Agenda Highlights 9/6/24
The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting will begin with a presentation from Tim Brooks with the Arkansas Department of Transportation regarding their plans for upcoming road work on Rogers Avenue between Waldron and South 79th that includes raised medians.
The Board will discuss entering a partnership with Entegrity for solar projects that will generate 17 million KWH of energy annually and offer a net savings of $100,000 annually and a total net savings of $3.5 million over the life span of the equipment. The projects include 2 off-site solar farms that will generate a combined 8.63 MW of energy (that will benefit from 50% tax credits), a solar canopy that would cover two rows of parking at the Farmers Market and generate 300 KW of energy (that will benefit from 30% tax credits), and a solar array for low income housing that is to be fully funded by the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. Under State law, the current net metering benefits that allow for a 1:1 rate structure expire 9-30-24. In order to lock in the 1:1 structure, an agreement must be in place before 9-30-24.
The Board will discuss financial plans to be included in the request for modification to the consent decree to be made to the State and the EPA that would result in an end date to fulfill the consent decree requirements of 2036 (giving the City 10 years longer than the current end date of 2026 that the City says it will be impossible to have the work finished by). The proposal would include plans for finances for the work and a schedule for the work that would honor the sewer rate freezes from 2023-2025 and maximum sewer rate increases of 3.5% from 2026-2030 that the voters approved when they approved the 5/8% sales tax to go to consent decree sewer projects. This issue was discussed at the 8-27-24 study session meeting and discussed and tabled at the 9-3-24 meeting.
The Board will do their annual review of the Departmental Services Objectives and Key Performance Indicators. Some highlights from the reports include-
City Administration has plans for 2025 to develop a master plan for the development of the stormwater retention ponds and park and the former ACME Brick property and for adding a new City Department to oversee customer service, sustainability, and facilities and fleet maintenance. Other top priorities for 2025 include supporting the growth and improvements associated with the Foreign Military Sales project, planning for the financial needs of the water utility, and exploring solutions for addressing housing affordability and availability and addressing blight including potentially rehabilitating abandoned buildings.
District Court plans to incorporate recording devices into the courtroom sound system. Their caseload was down slightly in 2024 from 2023. 86% of their cases filed have been adjudicated. RISE Court has been in operation for a year. 24 individuals have entered the program. A mental health related program will be implemented for RISE Court in late 2024.
Specialty Courts has seen only 2 of their graduates receive subsequent arrest. The Specialty Courts have seen 75 participants with a 42% graduation rate, 22% removed for non-compliance, and 36% are actively still participating in the program. The program is at 87% capacity.
The City Clerk plans for the implementation of the Cityview system to allow for online purchase of graves and columbarium niches at Oak Cemetery. They also plan for further implementation of the agenda packets for select Boards and Commission meetings to be made available on the City website soon alongside the Board of Directors meeting ones.
Building Services issued 1677 permits and conducted 5823 building safety inspections. Neighborhood Services conducted 14,919 environmental code inspections, 3427 property maintenance inspections, and inspected 363 parking violations. Planning and Building Services look forward to implementation of Cityview to allow for the processes for planning and licensing and permits to be conducted online.
The Police Department made progress toward establishing a second prectint and consolidated 911 answering station with the County. Their new CAD/RMS system will go live late in 2024 or in early 2025. They have goals for 2025 of decreasing downtown nuisance calls by 5% and reducing animal cruelty cases by 30%. Animal Services saw a 63% increase in animal bite cases from 72 cases in 2022 to 114 cases in 2023. Animal Services issued 182 citations in 2023 (up 219% over 2022). Significant pay raises enabled the Police Department to achieve full staffing. The Criminal Investigations Division saw 3,803 cases with an 89.32% clearance rate. The Crimes Against Persons Division had a clearance rate of 92%. The Crimes Against Properties Division had a clearance rate of 80%. The Special Investigations Unit had a clearance rate of 93%. Response time for priority calls in 2023 averaged 5.40 minutes and was faster than 2022, but the Department is still not satisfied with that time and seeks to meet a goal time of 5 minutes or less. 2023 saw a 14.71% decrease in thefts.
The Fire Department maintained the highest possible ISO rating and scored in the 90th percentile for fast turnout time. Their average response time was 3 minutes 28 seconds. They saved 95.02% of property at which they responded to fires.
The Parks Department completed Phase I of their improvements at Tilles Park and looks forward to Phase II that will include new shade structures and playground equipment. There is a new playground on the way for Carol Ann Cross Park and the Greenway and Boardwalk at Carol Ann Cross is set to be completed later this year. They are finishing improvements at Woodlawn Park including new playground equipment. The train tracks at Creekmore were re-laid and a miniature tressle and tunnel were added and improvements will continue at Creekmore. Wooden pedestrian bridges are coming for Riley Farm Park. Phase 1A of the Maybranch Trail is to be completed in late 2024 and Phase 2 planning should be finished by the end of this year.
The Solid Waste Department collected 25,000 tons of residential waste. They collected and recycled 2,500 tons and collected 2,500 tons of yard waste. They estimate that they will collect 30,000 tons of residential waste in 2025.
Transit ridership is up, already at 121,662 rides for 2024 so far and predicted to hit 280,000 for 2024. Ridership is above nationwide trends in relation to pre-covid era ridership statistics. The total cost per passenger in 2024 is $13.62 (up from $11.58 in 2023). The goal for 2025 is to reduce that cost to $11.92 in 2025. Response time for the Demand Response service was 97% on time.
