Wednesday’s “Meeting with the Mayor” featured comments from Russellville Mayor Fred Teague and Arkansas Tech University President Dr. Russell Jones inside Chambers West Dining Room.
Both reiterated the good relationship and partnership the city and ATU community has with each other and discussed how the two can grow and prosper in the years to come.
“We are going to build six pickleball courts at the Russellville Soccer Complex,” said Teague. “They should open in the spring of 2025. We have almost quadrupled the number of teams we bring in for tournaments due to the addition of turf on several ball fields.
“They are building Panda Express and Chipotle,” continued Teague. “Academy Sports is coming. And we are going to announce one more (restaurant) either Friday or Monday. Point Remove will be a new draw for students to downtown Russellville. We are trying to hard to complement what you are doing here at ATU.”
Jones said he took his hat off to Teague and Pope County Judge Ben Cross for their involvement and partnership with the university.
“I saw a sign that said ‘ATU loves Russellville, and Russellville loves ATU,’” said Jones. “It’s really nice to have the mayor here so active. We appreciate the partnership. It takes everybody working together to make things attractive. As they grow, we all grow.”
Teague said it was also important to make relationships in your community.
“If ATU doesn’t thrive, we don’t thrive,” said Teague. “We’ve seen so much growth, but we still have that small-town feel. I believe in 10 years (Russellville) will grow…hopefully, it will look a lot like it does now, but bigger.”
Editor’s Note: Sean Ingram of The Courier newspaper in Russellville provided this recap.
