What will Sallisaw look like in 2045?
What will Sallisaw look like in 2045?
What will Sallisaw look like in 2045?
Will there be flying cars, tricorders, holograms and transporters? Will Sallisaw be the region’s economic, industrial heavyweight and a residential and cultural destination between Oklahoma City and Little Rock?
Those willing to wait around for 20 years, let us know when you get there.
But for those who don’t have more than 7,300 days to wait around to find out, the late Buddy Spencer’s mantra applies: “Plan the work and work the plan.”
Sallisaw City Commissioners have chosen to spend the next 20 years charting Sallisaw’s future, working to build the city’s destiny following Spencer’s strategy.
After the commissioners approved last week to spend $122,018 for the Oklahoma City engineering firm Olsson to pursue a comprehensive master plan, Sallisaw’s future starts now.
An example of what the results of a comprehensive master plan might look like.
A comprehensive master plan (CMP) for a community is a long-range, guiding document that outlines a vision for the future, including land use, infrastructure and community development. It acts as a blueprint for shaping the community’s growth and development over several years. This plan encompasses various aspects like zoning, transportation, housing, public facilities and environmental protection. It is an ordered process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development.
George Bormann, the city’s economic development director, likes to invoke a quote from the late Buddy Spencer, who was the longtime president for the Sallisaw Improvement Corporation: “Plan our work and work our plan.”
“This is just a way of getting that done,” Bormann says, affirming the selection of Olsson to chart Sallisaw’s course. “This is all paid for by grant funding, at no cost to the city. We have a $237,500 grant through the state Department of Commerce.”
Bormann explains that using funds on a CMP “helps us direct our resources, where we want to think ahead, where we want to spend money in the future, emphasis on industrial growth. This is part of that project.”
Sallisaw City Manager Brian Heverly says Olsson is expected to begin about May 15 addressing recreation, residential, industrial and commercial plans, “with a final acceptance of this project May of next year.”
Heverly, who praises Olsson’s plan for public engagement to reach audiences not normally reached for feedback, says it’s a yearlong process that “is very thorough and wide-ranging.”
Heverly will be one of the first to point out that Sallisaw is currently doing some great work, and wonderful things are happening in the city, but believes a well-conceived plan is vital for that to continue.
“They’re happening not in context with each other,” Heverly says of the growth and accomplishments. “This will allow us to have a master plan that we cannot only plan for and start the wheels in motion, but also make an informed decision if we want to deviate from it — future councils, public opinion changes, ‘Hey, we don’t want to do that now,’ or ‘We don’t want to do that ever’ — at least now we’re making a decision on what that is and what we’re not doing instead of it. I’m not going to say we’re winging it, we’re not. There’s great people doing great work, but not in context with each other.”
Why a CMP?
But, as Ward 3 Commissioner Julian Mendiola asked last week, what does the city get for its investment?
An example of what the results of a comprehensive master plan might look like.
“We’re paying them for project management, virtual kickoff meetings, branding for us. So we’re paying them for professional services, to come down and lead us as a community through this,” Heverly explains. “There’s several times over the next year that groups of people will come down here from Oklahoma City and run two- or three-day planning events with us. That’s really what we’re paying them to do, and then they take all that data and all that information, consolidate it, put it into bite-sized pieces and digestible pieces, and bring that back to us in an easy-to-understand, consolidated plan.”
Mendiola then asked if the grant money can be used for other city projects, and “Is the benefit there for it?”
“That money’s earmarked for industrial growth, so it has to be used for industrial projects,” Bormann explained. “That’s how we got the electric line money to extend that down South Cedar, and so that’s why the emphasis will be on industrial growth. We’ve got just a small portion of industrial land left, and it’s spoken for. So how do we get from where we’re at today to where we want to be to land some of these projects?
“Seventy-five percent of your growth also happens from in-house, companies that are already here. How do we help them grow? How do we get the infrastructure there where they need it? Where’s our next logical steps?
