Full Transcript for Ep. 98 - The Most Developer-Friendly City in Northwest Arkansas Right Now is...Pea Ridge? with Mayor Nathan See

sure. And it's interesting to see like Out, uh, inspir- inspiring these new developments, meeting with investors, meeting with business owners, meeting with everybody, like, at their sites. Um, so we have... You know, majority of our listeners are real estate investors, so I think it's good to see that. And not only that, you're helping them get the vision, but you're getting in- like, information real time. You're out there getting this data. That's right. So, so you graduated Pea Ridge in 2001. I did not know that. Yep. You graduated Pea Ridge High School in 2001. That's true. 2003, you were working for a city street department. Anything that the street department taught you about how a city functions day to day? Nathan See: I would say, um, I'm gonna go back a, a couple years from graduating. Um, whenever I was a junior in high school, I had my own [00:06:00] business here, and had an embroidery business, and it was, it was a good business. I sold the business, and whenever I came to work for the city, the business was just too early. If you understand what I'm saying, whenever you're in business, you can either be too early or too late. And so I was just too early to the growth that we were having, and so it, we, it... Now if I had it, it would be even more successful than what it was. And so I think that that's what kind of built me to be responsible and have customer service to the residents, and create it to where, a lot of people won't agree, but a, a business, or sorry, a city is ran just like a business. We have LOIs we have to watch. I mean, there's, uh, the things that we have to watch just as well as budgetary stuff, and the residents are our people that we have to serve, and that's who we want to serve, and that's the people that make us, um, be s- a successful city, is having those residents. So whenever I was in 2003, whenever I was mowing the green spaces, did I think I was gonna be here today? No. Brandon Still: Hm. Nathan See: Um, [00:07:00] and, and everybody can say, "Well, you know, you probably had a plan to be there," and no, that wasn't my plan. Uh, my plan was to stay on the street side, uh, and I was fine there. And then Mayor Crabtree, my predecessor, uh, he was retiring in 2022, and we had a conversation and he said, um, I said, "Who do you want to run as mayor? Um, election's coming up. What's gonna happen?" I was kinda getting ready in j- in case maybe some changes need to happen for me. Um, and uh, he said, "I want that person sitting in that chair to run." And I said, "That's not for me. I'm not a politician. I'm not that person." And I've come to realize through being in the seat that it's not about a political field. It's not about if you're a Republican or Democrat or Independent or whatever. It's about the passion that you have for the community. And so I think a lot of people need to look at, and quit... Like, from my perspective of what I look at, we get the P's messed up. We need to take the politics out of it and realize that we're passionate about the cities that we serve. Zach Stanley: [00:08:00] Hm. Nathan See: And we're doing the best that we can do day in and day out to serve the community to the best of our ability, and I think, uh, um, from my perspective, that's where I've kinda grown out of to realize that, um, you know, everybody wants to put- candidates into this bracket or that bracket, but, you know, I, I think it really driven off passion for community. Brandon Still: That's great. I think, uh, it, it seems, at least from an outsider's view, that the mayor role can oftentimes be more impactful than, uh, a lot of other higher politician roles in, you know, in the, in the city that you're living in. Is that something that you felt when you were thinking about the role? I mean, what, what took you from absolutely not, I'm not interested, to making you wanna, you know, kinda step into that next, that next role? Nathan See: It really happened whenever I realized that I could create Pea Ridge to be the best Pea Ridge. Brandon Still: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: Um, and to your point, we are the feet on the ground. We are an arm's length away from our residents, where, you know, [00:09:00] Congress and Senate, and they're in Washington, DC, and they're not really at that level. Mm-hmm. Um, I've talked to Congressman Womack multiple times, and he's like, "Man, being mayor was the best time I've ever had- Yeah ... because I had relationships with those residents." And so, um, I, I see where he's coming from with that. For sure. And I think that that is a vital piece to, uh, local government, is having that trust with your residents to where they know who you are, whenever they see you, that you're gonna have a conversation with them. Brandon Still: Yep. Nathan See: Um, and regardless if it's right, wrong, or indifferent, hard conversations have to happen. Brandon Still: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: And that's part of the growth strategies in which we live in today of does this development happen here, or does this development not happen here? Um, you know, it, uh, and Congressman Womack said it multiple times. You can either embrace the growth or fight the growth. Either way, it's probably gonna happen. Brandon Still: Yep. Nathan See: And so, um, from our perspective is we're trying to be, um, very proactive and innovative with the growth and be pulling a different model than what other [00:10:00] cities have done. You kinda learn from others of what not to do, and then you learn from some of, hey, that worked really well, so. Yep. Um, but still be authentic into who you are. So- Brandon Still: Yep ... Nathan See: uh, I think that's our, our biggest piece is about being authentic and letting our identity of a family-oriented community- Yep ... thrive, um, and let that spread. Brandon Still: Yeah, absolutely. When you were taking over, uh, or, or kinda r- going into that position, what do you feel like was one of the

