Agenda Highlights 9/5/23

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 9-5-23, the Board will vote on whether or not to allow a 158 ft tall AT&T cellphone tower to be constructed at 3915 Newlon Road. The Planning Commission approved the request to build the tower on the site with 7 in favor and 1 opposed. But there was an appeal filed by Stephen Smith, attorney for SBA Communications that owns another cellphone tower less than half a mile away. SBA would prefer for AT&T to add height to and share the existing SBA tower instead of building a new tower. Multiple neighborhood residents also communicated their opposition to the tower. The issue was discussed at length at the 8-29-23 study session meeting.

The Board will vote on continuing to contract with Axon for police equipment and software licensing including body worn cameras, in-car cameras, interview systems, data storage, VR training systems, and tasers. The new agreement will include 12 new fleet cameras, 30 new tasers, and additional software in addition to the equipment and services originally contracted for. The total cost of the contract would be $3,570,413.80 paid in annual installments through 2028.

The Board will vote on whether to allow Amigos Bar & Grill to apply for a private club alcohol license to operate at the former R.Landry’s restaurant building at 613 Garrison.

The Board will decide whether or not to accept and pay a settlement for penalties from the consent decree. The Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA originally demanded $2,521,350 in penalties be paid because of hundreds of sanitary sewer overflows between January 2015 and June 2021, a handful of treatment violations, and failure to meet the deadline for the 2015 Sanitary System Assessment remedial measures. The City believes that the 2019 flood, Covid, and supply chain issues should be considered a force majeure that should qualify for a reduction in penalties. The City and the federal government negotiated through the informal dispute resolution process rather than in-court litigation. The result of the negotiation was that the federal government has offered a settlement on the penalties for the City to pay $800,000 in full within 60 days. Outside legal counsel has recommended that the City accept and pay the settlement.

The Board will vote on whether or not to move forward with the purchase of property at 4501 Burrough Road that was formerly the Whole Hog Cafe to use it for an additional police precinct. The existing building there would be modified to serve as a police station building. At the 8-22-23 meeting, the Board voted to allow up to $500,000 to be spent to purchase the property. However, the asking price of the property was $790,000, but a counter offer has been made that would make the property available for a price of $575,000. The Board will vote on whether or not to pay that higher $575,000 price.

The Board will vote on waiving the fees for the required building permits and inspections for projects done by World Changers, a Christian student ministry that performs housing repairs for the needy (especially for senior citizens) including projects like roof repair, siding, painting, window replacement, and wheelchair ramps. The permits paid for by World Changers typically total about $200 per year. The issue was discussed at the 8-22-23 study session meeting.

The Board will vote on whether or not to contract with Forsgren for a total of $2,176,463 for 1.7 miles of street overlays.

The Board will vote on whether to contract with Burns and McDonnell to create a Streets and Traffic comprehensive safety action plan. The total project cost is to not exceed $348,975 and a grant from the US Department of Transportation will pay $280,000 of the total and the City will pay the remainder.

The Board will vote on whether to purchase a fleet maintenance and asset tracking software system for the Water and Sewer Department from Faster Asset Solutions for $93,297.50.

The Board will vote on whether to contract with Garver for $145,000 to satisfy one part of the consent decree corrective action plan that requires an independent engineering firm to determine the root cause of the inability of the Massard water treatment plant to treat ammonia nitrogen to within the limits.

The Board will vote on whether or not to purchase a prefab concrete restroom from CXT for Fort Smith Park for $253,678.12.

The Board will vote whether or not to purchase a youth sized basketball court for Creekmore Park to be located where the toddler play area and sandbox are currently located. A new train themed toddler play area is coming soon. The court would cost $172,804.90.

The Board will vote on a contract with Rent.Fun to rent kayaks via a self-serve app/cage system at Carol Ann Cross Park. The Board previously approved the kayak contract, but originally wanted the rental fee for the kayaks to be set at $5 per hour. The City was not able to negotiate the rental fee all the way to the desired $5, but they were able to negotiate a rate of $7 per hour and instead of the City keeping half of the revenue all of the rental revenue would go to Rent.Fun.

The Board will vote on whether to purchase sod to prevent erosion on a sloped area of the landfill. The only bid received for the sod was from Westark Sod of Fort Smith for $118,041.