Agenda Highlights 2/7/23

The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 2-7-23 will kick off with a vote on a zoning change for 7000 Wells Lake Road for construction of rowhouse housing development Alianna at the HUB.

The Board will vote on a zoning change for 7900 and 7908 Taylor Avenue to allow for redeveloping an existing warehouse into Axe and The Oak Distillery and restaurant and construction of 8 new RV camping pads.

The Board will vote on changes to the Unified Development Ordinance that would add 28 varieties of trees, 12 varieties of shrubs, and 8 grasses to the list of acceptable landscaping plants for required landscaping. It would also remove crepe myrtle and sawtooth oak from that list of approved plants. It would also require automatic sprinklers to be installed for all required landscaping.

The Board will vote on outlawing selling or giving away animals within the city limits with a $600 fine for violation of the ordinance. Exceptions to the prohibition include properly zoned permanent business, properly zoned and licensed kennels and breeders, properly zoned home occupation license holders, non-profit animal shelters, and a once per every six month exception for people rehoming an animal out of lack of ability or desire to care for it. The measure would also require that all animals sold or given away receive age appropriate vaccinations.

The Board will vote on whether or not to order the demolition of dilapidated abandoned houses at 705-709 South 6th and 2116 North I.

The Board will vote on a benefit for uniformed police officers that would allow them to be reimbursed for police training expenses and student debt as a one-time bonus of up to $15,000 dollars in reimbursement with an agreed upon term of service with the Police Department ranging from 18-72 months based on the amount of reimbursement received.

The Board will vote on paying $75,000 for repairs to the Fort Smith Senior Activity Center for damages caused by a pipe bursting during the extreme cold near Christmas.

The Board will vote on the purchase of a replacement pumper fire truck to service the South side of town for $757,252 from G&W Diesel Services.

The Board will vote on a whether or not to partner with Arcbest to paint the water tower near the Arcbest headquarters on McClure Drive. The water tower was installed in 2006 and has not been repainted, yet it is recommended for towers to be repainted every 10-15 years. It is best to repaint towers when water demand is low, so February would be ideal for starting the project. Also, that would coordinate well with Arcbest’s planned centennial celebration. Under the partnership, the usual bidding process would be bypassed and Arcbest would pay $383,670 for Viking Industrial Painting to paint the tower inside and out and include ArcBest anniversary logos on the outside (the logos themselves cost $12,000 of the total $383,670 price). Then the City would reimburse ArcBest for that entire painting cost and then over the next 10 years Arcbest would share regular cleaning and maintenance costs for the tower 50/50 (up to $15,000).

The Board will vote on accepting a $282,499.05 grant from Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding administered by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for the purchase of PPE kits containing liquid hand soap, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, and disposable 3 ply face masks.

The Board will vote on accepting a bid from Forsgren for $1,616,460.60 for 1.9 miles of street overlays. Forsgren was the only company to submit a bid for this contract.

The Board will vote on whether or not to renew the contract with Stonebriar Auto Services (Jiffy Lube) and Kenny Wray’s Automotive to provide the required inspections of taxi cabs for $90 per vehicle.

The Board will vote on the purchase of a 14 yard rear loading garbage truck, two 28 cubic yard side loading garbage trucks, one 25 cubic yard side loading garbage truck, an Aljon ADV600 compactor, a John Deere 700 Crawler dozer, and a Vermeer HG6000 compost grinder for a total cost of $3,539,000. All of the equipment and vehicles are replacements for existing similar equipment and vehicles. All of the trucks are replacing diesel fueled trucks with CNG fueled trucks.

The Board will vote on whether or not to purchase a 280 acre tract of undeveloped land for $840,000 and a 50 acre tract of undeveloped land for $175,000 for the Lee Creek water project.

The Board will vote on entering into a contract with 64.6 Downtown to provide downtown development services including recruiting businesses to the neighborhood, marketing, revitalization projects, and seasonal lighting and to operate Fort Smith’s Main Street Arkansas and National Main Street programs. The contract would pay 64.6 Downtown $12,500 per month up to a maximum of $150,000 per year. When proposals were solicited to provide the Downtown services and administer the Main Street programs, 64.6 was the only organization to submit a proposal.