biggest things you, you felt like you needed to learn going into that seat? Nathan See: You're not gonna satisfy everybody. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: Um, you can, you can try all you want to, but you're not going to. Uh, and know that the best you can do is the best you can do. Brandon Still: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: Um, there's gonna be some people that you're not gonna be able to take care of whatever matter, whatever issue that they have today, uh, but you're gonna be able to have a relationship with that person. Brian Wagers: Yep. Nathan See: And so, um, I think that's the biggest thing that I came out of it with is, um, be a great leader, be authentic, and know that every voice matters, and [00:11:00] everybody wants to be accepted and be heard. Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: And so let them be accepted and let them be heard. Brian Wagers: That's great. Yeah. Well done. Uh, I didn't know that about you, that you worked on the streets for seven years and made it to superintendent, so it makes a lot of sense that you're on the streets now and, uh, and graduating pe- Pea Ridge. Um, for someone who hasn't been out to Pea Ridge lately, what's the state of the city right now? What's, what's changing on the ground? What's s- stuff you're excited about? Nathan See: So if you haven't been to Pea Ridge, shame on you, number one. Uh, number two, um, Brian Wagers: our- Home to my, one of my favorites, uh, pumpkin patches and Christmas tree farms here- There you Nathan See: go Brian Wagers: twice a year. Yep, there you go. And, uh, these. Nathan See: We love those places. Be in here. Um, I would say probably the biggest thing that we're looking at for, um... is revitalizing the downtown, bringing life back to downtown. Um, that's one of our big goals was to really create that. Um, you know, whenever I got elected here, there was talk about our old witch's hat water tower. That's a historic piece for us. We've had [00:12:00] it since the 1950s, and there was multiple people that said, "Let's tear it down, and let's not have it anymore," and I'm like, "That's history. Like, let's keep it." And so we revitalized the water tower and created it to look good, and now people take drone pictures of it and... 'Cause there's not many like that around. As you can tell on my wall, that's, that's the, that's the witch's hat that we have. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. And so that's one thing that we really look at is where can we, where can we create better investment that's for the community as a whole? And, uh, obviously infrastructure's a big thing that we have to work on. We're working with RDOT right now. One of my, my biggest, I'll say, successes is probably doing our very first all-inclusive playground that we ever had. Uh, we opened it back up. We opened it up last year. And then the other thing was doing a highway swap with RDOT. And so if you don't know Pea Ridge, most of our roads were highways. We didn't have jurisdictions

on those. Um, state highway did. And so we put in a ask for... to do a highway swap. "Hey, can we get these? We'll give you those." [00:13:00] And it went through, it was a two-year process, but it went through. Yeah. And I, I, I, uh, I thank, you know, Director Jared Wiley and Jesse Jones and Kelly Wiley and all the staff that was involved in making that happen, but that's vital to us to where now that we can create on-street parking if we choose to. We can do more with those streets than what we could have before. Uh, and so there's a lot of movement pieces with that right now. We have two intersections that we're fixing to start doing that were state highways, um, but now we're gonna be able to do them because they're ours, and we don't have to go through the, the RDOT processes and stuff. Um, it just costs more whenever you do that. We can do a lot of the stuff in-house and keep the cost down, so that's what we're looking at doing. Brian Wagers: That's great. I, I saw the recent announcement for the Downtown Alliance. Is that the official name? Nathan See: Yeah, Downtown Pea Ridge Inc. Yep. Nice. Yep. Brandon Still: Well, and it sound... So from an in- infrastructure standpoint, it sounds like roads are obviously top priority, you know, getting traffic in and out of here so more people feel like they wanna come to Pea Ridge. Yep. Uh, [00:14:00] the other hot topic of conversation, of course, is, is, uh, infrastructure for, you know, sewer and, and things like that. Um, h- has that been a sticking point for Pea Ridge, or has that, you know, you feel like you all are kinda at the forefront of, of that? I know, you know, single-family wise, there's been thousands of homes being built or, or have been built or are being built, uh, here in Pea Ridge. Multi-family is, is tracking as well. here in, in Pea Ridge. Where, how do you feel like, uh, you know, I know we talked a little bit about infrastructure, y'all taking a little bit of control over some of those areas where you can. Um, but yeah, se- sewage-wise, how do, how do you feel like y'all are tracking there- So, we- ... and is that, how would you feel like that would be a concern for Nathan See: investors? We will have that concern. We currently don't have that concern. We're about 60% capacity at our plant right now. Mm-hmm. Um, and so long term, the utility director said, you know, "In two years we need to start doing something." Mm-hmm. And so we have it on our to-do list, if you will, on the two-year plan, [00:15:00] five-year plan, to make something happen. Yep. Um, there's other conversations happening in the region right now about, about sewer- Yeah ... and how are we gonna really come t- together collectively and create maybe regional sewer wastewater treatment facilities. Yep. Um, we actually have a meeting tonight at 6:00, uh, to discuss some of that tonight. And