“You’ve heard me stand up here for several months in a row … we have a shotgun approach to grant money or whatever. We need to be laser focused on what we’re doing,” Bormann says. “We’ve written a dozen and a half grants over the last year. We’ve missed two. The problem is not being awarded the grants. If we apply for it, there’s a good chance we’re going to get it. But are we spending a dollar to save a penny? We’ve gotten into that situation a little bit in the past. All that’s just making us really look at how we’re spending resources, where we’re going and what our future looks like.
“Having a plan of what it looks like to be in the city of Sallisaw 20 years from now is absolutely paramount,” Bormann says.
When the CMP is complete, that question might be asked, “Are we just going to have something that sits on a shelf, or is it going to be something that we really truly need?”
“I look at it as an investment in the future,” Heverly says of creating a CMP. “I’m not throwing shade at anybody or any of the work that’s been done, but we are winging it. We’re taking it as it comes, as opposed to driving it.
“In Brian’s mind, what happens with this master plan is that now we can go to events and say, ‘Hey, fill-in-the-blank company, I want you to fit right there, and I’ve got a place for you, come on.’ As opposed to, ‘Is anybody going to come to Sallisaw?’” Heverly says.
An example of what the results of a comprehensive master plan might look like.
“‘Hey, I want to come to Sallisaw’,” the city manager says, depicting how the current strategy plays out. “‘OK, where do you want to go? OK, we’ll have to change zoning or we’ll have to fit you in. We’ll take your round peg and fit you into this square hole that is Sallisaw.’
“With this,” he says imagining the difference a CMP will make, “‘Hey, I want your round peg, and your round peg goes right into this round hole I’ve got right here for you.’
“We get our foot in the door, start conversations, that’s what I believe this will help us do,” Heverly says.
“On the industrial side, on the commercial side and on the residential side, one of the things they go through is they review our ordinances. They’ll go through and say, ‘Hey, look, you’re contradicting yourself here or you’re not ready.’ Unfortunately right now, we’re catching up when we find a problem, when somebody comes to us and says, ‘Hey, I want to do this,’ and we figure out we’re not ready for it and our ordinances aren’t ready for it. Now we’ve got to play catchup. This will help us take a look at that, and present recommendations on changing some of those,” he expands on how the CMP will work.
“I think it’s important for our existing industrial customers, too,” Bormann adds. “If we’ve got an industrial customer selling boxes, well we want to help them recruit a cardboard manufacturer to help them logistically, to help them get people here, target industries that will support what we’ve got here, because what we’re shooting for is a local economic multiplier.
“If a dollar’s made here, we want it to be spent in Sallisaw as many times as it can before it shoots out,” Bormann says.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Ward 1 Commissioner Kenny Moody interjects. “You have to have a plan and move forward and know what you’re shooting with.”
Selecting Olsson
The city had requested a Request for Proposals/ Qualifications to support the development of a CMP, “Sallisaw 2045.” Sallisaw is not currently operating from a master plan, nor does it have a consolidated vision for the city as a whole. The proposals and quotes received will drive a process to give the city a goal/vision, and an endstate to drive long-term planning, zoning, ordinance revision, funding decisions, etc.
Three proposals were received, and were graded on their:
• Technical expertise — their ability to produce a comprehensive and city-scale project that addressed the scope of work
• Past experience with CMPs for municipal government — their resume and examples
• Budget and timeline — cost of menu of services, and length of project • Experience working with municipalities that offer a full range of utilities — power, water, sewer, sanitation/landfill, fiber
• Experience working with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce — specific projects or contact with ODOC
• Familiarity with Sallisaw and past work with the city — in what capacity have they worked with the city before, demonstration of an understanding of the project/ challenges In accordance with the scoring criteria, and after a thorough review of each submission, city staff recommended that Olsson be chosen to produce the CMP. Olsson, an engineering firm of people who craft expert solutions and designs that improve communities, earned unanimous approval.
Other bids received were Garver Engineering (North Little Rock) for $148,258 and TSW (Tulsa) for $112,000.
It was noted that while Garver and Olsson were almost tied in the scoring, and although Garver has worked with Sallisaw before, Olsson had a shorter timeline and lower cost. In addition, Olsson was assessed to have a better overall public engagement plan that city staff believes will provide more public engagement and feedback.
