Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon could benefit from new county plan

After more than 15 months of vigorous work, the Clark County strategic planning process has come to an end, and a 47-page document has been released detailing 41 goals that are hoped to make Clark County a better place in which to live, work or just visit.

The plan covers everything from recruiting new industry and tourists to the county, to improving housing standards and increasing the enrollment at Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist universities. Although many of the goals are specific to Arkadelphia and other parts of the county, there are several things planners hope to accomplish for Gurdon and other areas of southern Clark County.

One of the more specific goals when discussing Gurdon deals with the visual impact of the entryway to the city. The primary entry routes to Arkadelphia, Gurdon and Caddo Valley create a substantial negative image/first impression of these communities, one of the goals states. This negative image impacts decisions of business and industry to locate in Clark County, students to attend the universities and individuals to live in Arkadelphia and Gurdon.

The plan calls for improvements to be made along U.S. 67 through Gurdon. Some ideas include entryway landscaping, zoning or zoning reconfiguration while partnering with existing businesses and the repair or removal of dilapidated buildings.

Throughout the plan, references are given comparing the ideas in the plan to other cities that have already taken the steps. Concerning the landscaping of U.S. 67 through Gurdon, the plan references the look of roads through West Little Rock.

Another area the plan addresses is the need for more healthcare in Gurdon and Amity. The plan calls to expand physician and corresponding clinic support services to under served locations in Clark County, with specific considerations to Gurdon and Amity. The services would come from Baptist Health Medical Center  Arkadelphia. The plan assumes that fully equipped medical offices would be supplied by the communities and BMCA would only staff the offices.

If the communities cannot meet these goals, the plan calls for an expanded use of the BMCA mobile clinic.

The plan also calls for the city of Gurdon to develop a comprehensive and achievable master plan for the town that will take advantage of the inherent resources. Other small towns in Clark County will also be making master plans and each is asked to make its plan so that each community supports the other.

Planners hope to add a bit of culture to the downtowns in Clark County by having historic murals painted on key downtown buildings. The plan calls for the towns to partner with the art departments at the universities to accomplish this goal.

Sidewalks in downtown districts should also be updated as funds are available.

A downtown farmers market located in each community would be a direct link between the Clark County farmer and the Clark County consumer, the plan says. The farmers markets would be placed in a location picked by the communities and would help increase traffic flow downtown as well as provide a place for local consumers to purchase fresh, locally grown produce.

The economic development portion of the plan calls for a retail/entertainment corridor to be constructed along Interstate 30 from the Gurdon exit to Caddo Valley. The corridor should include numerous venues for retail shopping, dining, entertainment and lodging, the plan states.

(Editors note: Because the Clark County Strategic Plan is very long and full of details, there is no way the entire plan could be addressed in one issue. Please watch for upcoming articles that will continue to discuss the plan as it will affect Gurdon and southern Clark County.)