so, um, to your point, that is a big thing. That's... Whenever I talk to people, they're like, "How is your sewer capacity?" That's the one, one- Yeah ... number one question that they ask. And I said, "Well, we're good at the plant. There's a couple lift stations that we have to work on, but, um, the plant capacity's still good." Um, and so it is coming. I mean, the, the time is coming that we're gonna have to do something to the plant. Um, but right now we're, we're there, we're able to do it. Our Easterling Basin is our biggest lift station that we have, and we just approved a $900,000 improvement to that, and so it's being upsized for the capacity to get there. Um, and then we just did a new bond for a new water tower and transmission [00:16:00] line that's gonna go out east of town. That's about $15 million to do that, and so that's for the growth that's there and for the growth that's coming. Brandon Still: Right. Nathan See: You know, uh, years ago we did Otter Creek Basin. It was a sewer basin that we created that is gravity fed, no lift stations needed, and it goes directly to the plant, and it feeds about 3,000 acres- Mm-hmm is what it'll feed. And so that's why a lot of what growth that you see is on the eastern side is because that's where that basin's at. Brian Wagers: Gotcha. Nathan See: That's where that water, that sewer can go right into the, the transmission line and go straight to the plant, where these developers don't have to pay for the infrastructure, and we don't have the maintenance of lift stations. Yeah. And so that's why a lot of that's happening on the east side of town. Brandon Still: That's great. Brian Wagers: Yeah. You were talking about it, so 1,000 new single family homes and hundreds of multi-family units is what we had. Yep. Um, and not to mention, you know, I've seen you add quite a few commercial spaces too where people are building- Building to spec, you know, the hoping that someone will come- Right and, and then building to suite, where you have businesses already identified that, "Hey, we [00:17:00] wanna plant, uh, a flag or another flag over here in Pea Ridge." So- Right ... seems like a lot of that. And Brandon Still: rumors of Walmart Supercenter, right? Yeah. Things like that. Yep. Um, so s- yeah, sounds like, I mean, it's inevitable, right? I mean, the more, you know, they're... I think they've updated that number to 40 people moving to Northwest Arkansas per day. So I think we're not only a beneficiary. Every, every city's gonna be beneficiaries of that, but I think Pea Ridge, you know, will- Yeah ... will obviously, uh, capture a lot of that the better that those things are taken care of. So it's good to hear kinda where y'all are at on that. Nathan See: I think a lot of it, you know, w- uh, by 2050 they're saying we're gonna be a million people in Benton and Washington County. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: I think it's gonna be sooner than that. Brandon Still: Yeah. Yeah. Nathan See: By the growth rate that we're seeing today. And most of that growth is gonna

happen in your smaller, right now, communities. Brandon Still: For Nathan See: sure. Um, because that's where the land's at that people can develop. Brandon Still: Yep. Nathan See: Either that or you're gonna have all these infills that are in the larger cities become, you know, multi-story apartments or condos, whatever they may be. [00:18:00] Um, but I think that your, your Pea Ridge and Gravette and Decatur and Gentry and, you know, all of these areas is gonna be the big spur of the growth where it's gonna happen. Um, Brian Wagers: so. Yeah. So important for the leaders of those, like, spillover s- uh, areas to be able to handle it well. Yep. And I think we were talk- Like, it's not a, the family, I keep pointing back to that family, but they were getting away from a, a renter's, you know, a bedroom community. They wanted to come here. So- Yep I think that's how you h- handle that. Are you building it to where someone wants to have their business here or invest in, in the area or just grow a family? So. Nathan See: Yep. Yep. Brian Wagers: Um, we talked about downtown. What's, what's the... It's obviously a lot can change, uh, engineering, architect. Uh, but what's kinda the vision for downtown long-term? Nathan See: So downtown we just want it to be a walkable space for businesses to thrive. Um, before, uh, we just did a bunch of work down there to create it to be ADA compliant for the sidewalks. Um, there was a [00:19:00] old building that's been there for I'm gonna tell you back in probably the '40s it was a hatchery. Um, and it's a really It, it was just a storage for, um, a family. They just kind of stored stuff in it. Well, now it's a boutique, and now it's creating tax-based revenue for the community. And then next to it is a, a store that opened up that's a paint store that opened up. Um, there's two other parcels downtown that's on the market right now, and there's people interested in buying those. And I think a lot of that is because of what we were doing in downtown to create a, a third space, if you will. A third space is if you're not at home, you're not at work, where are you? Mm. And so it's creating a third space for people to come to downtown. We want it to be a space where they can grab a cup of coffee, sit on a bench, have a conversation, and just create it to where they're building community in the downtown. And so that's the big vision for downtown, is creating that. Um, there's a lot of opportunity in our downtown to do things, and so I think that over time it's gonna become a, uh, very, uh, vibrant [00:20:00] downtown for events. That's where we do our events right now. Our second Saturdays we do down there. We do a har- a harvest market in November, a holiday market in December. Um, our big tree lighting's downtown, and so we're just ... You know, if you look back in the 1800s, that's where people went to trade. Brandon Still: Mm. Nathan See: And so we're trying to bring that