toget you know, upset or worked up
about something it's a lotharder to say, okay, let's take
that conversation, let's put itaround a table, let's move the
conversation into an action plan.
Yeah, let's go find the fundingfor that action plan and then
let's actually get the projectdone.
(14:20):
And that's really been the waywe faced everything in the city
of Bentonville and you know, Ithink we've we've done a pretty
good job.
We was looking some, goingthrough some of the accolades,
the south's best cities on therise by southern living, so many
different things that we'vebeen recognized here on the last
(14:41):
few years in the city ofBentonville.
And I love our city, we have avery vibrant city and it's going
to continue to grow well andthat's a tribute, I think, to
city employees, but also just tothe overall community.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
It's not one person driving all of this, although
I'm very honored and feel veryprivileged to be able to have a
city and have the type of justlike I said community vibrance
that you see here speakingrecently about the project, and
(15:23):
it was evident from his commentshow much collaboration there
had been and how he felt thatthe discussions had made all of
it better, and so that's justamazing.
We were very excited when itwas announced for so many
reasons, because it's going tobe amazing for our community,
but then in 2020, when they saidyes, we're still doing it we
were all like yes.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, that was definitely good city, I think,
um, but it has to be becomingmore complex as we think about
it.
Um, again, we've gone from whenwe got here it was a nice small
town, uh, to where, yes,walmart has a new giant
headquarters and a lot of people, but also we.
We are now recognized as one ofthe top locations, if not the
(16:09):
top, for mountain biking in thecountry, which brings a lot of
people here who.
It's incredible, because youhave people from all over the
world coming here for variousreasons, whether it's business,
cycling and now medical cyclingand now medical.
How's all that coming together?
Because that's serving a wholelot of different interests all
at one time.
(16:29):
Trying to help them all cometogether.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, and our listeners may not know about the
medical things happening here.
Sure Good point Talk about thata little.
It's pretty epic.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I think there was about a $700 million investment
announced in the healthcareindustry and it's, you know, I
think Benville is just at thecutting edge on in a lot of
those categories, from thebusiness, from the supply chain
and logistics, obviously, withWalmart headquarters being here,
but from the outdoor recreationindustry, there's been
tremendous investment on boththe private side.
But also, you know, the cityhas an initiative around our
parks and our trail systems andwe're creating sort of that loop
(17:10):
around the city to betterconnect our city.
So there's a lot of initiativeswithin the city that I think
also grow economic development.
Two, we just had the Upsummitthis last weekend and so we had
some of the top aviation leadershere experiencing our airport,
(17:33):
which I think is one of the bestairports in America.
And so to the announcement ofthe health care industry and
sort of that.
I think it's going to berevolutionary what you're going
to see industry and sort of that.
I think it's going to berevolutionary what you're going
to see.
They're going to see some andwe're going to keep, we're going
to allow our residents to beable to have that, that high
quality medical care here sothey don't have to travel, you
(17:54):
know, five, 10 states away.
And so it's really it.
There really is a lot ofintentionality from the city's
part, but also from ourcommunity, to try to keep that
high quality of life here, andit's important because we've got
businesses here that haveworkers that they're bringing in
(18:17):
here, and so working together,collaborating and having that
communication and collaborationis really key to the success of
Bentonville and the continuedsuccess.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Yeah, and getting people to collaborate.
It sounds easy, but it's notalways easy?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
It's not.
It takes an effort and it takesintentionality.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
And I think the key to that is finding that
connection and finding wheretheir passions are right and let
those private partners, letthose community members engage
with their passions.
And what I found is thepassions are actually all really
good for the city ofBentonville.
So whether it's medical care or, you know, just jobs, it's
(19:06):
great for the city ofBentonville.
So when you can connect onthose fronts and I also say that
I think Bentonville is veryneat because we have this sort
of combination of arts andculture, outdoor recreation and
business, and having those threeelements in a city the size of
ours, just it's really kind ofunheard of and related to the
culture.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
The food scene is really kind of unheard of and
and related to the culture.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
The food scene is really elevating here too, which
is, for us foodies, amazingwe've been saying that for a
long time is that for the size,excuse me, for the size of the
city, even though it's growing?
You normally do not have themix and the volume of amenities?
The education system here iswonderful and just something
(19:51):
that people just wanting to growand I think, as we see, we're
going to probably see more,because it's just difficult
these days, whether you'reliving on one of the coast or
something people are looking for, something with a little bit
more stable.
Now we do have some weather,like anyone else in the country,
but, um, the support here isreally incredible.
As you move forward, thinkabout next, um, next phase of
(20:16):
growth can is there anything onthe horizons that you could
share with us?
