Agenda Highlights 10/18/22

The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting agenda for 10-18-22 starts with a vote on ordering the demolition of an abandoned dilapidated house at 1922 Pryor Avenue.

The Board will also vote on ordering the demolition of an abandoned and dilapidated house at 723 South 18th.

The Board will vote on whether to allow Owens Corning to participate in the tax back program designed to encourage economic development that allows for companies to receive rebates on the state and local sales taxes collected on expenses for construction and expansion including building materials and new equipment. The expansion of the plant on Planters Road will cause Owens Corning to spend $8 million in building improvements and $16.5 million on equipment.

The Board will vote on entering a contract with Cityview to provide software for use by the Planning, Building Safety, Neighborhood Services, and Parks departments and the City Clerk. In addition to making information more digital and accessible and user friendly for the City staff, it would provide full online functionality for customers. It would easily migrate data from the old system and work seamlessly with the new Payit online payment system. The system would cost $769,310 initially and require an annual contract renewal costing $134,236 per year.

The Board will vote on whether to accept a bid from Forsgren to construct the new Excelsior Drive. The main purpose of the road is to support the new Owens Corning manufacturing facility and warehouse. The full contract price is for $2,754,862.50, but with much of the funding coming through state funding and through grants including a federal grant from the Economic Development Administration for $1.6 million and one from the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce for $50,000, the City’s share of the expense for the project will be $533,000.