back. Like, bring that back to life, to revitalize it, to let people come to your downtown and trade and, and do the services that they wanna do. Brandon Still: You know, we've, we've talked to a lot of other mayors as well. It seems like their downtowns, downtowns are the priority across Northwest Arkansas, but is there a vision even for ... I know you said walkability is important, but is there a vision for, you know, more housing units to be built down there? Yeah. Apartments, stuff like that, to where people can kinda live and work and play around downtown- Right there ... more often? Nathan See: Yeah. Yeah, I think whenever you create the commercial to be ... If you have multi-use tenants that you can have commercial on the bottom and residential on top, the commercial on the bottle's bottom is gonna be much more thriving commercial- Yeah because they have customers right above them, right? Sure. And so I [00:21:00] think that's the long-term goal, is to create that in our downtown to where people can live, work, and play all in a downtown area. Yeah. Um, but there's definitely opportunities for that, for sure. Well- And our downtown isn't just ... If you go downtown, it's not just the four-way that's there. Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: You know, you can go six blocks any direction, and that can be your downtown. Brian Wagers: Right. Nathan See: If you travel North Curtis Avenue to the north, you'll see it go from big 30-foot streetlight poles down to 12-foot streetlight poles. Well, at that change is whenever you really create that downtown district. Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: So that's where the downtown really starts. Brian Wagers: I like it. Yeah. Walkable, mixed use, you know, simple, and it's, it's gonna do great. And when people are looking at investing in Northwest Arkansas, I always tell ... You know, there's a lot of schools of thought on it, but- Invest near downtown. Like, you know, that's, what an incredible opportunity. You know, we're talk- letting, letting the news out, but I would l- be looking at properties around the downtown Pea Ridge or in downtown to be- Mm-hmm ... a part of that. 'Cause you look at every single downtown, I mean, downtown [00:22:00] Springdale's a great example of it. Uh, but obviously downtown Bentonville, um- Yes. Mm-hmm ... but I mean, every... Centerton is now wanting to do a downtown. Uh- Yep ... Fayetteville's downtown, you know, iconic. I Brandon Still: think, yeah, and I think every resident too, like, craves that, that community feel, their downtown to be thriving, you know, be able to go downtown to the tree lighting. Mm-hmm. Like, have traditions, you know, continue or start that happen in the downtown area that they can drive within 10 minutes or less to go to or whatever, Brian Wagers: so. Brandon Still: NWA's Brian Wagers: so unique on that. Yeah. To, you know, it's like what other, you know... Downtown Denver, yeah, that has some other, uh, sub-markets in there that

have their own downtown, but I feel like Northwest Arkansas, you mentioned it, the m- the path to a million. It's changed from 2045 to 2050 is the most updated number. We think it probably could be closer to that 2045 number. Yeah. But, you know, the, uh, people always use Austin as an example 'cause it f- grew fast and to a million, but I think [00:23:00] North- uh, we don't wanna bec- Like, we point to Austin as an example from population growth, but not that we wanna become that, and I think it's important to get in front, like see, okay, they did this well, they didn't do that well. You know, how, how often, I... And I've asked some of the other mayors that we've interviewed on too, but how often are you l- talking to mayors outside of Northwest Arkansas, inside Northwest Arkansas? What is that communication like? Nathan See: We, we talk very often. Uh, we are very collaborative in Northwest Arkansas. Um, I will say that I reach out to other people too. Republic, Missouri, I reach out to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I reach out to those people to find out, okay, you guys are bigger than we are. Well, how did you guys deal with this, and how did you attract that? And so really just trying to find out, outside of our Northwest Arkansas area, there's other opportunities that we're trying to reach out to to find out, hey, that manufacturing company that you have in there, are they looking to expand to Northwest Arkansas? Because we'd love to have them, you know- Mm ... invest here. And [00:24:00] so, um, I think you just have to be... You have to advocate for your city. Now, I've heard a mayor say it and I, I think it's true. You gotta sell your city to these people that they wanna come and invest in your city. Brian Wagers: Mm. Nathan See: Um, and so you're, you are working to make the best quality of life that you can for the residents that live there. Brian Wagers: You ever have, uh, other mayors calling you now? Like- Yeah ... you know, other smaller ci- Yep ... asking for- That's awesome. Yeah. Nathan See: I think we all work together, and we try to figure out, like, the question that they ask is, "How did you guys do that?" Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: Um, you know, our, our fire department, our police department are very, um- attractive, I'll tell you. I mean, there's a lot of people that like to work for our, our emergency services side of things, and everybody's like, "How did you get the Clint Bowen and the, and the Chief Hahn to, to be there?" And those, those guys are, uh, leaders that you want in your community because of the culture that they create. And I keep saying culture because it is that that we're creating in our communities, from the executive staff to the residents. Mm. Um, we're all working together to [00:25:00] create that family feel, and we, we wanna be able to take care of our neighbors and be a, be a, a person that has the stoop mentality whenever you wanna stoop on the front porch and say hello.