Speaker 3 (20:21):
well, I think we have to stay focused.
We have plans and we need tomake sure that those plans
continue to get executed.
Infrastructure is a big topicwith us and I think if we focus
on infrastructure, we can helpreally industry business both
small and large businessesbenefit from that.
We can help housing benefitfrom that.
(20:42):
In the city of Bentonville we dohave, you know, our utilities
are under this, under us, and soone of the some of the things
that public may not know, butbehind the scenes, in 2021, when
the Uri storm came through,which was the winter storm, we
actually, instead of passingalong rates we had, we did an $8
(21:02):
million utility bond and thenwe took $8 million from reserves
because we are a fiscally soundcity to be able to cover that.
So we didn't have to pass thatalong to our rate payers.
So those are things we're verywe're, we're very intentional
about.
On the back end of reallyunderstanding, I'm a big
advocate for federal and statefunding in water and sewer
(21:26):
infrastructure.
I think if you do some research, you'll see how, on a national
level, we're going to seetremendous deficiencies in those
areas.
So we have to be able to havethat conversation at a state and
a national level to understandthose core infrastructure
elements and for me, water andsewer is.
(21:49):
You know, often, oftentimes wetalk about roads and that's very
important to, and finding thefunding for that, but that core
water and sewer infrastructureis is really key yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
It's a basic need.
It really is, yeah, yeah, it'sa basic need, it really is, yeah
, yeah.
So when you think back on yourtime in office and I'm reminded
of a conversation we had beforeyou got into office when I asked
you, you indicated you wereinterested in running.
And I asked you why and yousaid I believe Bentonville can
(22:22):
become the best city in America.
We are well on our way.
What are you most proud of?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh gosh, there's a lot of things that I'm proud of.
I'm proud of moving throughmajor disasters and coming out
better and stronger on the otherend.
I think that's a real testamentto the resilience of the city
of Bentonville.
I have to give you know that'scertainly not just the mayor
(22:50):
involved in this, because Ireally have to give credit to
all of our employees and justthe community on that factor.
I'm also really proud of how wewere very data-driven and that
leads us to our long-termplanning and we're also getting
things done.
I said I can give you numerousprojects that we've accomplished
(23:14):
that have had a very longhistory and they're getting done
with my administration.
So I'm very proud of that.
We have a lot to do as well,and so you have to.
I think, as mayor, you really,if you want to be mayor of the
city of Bentonville, you've gotto have that positive attitude.
You've got to have that energyattitude, that aggressive
(23:37):
attitude to say you know, knowwhat we are going to grow, how
do we get around the table andhow do we have a strategic plan
and how do we grow.
Well, and you've got it.
It's a 24-7 job, I say, in thecity of Bentonville as mayor and
you really need to have apassion to want to do that.
Long term, we're going to grow,we're going to grow well and
(24:01):
we're going to do that by comingtogether and collaborating.
And again, I always say, likeour goal my goal when I spoke to
you has never changed.
We want to be the best city inAmerica to live, work and play.
And I think when you see whatwe just talked about from all of
(24:21):
these announcements, one thingwe didn't talk about is sort of
the entrepreneur and startup.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Oh yes.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
That's big here now.
That atmosphere in Bentonvilleyou don't see that type of
engagement, I think, on thosesectors in cities of our size.
So that's phenomenal as well.
So you really you have to haveall of that.
And so we that secret sauce,that's a lot of the secret sauce
in Bentonville.
(24:48):
You know we have to continuouslybe concerned about traffic and
we have to continuously beaggressive in addressing that.
And I tell people right now Icould have more roads being
worked on, but you have tostrategically plan that as well.
And so you know, as we planroads, we we do them oftentimes
in phases, um, to try to getthat and try to have the least
(25:10):
amount of impact on our currentbusinesses that are there.
And really thinking throughthat and being intentional and
working through that isimportant, yeah, um, as well.
So there's there's a lot ofmoving parts to what's happening
in the city of Bentonville.
So keeping those all connectedand running, like I said, I'm
proud of what we've accomplishedin Bentonville and I really
(25:32):
think we have a bright futureworking together.
But we have to make sure thatthat positive conversation and
that collaboration piece of thatcarries through, because if we
don't, if we don't do that, evenin a city that has so many
different assets that, like thecity of Bentonville, if you, if
(25:55):
you, can't bring people togetheraround that conversation, I
think that that can deter youquickly.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
As you're talking, we're small business owners and
entrepreneurs.
The level of support thatyou'll get from community
members, if you just ask, isamazing.
And as you're talking, I'mthinking back in 2011,.
