Hot Springs mayor looking forward to community's future

HOT SPRINGS – Hot Springs Mayor Randy Woods has plans for the future of the community with hopes of improving the tourism draw to the area.

Woods said he wanted to start taking things in a different direction for the town and he wanted to see the community and government working together on some of the common goals for the area’s improvement. It was noted Hot Springs has the lowest per capita income in the state and one goal was to see the numbers improved.

“We as a town government need to work together to make this community a better place to visit and live,” Woods said.

Another goal he said they needed to focus on was cleaning up some of the properties around the community; he felt this would make the town more appealing to both the current residents and people staying in the area or looking to move there.

The mayor also wants to see the town work to bring more tourists to the area. This could be done by promoting the town’s namesake hot springs as well as the other attractions and events in the area.

Rezoning some areas to not restrict growth was also a goal the city would like to see. Some zoning ordinances prevent areas of town from getting developed when another zone classification would see the same area booming with development.

“We need ordinances to promote growth, not hinder it,” Woods said. “We need ordinances that are fair to all citizens. The way today’s ordinances are written, it’s choking growth and pitting neighbor against neighbor.”

He also wants to see the residents and government of Hot Springs working together to bring about improvements for everyone. The improvements would ideally help the current residents as well as making people outside the area want to visit and move to the community. The mayor offered a call to action for the community to come together to start on these objectives.

“Let’s set some goals, let’s work together and let’s make this town a better place to live and visit,” he said.