So, um, that's who we are. Zach Stanley: At Advantage Title and Escrow, we don't just close deals. We partner with realtors to protect their clients from contract to close. Because closing isn't just paperwork, it's people. We strive to educate, communicate, and safeguard every step of the process so your buyers and sellers feel confident, informed, and secure. Whether it's first home or forever one, we're with you every step of the way, doing our best to clear the path, catch the details, and keep the closing table as stress-free as possible. Advantage Title and Escrow, because your clients deserve more than just a closing Brian Wagers: I think it's import- Like, you see your different departments almost like heads of state. Your s- you know, you want the, a leader for your fire department, your police, your, your streets department. Right. And I think I keep saying it, but it's probably from that unique, [00:26:00] uh, perspective you had when you were working, you know, growing from working your way up to superintendent for seven years, so. Yeah. So you work with a lot of developers, investors. I, I keep mentioning the street, coming on the street. What's that look like to you? What's, uh, one of the first things you say when investor, developer comes and say, "Hey, I'm, I'm interested in Pea Ridge"? Nathan See: I will tell them- Let's take a tour of the community. We'll get in the car, we'll go on a tour, and then by the time it's over with, they're like, "Where's the piece of land?" Because they don't realize that the growth that's happening is as fast as it's happening. Brian Wagers: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: Um, I tell them all, "If you're gonna do something, now is the time. Tomorrow may be too late." You know, um, land is only here for however long the land's here for. Um, so whenever you, whenever we have site selectors or developers, investors come in, it's all about demographics, what's the, what's the average, um, salary, where about $100,000 is our medium salary that we have, and what's the [00:27:00] cost of a home? Which is around 358, I think, for a home is average is what we, we're showing right now. Mm. And so, um, those are the numbers that they look at, but I always tell them, "Don't look at the population sign." Our trade area is almost 60,000 people that come to, to Pea Ridge to trade. And so whenever you look at the 6,559 on the population sign, don't let that think, "Oh, it's too small for me." Mm. Because if you look it up on the, on, you know, Esri or GIS or whatever, it's gonna show you that we service a lot of southern Missouri, the eastern side of Benton County, and the western side of Bella Vista, and the northern side of Rogers and Bentonville. And so, um, there's a lot of people that I talk to that come and shop at our neighborhood market just because of access. It's easier to get here. It's better to come to Pea Ridge than it is try to go through downtown Bentonville or Rogers to get to the Walmart. And

so, um, whenever you s- see the number of the population, don't throw us to the curb. Brian Wagers: I love that. Yeah, it's good. And do you look at things in [00:28:00] four y- and, and my n- my follow-up question, was that what do you see in the next three to five years? Are you looking at four years in increments, and what does that look like Nathan See: for you for Pea Ridge? So in four years, we'll be a population of approximately 32,000 people. Right now, we're pushing 13,000. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Yeah. That's great. So what are you, uh, wh- other things, I know some of those things you just mentioned, but what, what are some other things that you like to try to highlight for developers that you get to meet with or even developers that might be listening to this? Yep. I mean, what, what are some other things that you're excited about that, uh, developers should be excited about as well? Nathan See: I think whenever you think about economic development, it's an umbrella of things. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: You can look at fire service, you can look at police, you can look at crime rate. Look at parks. Look and see what parks are in that community that you can go take your family to and enjoy. Zach Stanley: Mm. Nathan See: Um, look at the things that the city has to offer as far as programs at the library. Those things all go together to create economic development in a community. And so we just invested $2.5 million for a new all-inclusive park that we have built on Carr Street.[00:29:00] We did, re- have reconstructed Carr Street to be a streets, uh, safe streets for all. And so it's got a 10-foot trail. It's a 20-foot lane. low speed, and it's created that way to create it to where everybody can, can commute, either vehicle, pedestrian, bike, whatever, in a safe route. And so those are probably the key components that you're gonna wanna talk about is to, okay, what's your next step? Well, next step is we're gonna take care of these key intersections to create them to be signalized. We're working with RDOT right now on a couple of them. We got $7.736 million from Congressman Womack to redo the four-way stop by Arvest Bank and make it a signalized intersection. Those things don't just happen overnight. Nope. It takes a process to do those type of things, but it's... I tell everybody, it's off of the relationships that you build that grow your success. For sure. It's not anything that I'm doing. It's the things that we are doing together to be able to make things happen. And so whenever I can pick up the phone and talk to a, a private, you know, philanthropist [00:30:00] or talk to a congressman or talk to a senator or talk to these people and have a conversation with them, that has value to it- Brandon Still: For sure Nathan See: because they're hearing about Pea Ridge. They're hearing about what's happening, and now they're interested in how can we help? Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: And so