We were looking at and talkingto investors for one of our
software products and themessage was you're not going to
(26:27):
be able to do it there and today.
That is not the message.
Today we work with a lot ofcompanies that are growing and
they're being told there's somuch there to grow.
So the shift has beenmonumental and we're just
excited to to live here and towork here.
So you are known for your workethic.
(26:47):
It's amazing.
I've always known.
I've known you for probably 20years or so, close to, yeah,
I've always respected that aboutyou.
Can you speak a little bitabout that and how that's helped
you in this role?
You know?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
I don't know.
I tell people, you know, I'vehad a job since I was 16.
Yeah, I've always just feltcompelled to make sure that and
especially in a leadership rolelike you're showing up.
If other people can see you,that you're engaged and you're
working as hard as you possiblycan, then when you ask things of
(27:25):
them, when you ask them to dothe overtime or to help us clean
up 24-7 with a storm, hopefullythere's some respect in that
that they see you doing the samething.
So I always tell people I'm notgoing to ask you to do
something that I wouldn't do,and so that's sort of my
philosophy around work ethic andI just think it's easier to do.
(27:50):
Also, when you're passionate,you're so passionate about the
community and providingcommunity that I can raise my
kids in and we can feel safehere, and so it's just, it's a
passion.
So again, I felt humbled andhonored to be able to lead in
that capacity.
So, from I enjoy work, you know,I enjoy bringing people
(28:14):
together and I actually enjoylistening to different sides too
.
You know, sometimes, whenpeople are very you know, like I
said, they're usually callingus on their one of their days.
That is not going so well forthem, right?
So you know, sometimes it'shard for because they only have
the information that they have,and so sometimes it's hard to
(28:36):
hear some of it, but you have tobe willing to hear it, to get
better and come together, and soI think that's you know.
Like I said, I've always had astrong work ethic, but I'm very
passionate about my work, and soit makes it rewarding and
easier.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I think, as you're talking through a lot of that,
um, just the term leadership, weagain, we work with a lot of
organizations, a lot ofcorporations.
Um, leadership is so important,communication is important,
collaboration, but steadyleadership, um, and you lead
leaders, um, that process ofleading people, what is?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
it that you do that.
That really helps to empoweryour leaders.
You know, I like to bringpeople, I like to be
collaborative, I like to bringpeople in.
I would say an open-door policy.
So let me hear your side of thestory.
And then we've got to mutuallyagree that we've got to get to a
better place or a betterresolution.
(29:46):
Right, it takes, it takes can'tjust be me solving the problem,
and so that's usually how I'mgonna uh look at things.
But I think people know thatI'm gonna be.
If you come and talk, they knowthat I'm going to be fair, I'm
going to be consistent and I'malso uh, you know, from a
standpoint of getting thingsdone, I'm going to be passionate
(30:07):
about that piece of.
We've got to see a result, abetter result from from whatever
, um, the concern is, and sothat's, that's how, that's just
how I operate, not only as mayorbut in life, I think.
So I'm not different as mayoras I am in, you know, a family
(30:27):
life or anything like that.
So that's.
You know, I don't know, I'velearned a lot being mayor, and
so, you know, I think there'sdefinitely things that when you
look back, you go, okay, maybe Icould have approached that
different.
But I think that's part of beinga leader you have to be humble
enough to say are there areaswhere you can grow and get
better?
And if you're not willing to dothat, you're not going to be a
(30:49):
successful leader.
And when other people see youdo that, I think it's
encouraging to them too.
Because, look, none of us areperfect.
Right, we have to recognizewhere we could have.
You know, is there a way that wecould have went about a
situation better and be willingto say that to somebody too.
And when they see that theyunderstand, they connect with
(31:10):
you as well.
Because my expectation of adepartment head or whatever, you
know, we're going to have goalsand I'm going to be expecting
that we hit those goals, but I'malso going to bring to the
table that, hopefully, thatempathy and understanding.
You know there may be somethingelse going on in that person's
life to where we're not hittinga goal.
(31:30):
Right, let's, let's understandwhat that is, let's come to the
table and figure out a pathwayfor together, for them.
And again, you know I'm myleadership style is definitely
collaborative, communicative andI would also say
results-oriented.
Important ingredients forsuccess, we tell people that all
(31:53):
the time we're with people.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
So you are.
We have an election coming upand you are running for
re-election.
Yeah, what is it that you mightshare, kind of as we close out
today, as far as your vision forthe future of Pentonville as
mayor?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Well, we have a lot of projects out there that I
would like to get completed inthe next four years and so and
we've been very intentional ofgetting the data that has driven
some of our decisions, ourability to have the funding for
these projects.
