Agenda Highlights 10/25/22
The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting scheduled for 10-25-22 will begin with Director of Building Services Jimmie Deer giving a presentation on the building permit process. He will walk the Board through how it works including the application process and application review process and the time tables typically involved.
Development Services Director Maggie Rice will give a presentation on the business license process.
A discussion that has been rescheduled twice due to a cancelled study session on 8-9-22 and a meeting where quorum was not reached on 8-23-22 will take place about options for advising residents of assistance available from the City and other agencies and organizations. The Executive Director of the local United Way , Shea Foldvary, will be involved in the discussion.
In the second item rescheduled from the canceled 8-9-22 meeting and 8-23-22 meeting with a lack of quorum, the Board will hear an update from the Fort Smith Housing Authority presented by Fort Smith Housing Authority Executive Director Mitch Minnick.
In 2021, the FSHA rental assistance program served 1500 families in Sebastian County and paid $6.8 million in rental assistance to landlords. The average rent payment for participants in the program is $211.73 and the average assistance payment is $358.89. Top challenges faced by the program are the length of the waitlist, declining landlord participation, rapidly rising rents, and limited availability of suitable units.
The FSHA owned rental housing program includes 482 units in 6 developments. There are plans for an additional 56 apartments to be constructed this year and 58 townhomes to be constructed in 2025-2026.
The home ownership new construction project serves 4-6 families per year. Top challenges faced by the program are availability and cost of land, limited funding, buyer credit readiness, and challenges in the current labor and construction market.
The rental unit project previously planned for the site of the former Bailey Hill Reservoir has been abandoned and replaced with a plan for home ownership project of 33 buildable lots. At least 23 of the lots will be reserved for home buyers at or below 80% of the area median income. This project is estimated to cost $2.5 million.