I think to, to the point of the investor and to the developer that wanna come here come and we're gonna help you find a spot. Um, we're all about speed to market mentality here. Brandon Still: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: Um, and we want you to know, like, we can help you get dirt moving probably the quickest in Northwest Arkansas, um, as long as you follow suit with, you know, the regulatory stuff. The biggest thing that we hit is engineers not doing the right engineering. Brian Wagers: Right. Nathan See: And then it prolongs the process. But, uh, I'll, I'll talk about Tractor Supply. Tractor Supply, Jake Butler of Tractor Supply called me, and he said, "Hey, we have a site. We need to do a development." And I said, "Okay, it's gotta be annex first, number one, then we gotta rezone it, then we gotta do large scale." I had all that done f- with the help of Jake Butler and his legal team, we [00:31:00] had it done in less than 120 days, and had them moving dirt. And so a lot of that goes to the staff that we have here, our community development staff, the planning staff, our city council. Um, we have such a great team here that work together to make things happen for the betterment of the community. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Brian Wagers: Man, I, I love the teamwork mentality. That's, I mean, you- Yeah former sports obviously like that, too. Um, before we get into the fire round, b- big, big picture on, on Pea Ridge, 10 years, 15 years, what, what do you see Pea Ridge as? Nathan See: It's gonna be a place that people are gonna live. It's gonna be a place that's gonna be vibrant, it's gonna be thriving. Um, it's gonna be a place of opportunity. And so, um, from the, from the world of, um, for 10 years from now, we're probably gonna have, you know, your retail spaces here. You're gonna have more commercial investment, more multifamily investment. Um, you're gonna have more single-family homes. A- and that's the thing is a lot of people don't understand the growth has to be a [00:32:00] teeter-totter effect. You have to have the residents before you get the commercial. If you don't have the people, they're not gonna come and invest in commercial. But once you get the commercial, then you get the tax base revenue to take care of the amenities for the people. Zach Stanley: Mm. Nathan See: And so that's, that's the way that this process has to work, and you have to have more people come in to share the tax base revenue. And so I think you're gonna see, um, you know- Hopefully the supercenter's done, uh, it, by 10 years. Hopefully we have a, you know, the, the opportunity to have a, a Ross Dress For Less, a TJ Maxx, and those type of things. Maybe a Home Depot or a Lowe's. You know, you just don't know what that opportunity hands. Um, but we wanna be a vibrant community, uh, and not just a bedroom community. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Brian Wagers: Love it. I'm- Brandon Still: Yeah, it's interesting... Go ahead. Brian Wagers: I'm so excited to see downtown, you know, w- when that comes to fruition. The park, that's amazing. I love a good park. In Northwest Arkansas, so many great parks, and, like, what a staple to b- a community to have a great downtown- Yep and, and a park, and obviously everything else we talked about, so. Nathan See: [00:33:00] I will say that over the last four years, we have preserved over 100 acres of property to be green space. Brian Wagers: That's great. That's amazing. Nathan See: And that keeps you from having to shoehorn parks in areas that really a park isn't gonna fit, but you're like, "Oh, we have to put one here." And so with the help from the Walton Family Foundation, um, we're able to secure more than 100 acres of green space. We have another one fixing to come online that we're fixing to, to celebrate. And so, um, you know, we got a new BMX track that we're fixing to open up. It's gonna be the only one in Northwest Arkansas. That's awesome. It's gonna be the only one unless you're in Pulaski County, uh- Yeah ... in the state of Arkansas. Brian Wagers: Yeah. Nathan See: And so that's a economic driver for us, tourist. Um, and so I mean, there's things that we have in the queue right now that in 10 years- It'll be different. Brian Wagers: I love that. And it's, uh, people sometimes complain about multi-family units going up, but we talked about Austin's growth, Denver's growth. Go look at Dallas, and it's a concrete jung- like, a great... Fun things to do, no hate on [00:34:00] Dallas, but it is a concrete jungle, and I don't think Northwest Arkansas will ever be a concrete jungle. And when people are negative about growth, you know, you have to have more growth and to build a community, and I think Northwest Arkansas is doing it in such a unique way. It's very thoughtful. It's ver- it's not one way or the other. Yeah. So I'm excited to see Pea Ridge grow. We're Nathan See: known as the Natural State, so we need to keep some natural reservation for people to enjoy. Brandon Still: Absolutely. Yep. Nathan See: So. Love Brian Wagers: it. Brandon Still: Yeah, I love that that's at the forefront, and I love the way you're thinking about... You know, I think sometimes people could probably think of Pea Ridge today as the place we live, but maybe we go have dinner in Bentonville or go do stuff elsewhere, and I, I love the way that y'all are at the forefront of thinking about, you know, wanting to keep everybody doing things in Downtown Pea Ridge and, you know, getting to ex- getting to spend their money and take their family out in Pea Ridge and not, not go out elsewhere. Nathan See: Yeah. Brandon Still: Um, I'm sure that's at the forefront, which is only gonna help the community continue to grow and infrastructure be better and all that [00:35:00] kind of stuff. Yes, sir. So, um, yeah, I think, I think where y'all are thinking and the way you're heading is, uh, is really on the forefront, which I love.

