Agenda Highlights 3/15/22
The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting to be held 3-18-22 will begin with a vote on the creation of a new Sales Tax Review Committee to make a monthly review and report of the money coming in from sales taxes and the expenditures from those taxes (including the 1% for streets, bridges, and drainage, the city’s 78% share of the 1% Sebastian County sales tax, and if they are renewed in the May 24 vote, the .25% for Fire and Parks and the .75% for Police and consent decree sewer work). The committee will review that income and spending to make sure that the tax money is being spent for its intended purposes as prescribed in the ballot titles to be sure that it is going to what the voters approved it for. For example, money from the tax for Parks capital projects is going to Parks capital projects, money for the Fire Department is being spent on the Fire department, and money for streets is being spent on streets. The committee will be made up of 9 members, with one coming from each ward plus 5 at-large, and at least one member must be a CPA. The committee will also include the Mayor, Deputy City Administrator, and Director of Finance as participatory but non-voting members. 3 of the members will serve 3 year terms, 3 will serve 2 year terms, and 3 will serve 1 year terms with all being eligible for re-appointment at the end of their term. The committee will meet at least once per fiscal quarter.
The Board will vote on a resolution reinforcing the part of the municipal code that says that private property owners are responsible for mowing their own rights of way and easements. Though the code has technically been in effect, in practice, the city has not been enforcing it and has been instead driving mowers around the entire city and mowing all the rights of way regardless of whose responsibility they really are. Discontinuing that mowing of private property will save the city money and help the Streets department to make better use of their resources and employees.
There will be voting on two issues concerning applications for grants for the Fort Smith Regional Airport. The first is a resolution endorsing the airport’s application for a Small Community Air Service grant and pledging up to $100,000 of city funds to provide the matching “community support” requirement that the airport is not allowed to pay themselves. The grant is for a million dollars. The airport’s longer term goal is to re-establish eastern service, but the short term plan is to use the money to subsidize air service to have American Airlines add a Fort Smith to Chicago route. No city funds will be required until the grant is awarded and the new service begins.
The second airport grant issue is to authorize a grant submission to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for a 1300 ft expansion of the runway to be able to accommodate widebody aircraft. This would be part of a plan for the State and the City to work together to fund the runway expansion.
The Board will vote on a contract with Pickett Industries for $3,992,277 to construct the new A-6 cell at the landfill.
