It's two days into the new decade, and Fort Smith residents have bold ideas for their city in 2020 as well as for the next 10 years.

Residents on New Year's Day spoke out about things they would like to improve or be added to Fort Smith in the near future. They included both measures that will address social issues within the town and potentially make the town a more appealing place to visitors and those who live there.

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) worker Brad Walker said he would like to see city officials take additional steps in addressing and assisting the homeless in Fort Smith. He said he's "never seen" homelessness in the city reach the levels it has in recent years.

Walker also said he'd like Fort Smith to look toward blockchain technology, which he believes would enhance local commerce and reduce the city's administrative costs. Some parts of the country like Wyoming have taken steps to advocate for blockchain.

Another resident who is passionate about technology is University of Arkansas Fort Smith resident Jon Luke Harvey, who plans to pursue a career in cybersecurity once he graduates. Harvey said a group of "computer nerds" in the city are planning to open "Fab Lab," a location where people with interests like his can start their own computer projects and collaborate with like-minded residents.

Harvey said a tech scene — or any scene in Fort Smith, for that matter — will only flourish if people who see problems in the town "take one for the team" instead of going to another city with more amenities and culture.

"People need to be more adamant about saying 'Hey, we have this 'Fab Lab' thing coming, and we want you to come and check it out,'" he said. "Someone has to bite the bullet and say, 'I'm just going to be here and do whatever it takes.'"

The city in recent years has improved in some residents' eyes. Brynn Walker, who grew up in Fort Smith but attends college at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, said she enjoys coming home to see new murals in downtown.

A former Southside High School student, Walker said she would like the schools to assist students in ways she often sees teachers assist them outside the classroom. Her friend Marti Gooden, a Southside senior, said she would like Southside to have "school-wide community involvement" in the city.

Gooden also perceives competition between Southside and Northside High School, which is the more racially diverse high school of the two in the school district, could have consequences that reflect back on the city as a whole.

"I feel like part of the appearance of the cultural divide (in Fort Smith) probably comes from the big rivalry between Northside and Southside. A little bit of friendly competition is OK, but some of the stuff you see is too much," Gooden said.

Some of the initiatives discussed, like expanding public transit, have already been identified as a need within the city. Nina Matlock, who moved to Fort Smith from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to attend college, said she was surprised at the town's bus system after living in a city with more elaborate public transit.

Workforce Services is looking to launch a pilot program that would fund limited overnight public transit for poor residents who work odd hours. Even still, Matlock said she would like aspects of the Fort Smith transit system such as intervals to be improved.

"When we needed to go from place to place, you had a bus, but you had to wait an hour each," said Matlock. "I would like to see something every 15 or 30 minutes."

As far as amenities go, Matlock said she would like more restaurants in the city to be open into the early morning. She said Fort Smith is a "college town" with students who study into the early morning hours and would use them.

But like public transit, other initiatives aimed at amenities in the city are already in motion. Brynn Walker said she would like to see improvement on Towson Avenue, which is slated for renovation in 2022. Once renovated, the four-mile stretch of road between Zero Street and Garrison Avenue will be turned over from ArDOT to the city for development.

Residents on New Year's Day were hopeful for the direction Fort Smith is headed. They also said the city is a welcoming place.

"I'm grateful I was embraced when I moved here," said Induron Protective Coatings worker Russell Hicks.

"It’s important to keep Fort Smith a community," Brynn Walker said.