Brian Wagers: So. Before, before we get to the fire round- Yep with you, uh, you announced for re-election. When we booked this, we didn't, we didn't even know that. Yes, sir. He did know that. He did. So great, great timing. Like, tell us about that. Tell us about your re-election and- Yep ... everything with that before we- Nathan See: So I filed for re-election. This'll be my second term, obviously. Um, and, um, I do have an opponent. Um, but I think, you know, at the end of the day, that's the, the... It's every right is to run. I mean, that's what he can do and what I can do. And so, um, I'm just... I, I count it a blessing, an honor, and a privilege to be able to serve the city of Pea Ridge. Um, I've lived here since '92. And so, yeah, yeah, I didn't just move here two years ago, you know? I've been here for a while. I've seen a lot of change. Rode my bikes on these roads. Um, and so I just wanna see- the city grow in a healthy way moving forward. And that, my heart is, is to create a [00:36:00] community that my family and my grandchilds wanna stay at and be a part of. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Brian Wagers: I love it. I could s- say you've done a great job so far, so for sure. Thank you. Brandon Still: I love stories like yours too. I think are similar to stories even of a Doug McMillan or a John Furner, guys that grew up in Bentonville, you know, went to, went to elementary school and, uh, started at, at, you know, Walmart stores and everything else or whatever, and worked their way up and, and to CEO. You're kind of very similar situation. You went to Pe- Pea Ridge High School- Yeah ... and, uh, you had your own business for a little bit, and then ended up on the mower, and kinda worked your way into this kinda CEO role of, of Pea Ridge, so it's cool to see. I think there's a lot of, excuse me, I think there's a lot of, of those stories across Northwest Arkansas, which I like a lot, so. Yeah. Brian Wagers: And I already liked him. I didn't even know all that about him. But Brandon Still: I like Adam even now. Yeah, I love it. I love it. So we'll do, we'll do a quick fire round. Uh, would love to get your thoughts on each of these. Nathan See: Yeah. Brandon Still: So biggest mi- misconception people have about Pea Ridge? Nathan See: Being [00:37:00] a, a small uneducated community. Brandon Still: Mm. Nathan See: Uh, whenever I was growing up, it was always that. Um, "Why would you go to Pea Ridge?" Like- ... the opposite name of Pea Ridge is what? Y'all heard it? I haven't. Urine Hill is what people called us for a long time. And, uh, and, and so but I think that's changed. Zach Stanley: Mm. Nathan See: I think that Pea Ridge has really created a staple in itself to be a community where people have fell in love with it. Zach Stanley: Yeah. Nathan See: You know, the, years ago there was our, our Welcome to Pea Ridge sign back in the '60s or '70s. It said, "The best-kept secret." Zach Stanley: Yeah.

Nathan See: And I tell everybody, "I think the secret's out." Zach Stanley: Yeah. There's a lot of people here. Nathan See: Um, but I think that the secret is the ingredient in which we are is a small town community that's growing- Brandon Still: Mm-hmm Nathan See: um, but we're still holding those small town values. Brandon Still: Yeah. Absolutely. Uh, one thing you wish more developers understood about working with a small city? Nathan See: Don't count us out. Yeah. Um, a lot of us, I'll tell you, it, it, some of the bigger cities are scratching their [00:38:00] head on, how did you do that, and what's the secret? Yeah. And so don't count us out because we do have availability of land. Mm. And we do have the availability to, s- our point earlier, to sewer. And so I think that that's some of the key components are, do you have land and can I flush my toilet? Yeah. Yes, you can. You can come here and do that, do both of those. Um, and we will work with you. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: I will, myself, work with you to help things be successful. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: Um, because if we're not working with these investors and developers and creating more of a partnership- ... then it's not attractive. Brandon Still: For sure. Nathan See: Um, I tell all of my staff, "If you hear s- from somebody, you need to reply within 24 hours of the email- Yeah or we may have missed an opportunity." Brandon Still: For sure. Nathan See: Because a lot of these people aren't gonna hang around and wait a couple days for you to reply- Brandon Still: Yeah ... Nathan See: um, because they have other things that they're working on. Brandon Still: For sure. Nathan See: And so be intentional and be authentic and be on point whenever you're talking about stuff. Brandon Still: That's great. Sense of urgency really matters. [00:39:00] Yes. I, I love that y'all have that here. Time is money. Yeah. Nathan See: That's right. Brandon Still: Most, uh, most useful piece of advice that you've received from any other NWA mayors over the years? Nathan See: You know, whenever I first got elected, I went and sat, uh, with Mayor Doug Sprouse in Springdale, and he's kinda been that person that I would lean on, you know, here and there. And, uh, and he w- he would alway- he, whenever we have a conversation, he always says, "If you need anything, I'm here for you." Brandon Still: Mm. Nathan See: And so for me, that's a value for me to be able, to be able to pick up my phone and talk to Mayor Sprouse. Uh, he's a very genuine person, has been doing it for a while, and, um, I find that his values and my values are the same. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: And so I wanna be that for other mayors. You know, Mayor Ben Sickler at Little Flock. Um, there may be times that he needs something, or Mayor, you know, Cheryl Tillman out at Gateway. Those are smaller communities, but they may still need the same things as which we- we're

