City Council Approvals
The Searcy City Council recently approved moving forward with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process for the planning and development of the newly acquired property on South Main Street. This RFQ process is the next step in our #MySearcy Master Planning efforts as we begin to develop more specific plans based on the feedback collected from the community. Below is a list of frequently asked questions to help explain this process to the community. Have a question that you don’t see answered here? Fill out the form below and we will add to this list as we receive additional questions.
What is an RFQ process?
RFQ stands for Request for Qualifications. The purpose of this process is to identify agencies who are qualified to lead our efforts in designing more specific plans for projects that have been identified by the community as a priority. This process will also include gathering more specific feedback from the community regarding the projects.
Why is this being done now?
We are nearing the final stages of our #MySearcy Master Planning efforts with Crafton Tull and will receive our complete Master Plan later this year. Through those efforts we have heard from the community about projects that they would like to see in Searcy. In order to bring those projects to life we will need specific design, architect and engineering plans for each project. By completing this RFQ process now, we will be prepared to move forward with the top priorities on the list.
Will the property be used for a new Sports Complex?
Through our #MySearcy Master Planning efforts, the new property has been identified as an ideal location for the Sports Complex. In addition to the Sports Complex, this property will be evaluated for other projects identified through these efforts such as a community center, splash pad and more. See the word cloud below that was developed by Crafton Tull using the feedback collected from the community. The larger words are the items that ranked highest during the public survey.
What will happen to the current Sports Complex?
We are currently working with the Searcy Regional Economic Development Council (SREDC) to determine how the current Sports Complex could be used for economic development. Through the Economic Development Strategic Planning efforts it was determined that commercial property would be needed to help recruit new industry and jobs for our community. The consulting firm leading those efforts, Boyette Strategic Advisors, determined that the property of the current Sports Complex could be used in these efforts. While exact plans have not been determined, the Searcy City Council approved letting the SREDC move forward with a due diligence process to determine if the property can be used to market to potential businesses. The goal would be to attract new businesses and industries to Searcy which would result in job opportunities.
How will moving forward with the due diligence process for marketing the current Sports Complex affect upcoming seasons?
This will not affect the upcoming sports seasons. This simply allows us to determine if the property would even be eligible for this type of use.
What are the next steps in the #MySearcy Master Planning efforts?
We will have another round of public meetings in the next couple of months and are scheduled to receive the final plan from Crafton Tull before the end of the year. Crafton Tull has already presented draft plans for Parks and Active Transportation. You can review those plans at MySearcy.com.