Times Editorial : Designing Fayetteville
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tim Conklin, planning and development management director for Fayetteville, has become a bit of a fixture at City Hall. For 15 years and in various planning capacities, he's helped guide this town toward a more sensible future. His has been a positive influence.
And so it is that news of his pending departure for a new challenge in Springfield, Mo., comes as a disappointment even as we wish Conklin the best.
Cities don't just happen, or at least not the ones anyone wants to live in. They're living organisms that take nurturing and planning. Conklin has played a key role in the substantial vision created for the Fayetteville of the future. Mayor Dan Coody, who didn't hire Conklin but did keep him on when he defeated Fred Hanna in 2000, says Conklin was very influential in creating the Downtown Master Plan and City Plan 2025. Conklin's efforts to help Fayetteville evolve in an orderly way deserve recognition. For better or worse, his fingerprints will be all over this little burg for decades to come. We tend to think it's for the better.
Coody is sad to see Conklin go, and rightly so. Fayetteville needs more, not less, smart planning in its future as we're certain that new waves of population growth are sure to come, even as the city experiences a bit of a lull in the economic good times these days. Implementing the visions created through the city's leadership and the public's participation doesn't happen by magic. Success requires years of dedication and perseverance. That's the type of person Fayetteville is losing with Conklin's departure, but he deserves a chance to pursue new challenges.
Every city's future is determined by far more than a single person, so Fayetteville will continue to reflect the values of its residents, business owners and political leadership. But Conklin deserves hearty kudos for his contributions to this community. His influence will be felt for years to come.
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