doing here. Mm-hmm. And so being able to be that, that asset to them, and I tell anybody that I talk to, "If there's anything I can do to help you, you let me know, and I'm here to [00:40:00] help you." Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: And I think that's a, that's in return from a lot of the mayors around here. But Mayor Sprouse is one that, uh, w- that really I leaned on for a while, uh, there, and, and obviously my predecessor, Jackie Crabtree. Brandon Still: Yep. Nathan See: Lives in Pea Ridge still yet. He still comes to my meetings, and he's, like, the, the cheerleader after the meeting. He's like, "You're doing a great job. Keep doing what you're doing." Brandon Still: That's awesome. Nathan See: And I said, "Would you tell me any different if I wasn't doing it?" He's like, "Yes, I would." And so, uh, that's, that's good conversation. Brandon Still: That matters, Nathan See: yeah. Um, and so, um, having those people to be able to, to, to kind of mentor you- Yeah um, has a lot of value for me. Brandon Still: Absolutely. I love that. Mayor Sprouse was in the embroidery business, too, wasn't he? Nathan See: I don't know. Brandon Still: Upholstery, Nathan See: maybe? I Brandon Still: think he, I, I wanna say... Oh, that's probably Nathan See: what it is. I think he went Brandon Still: upholstery. Yeah, Nathan See: upholstery. That is right. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, you guys both business. But just kinda- Brandon Still: Similar backgrounds, I guess. Yeah ... Brian Wagers: similar background. Yeah. And, and it's a great listen, too, so. Brandon Still: Yeah, for sure. Uh, favorite po- favorite spot in Pea Ridge to take any visitors? Food, stuff to do, stuff like that. Nathan See: So as you know, we're, like, the capital of Mexican and pizza food here. Brandon Still: Yeah, for Nathan See: sure. Uh, [00:41:00] so I won't really talk about food. My top Brandon Still: two categories. You can't, yeah, you can't pick favorites either, I'm Nathan See: sure. Um, but there is a location. Brandon Still: Mm-hmm. Nathan See: And the location is a place that I visited for a while that is soon to be property of the city of Pea Ridge. Brandon Still: Mm. Nathan See: Uh, it's the McGee Farm. It's 40 acres. It's got a spring-fed pond on it, and it's really just a secluded place that you can just go and sit, and it's peaceful. And so, um, you know, after the 18th, it's gonna be, uh, property of the city of Pea Ridge, and it's gonna be a new space that people are gonna want to go to and want to enjoy. We'll have a na- a nature track that's gonna be around it for people to walk. Um, it's just- It's like the ... If you think about what does a picture of the natural state look like, that property would be that picture that you would use. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Nathan See: Um- Yeah ... and so to be able to, to have that opportunity to, to create these spaces like that, um, don't just happen. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: For sure. And, and we are [00:42:00] very thankful for that. But that's the space that I would go and I would say, "Guess what? We're gonna go through Ember Mountain or we're gonna go through Seven Brew and grab a coffee, and then we're gonna go down here and have a conversation." Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: And so, um, I think that, that, that'd be the spot. Brandon Still: That's awesome. Nathan See: Yep. Brandon Still: Last one. What, what still excites you about where the city is headed? Nathan See: Growth. Brandon Still: Yeah. Nathan See: Growth excites you. Um, I can take you to other places in, in the state of Arkansas that would be, um, ecstatic to have what we have in Northwest Arkansas. Brandon Still: Mm. Nathan See: Um, they always call us the land of milk and honey- ... in Northwest Arkansas. For sure. And, uh, if you look at Lake, like down in, uh, Lake Village and down Pine Bluff and those Delta areas- Brandon Still: Mm ... Nathan See: um, there's a lot of those that are losing population, losing economy. Brandon Still: Yep. Nathan See: And now they can't really support public service that they should be able to support because they've lost it. Um, being able to make a decision on do we have a police department or not is, would be a really tough decision. Brandon Still: For sure. Nathan See: But for us, it's [00:43:00] we gotta build a police department because we are growing. Mm-hmm. And so where are we gonna establish that police department at? Um, so your challenges are much more positive in where we are today, um, in Northwest Arkansas than other parts of the state. And so the growth excites me. I mean- For sure ... you, you can't stay ... No human stays a baby forever. Yeah. We all grow. And so I think that that's what we have to kind of look at is growth is inevitable. How are we gonna manage it, and how are we gonna support what's gonna be coming? Brandon Still: Yep. I love that. I think we're, we're blessed to be in the area we are and, and, uh, love to see how you all are, are kind of at the forefront of, of what's happening in Northwest Arkansas, so we're grateful for your time. Anything else? Brian Wagers: Yeah, man. Yeah. Uh, Mr. C, we appreciate your time today, and our guests are gonna get a lot out of this. I got a lot out of it. Found out some cool stuff about you I didn't know about. Yeah. And I, I love where Pea Ridge is going. So where can people reach out or follow you? Nathan See: You can follow me on LinkedIn. You can follow me on social media, on, on Facebook. Email me at [00:44:00] nc@cityofpearidger.gov, or my number's 479-451-1122. Brian Wagers: Wow. Nice. Got the phone number on there. There Nathan See: you go. Brian Wagers: That's right. That's impressive. Appreciate your time. All right. Thank, Nathan See: thank you. Thank you all. I appreciate the opportunity. Brian Wagers: All right. Thanks, guys.