The city of Cotter operates under a mayor - city council form of government, functioning through six major departments that carry out a number of public services that, unfortunately, are impeded by a low tax base. The mayor serves a four year term while six alderman serve on a two year basis. The Fire Department, adjacent to City Hall, is made up of ten volunteers. There are two fire trucks and a rescue vehicle to serve the Cotter area. The Police Department, also based inside City Hall, has one employee. Due to the size of the city and its unusually low crime rate, the one and only policeman knows the entire area and nearly everyone that lives there. Gassville and Mountain Home police departments are on standby if matters get out of hand. The municipal water system pumps water daily from two deep artesian wells. Cotter's Waste Water Treatment Center is shared with Gassville. Expansion of the treatment center, which will double its size, is currently being negotiated. The Street Department maintains Cotter's city streets. Arkansas Waste, a private contractor, fulfills Cotter's residential and commercial sanitation needs. The Chamber of Commerce came into existence in Cotter two years ago. The Chamber will soon provide businesses a venue for advertisement and recommendations through pamphlets and brochures. The Chamber also holds events like "The Great Duck Race", and "The Spring Fling". The Cotter School District is the second largest school system in Baxter County. Average enrollment last year was 669 in grades K-12, with approximately 360 students in grades K-6 and 310 in 7-12. Each day, the district transports 590 students on seven different bus routes. Cotter has 56 certified employees and a 20 member support staff. The districts milage rate is currently 37.0. The Junior High School / High School and elementary system are both fully accredited with North Central Arkansas. Opportunities for higher education are available within the Cotter area at Arkansas State University, located in Mountain Home, approximately 15 miles to the northeast. Baxter County has one of the best health facilities in Arkansas. Baxter County Regional Hospital is a 191 bed primary care and rural referral center serving a 14 county area in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Located in Mountain Home, the hospital meets the needs of the families of the region and is well prepared to handle emergencies as well. A comprehensive health care facility, Baxter County Regional Hospital's specialties include: allergy, anesthesiology, cardiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, gastroenterology, gynecology, internal medicine, nephrology, neurology, neuropsychology, obstetrics, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology (ENT), pain management, pathology, pediatrics, podiatry, radiation, radiology, general surgery, thoracic and vascular surgery, and urology. Cotter Medical Center, Burnett, Croom, Lincoln, and Paden, located in Cotter on Hwy. 62, provide a family practice and internal medicine care unit. The facility serves Cotter and many surrounding areas. A new office will open soon in Gassville. Finally, George Alexander, DDS, provides general dentistry services for Cotter and surrounding areas such as Flippin, Gassville, Yellville, and Mountain Home. The facility has been in business for 20 years and continues to be among the best and most visited in the Baxter County region. Cotter has few retirement opportunities. The most prominent retirement area in Cotter is Rainbow Heights. This subdivision has many houses available for retirees and provides a safe and clean neighborhood for its inhabitants. The surrounding areas in Baxter County also provide local people with housing as well as activity centers. Flippin, Arkansas, just 5 miles outside of Cotter, provides a nursing home and a senior citizen center. Just as well, Mountain Home, a little further away, provides similar services, as well as great retirement homes and an increasing number of retirement communities. The Baxter County area provides a variety of places to go and things to do. If you're interested in spending a day on the water, there is Bull Shoals Lake and Lake Norfolk. For a different type of adventure, there is the White River for trout fishing and fly fishing, and the Buffalo River for rapid river float trips. If your goal is to stay on dry land, there is a youth center for the kids in Cotter that has pool tables, a snack bar, and a gymnasium for basketball. A little further away is "The Zone", a family entertainment center which has miniature golf, a mini indy raceway, batting cages, a video arcade, and a snack bar. Just recently established, The Zone has become a great place for the whole family to spend the day. When it comes to eating, Baxter County and the surrounding area have a plethora of restaurants to choose from. From Gaston's on the White River, to Club 178, a classy restaurant in Bull Shoals, to the A&W All American Burger House, the surrounding areas of Cotter provide ample eating establishments for all budgets. If your goal is to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful Ozark Mountains, then the White River Scenic Railway is your ticket. Starting in Flippin, AR, the train goes through Cotter, Buffalo City, and turns around in Calico Rock. The trip lasts about four hours and takes you through some of the most beautiful areas in all of Baxter County. Finally, if you're looking to get away for the day and just be by yourself, then the River Cliff Golf Course is the place for you. Twenty minutes from Cotter, the 18-hole golf course is set along side the shore of the White River, providing you with not only a great view, but the peace and quite of the Ozarks. A second course is being built in Mountain Home and is projected to be complete in the year 2000.
The UACDC needs community input to help generate ideas and guide the design process. The Cotter team developed concepts, ideas, and proposals based on community surveys submitted by Cotter residents (survey shown at left [Above, online. -JRS]), from focus groups held prior to our arrival, through informal public presentations, and from input by community members visiting the UACDC office. Cotter residents submitted a record number of completed surveys. Question responses were influential in setting design priorities, and providing design solutions the Cotter community would strongly support. The importance of a shared vision cannot be understated. Implementing a plan is a long and slow process requiring strong community leadership, solid support from city residents, and above all, perseverance. If the community cannot negotiate a common goal, special interest groups will form, move ahead in different directions, compete for resources and approval with other special interest groups, and nothing will happen. Your time and effort will be wasted. Information gathered from the Community Design Surveys paralleled the discoveries of Dr. George Wolford, a rural community, development consultant, who recently conducted a series of four focus group meetings in the city of Cotter. Dr. Wolford's findings were summarized in an article which appeared in The Baxter Bulletin. What follows is a copy of the entire Baxter Bulletin article.
The top photo shows the historic Rainbow Arch Bridge and the White River below.
The bottom photo is from a community picnic at Big Spring Park. |
Cotter, Arkansas - Trout Capital
U.S.A.