Then we've been intentionalabout the design and through
(32:31):
that design, covering thecommunity input and really
working through these projectswith the public, and we've been
results oriented.
And again, I think you cancheck out the website
bentonvillebondcom to see allthose projects above and beyond
our normal O&M operating budgetthat we're doing.
(32:51):
So I just think to keep focused, to keep moving forward, it's
important to embrace the currentleadership and I also think,
hopefully, I've earned just therespect of the public.
I think that's really, reallyimportant.
(33:12):
I'm sort of proven in thatposition and again, you know
we're a growing city, we've gotlots of things to continue to
work on, but I think the publicif they've ever, you know,
knocked on my door would tellyou that I'm very intentional
about working together and wemove through a lot of concerns
(33:36):
and problems in that manner.
I'm very proud of, again, howwe've reacted through some major
pandemic and tornadoes and comeup better on the other side.
So I think I'm proven in thoseaspects.
Talked a little bit about ourbudget, we have to produce a
balanced budget.
We do, we've done that yearlyand we still we get.
(33:59):
We get things done andstrategically from a planning
standpoint, we've uh, you know,we've rebuilt a major sewer line
out to our uh, uh, to the NACAplant.
Um, and the first things thatcame into office that was given
to me um, we are expanding ourwastewater or NACA starter
treatment plant.
(34:20):
We're almost done withfinishing that aspect of it and
that's a regional plant thatBentonville is a part of but
we're the main city flowing tothat plant.
But it's a great regionaleffort that helps some of the
other cities in the area as well.
We're getting ready to expandour downtown plant.
(34:40):
So strategically being focusedon that infrastructure and I
could talk for days aboutinfrastructure and I've learned
a lot about water and sewer andelectric and roads and I think
taking that knowledge andkeeping that progress moving is
really important for the city ofBentonville and it's important
(35:01):
for us to be able tostrategically grow well and not
lose momentum in that We've.
Also we're undertaking updatingour land use plan right now.
We I think our consultantswould tell you that, from a
public input standpoint, the waywe've went about updating our
Bentonville plan has been, it's,unheard of in the industry.
(35:23):
We actually created aninteractive land use map where
you could click into your pieceof property and actually talk to
us about it.
So you know, again from thatcommunication piece, from that
strategic plan piece, I justthink we would lose a lot of
momentum and I'm hoping that thepublic sees everything that
(35:46):
we're doing and we can moveBentonville forward.
And again, we're always bettertogether and that's going to be,
hopefully, the message goingforward.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
You mentioned something earlier that I want to
sort of wrap up with.
You talked about the importanceof positivity.
Can you share with thelisteners how you think
positivity contributes tocommunity?
Speaker 3 (36:09):
Well, one of the things I try to live by is
always assume positive intent,right, and I think when you go
to a meeting and that's reallyat the forefront of your thought
process, that's how you findthose areas where you are
connecting and you're on thesame page and you build from
that.
And I just think it's reallyimportant, especially in this
(36:32):
day and age where sometimes it's, you know, with some of our
social media and differentoutlets, you know it's easy to
not be intentional with thatconnectivity piece and it's easy
to not be intentional with thatconnectivity piece and it's
easy to not be positive.
Yeah To, it's.
It's much, I think, harder tobe intentional and bring people
(36:52):
together initially, but theresults on the back end so much
better, right, and so I justthink that's sort of the
attitude that I hope that peoplesee when we approach issues at
the City of Bentonville and Ithink when we do that I do think
I definitely have the exampleswhen we do that and we're
intentional about it, theoutcome is so much better, yeah,
(37:13):
fantastic.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
Thank you so much for being here.
This has been a delight to hearmore and learn more about you
as a person and you as theleader of this great city, so
thank you for being here.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
We truly appreciate it and we will be putting some
resources on our website just togive you a little bit more
information about that note andabout connectivity and, as we
heard Mayor Orman share with us,it's about communication and
collaboration and reaching outand it's part of the secret
sauce To those of you outlistening and watching.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
Thanks for being here .
We hope to see you next time.
The 4 Bars podcast has beenbrought to you by Edges Inc.
A growth advisory firm based inBentonville, arkansas.
I founded the company in 2001.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Edges promotes growth , people, companies and ideas.
Our team collaboration tool,called Interface Methods, is a
basis for teams to work togethermore collaboratively,
understand each other and acceptdifferences and address
challenges together.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
We also started a nonprofit called Unform your
Bias.
We teach kids and their adultinfluencers how to utilize
storytelling as a means toreduce bias in the world.
We hope you'll check us out,subscribe to our podcast and
look at our website.
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