Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 10/17/23

The Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting held 10-17-23 included discussion of the appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of a zoning change for 6101 Kinkead to allow for the building of an activity center for the River of Live Pentecostal Church of God. The Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of approving the change. An appeal to the decision has been filed by Larry McRedy on behalf of MLC, LLC., owner of property directly to the south of the church. The reasons given for the appeal center around the appellant’’s concerns regarding lack of information about planned drainage, signage, and lighting and the possibility of expanded hours for church activities to be held there. The church says that all of those things will be handled in compliance with all City requirements. McRedy said that the main concern is with the drainage and how the requirement to build a detention pond would be enforced. He expressed a desire to have the detention pond requirement stated explicitly in the wording of the conditional use permit. He said that “We’re not totally opposed to this project.”

Director Martin and Director Settle received clarification from Planning Director Rice that all projects that disturb more than an acre are subject to 2011 Stormwater Drainage Standard rules, so this project would be subject to them, and that would include for them the requirement to build a detention pond. Director Morton asked if those rules are enforceable by the City and Rice and Engineering Director Snodgrass both answered that they are. The appeal will come back before the Board for a vote next week.

The Board discussed the appeal of the Planning Commission decision regarding zoning changes for 9916 and 10018 Highway 271 South to be developed for a truck repair shop. The Planning Commission voted 5 in opposition and 1 in favor of the request. Though the approval was denied, it would be approved by the Planning Commission if the property owner were to run an 8 inch water line and install fire hydrants as required by the Fire Code and erect an 8 ft fence. The property’s owner, Denny Altes, filed an appeal. The reasons given for the appeal include opposition to the requirements for the 8 inch water line and the fencing.

Altes said that the property is 1/2 mile outside of the City limits and that when it was purchased in 2021 he asked Don Chavis at the City’s Engineering Department and was told that he would not need a permit. So Altes built a building at the cost of $65,000. Planning only became aware of this building after it was already constructed and that it lacked a permit when Altes contacted the Utilities Department to arrange to tap into the existing 2 inch water line. The cost to run the 8 inch water line and add the hydrants would be $250,000. Of the cost, Altes said “ My budget is just not there.” He expressed concern about having already paid money to build the first of the intended 6 buildings and not being able to afford to run the water line to be allowed to use them or to proceed with the rest of the project. He said that it would take him years to save enough money to afford the water line. Altes said that he has built on properties inside the City limits and gone through the process and said that when he has built on properties outside the limits he has not had to go through a process and just assumed he would not need to go through a permitting process on this property. Of this assumption, he said “Which is wrong, I know.”. Rice reminded that he went through the process to build a building to replace one destroyed by fire very near the property currently in question back in 2018 that was also outside of the City limits.

Director Morton asked if the 2 inch water line would be adequate for the Fire Department to put out fires. Fire Department Division Chief of Fire Prevention Bishop said that a minimum of 6 inches would be needed to support a hydrant. A 2 inch line would collapse and not be able to provide proper water flow. Bishop said that “Water is paramount for safety” for building occupants and especially for fire fighters and that a “2 inch line won’t even touch it.” Director Settle reminded that a fire at the recycling center nearby the property was a total loss because 2 inch lines didn’t have enough pressure to put out the fire properly.

Director Rego asked for clarification regarding Don Chavis. Administrator Geffken said that neither Don Chavis nor Engineering Director Snodgrass had discussed the matter with Altes and had never said that he didn’t need a permit.

Altes said that the area is served by the Rye Hill/White Bluff Fire Department that hauls their own water instead of relying on hydrants. Director George Catsavis asked if Altes could waive fire service. Bishop answered “I suppose so.” and “He has the opportunity not to welcome us.” Director Morton expressed concern about the potential future property owners who would assume they have fire protection. He expressed opposition to a permanent waiver that would encumber future owners. Director Rego expressed that the he would in general not support an employer being able to waive fire coverage as it would pose a safety hazard to the employees.

Director George Catsavis asked the “City’s not gonna pay for a water line are they?”. Geffken answered “No.”

The Board discussed the renewal of the cybersecurity insurance policy with Brown Hiller Clark. Insurance consultant Phillip Merry presented quotes from Brown Hiller Clark as well as other competitors. This year’s Brown Hiller Clark policy would be $10,000 cheaper than it was last year. Still,  Cowbell offered higher limits and a considerably lower price. Cowbell would offer $3 million in coverage for less money than was paid for last year’s BHC policy.

The policy from BHC would reduce their payout time for DDOS attacks from 8 hours that it is currently to only 1 hour with renewal. All of the other competitors offered an 8 hour time. Merry said that since that is just for when they start to pay out on lost revenue, it isn’t a big issue for the City (like it would be for a business that is selling things via a website) because there wouldn’t be a lot of lost revenue in that type of attack because the City would just re-bill any accounts affected by the outage. The City would still have immediate cell phone access in the event of an incident with all of the companies.

Director Settle suggested not taking out a stand-alone cybersecurity policy because AML includes $2 million of pooled coverage at zero cost (included with the other coverage the City already buys from them). Director Christina Catsavis said “I believe our system is secure, but no system is impenetrable” and expressed her support for purchasing a policy in addition to AML.

Merry praised Gentry and said that improvements he and his department are responsible for contribute positively to the pricing and coverage in the quotes.

Director Morton asked about what Fayetteville has and how they felt about it in light of their recent serious cyberattack. Gentry said that Fayetteville had a private policy and “what they had worked well.”

Director Rego asked Gentry what plan sounded best to him. He said that he was “really happy to have multiple options” and that the City “cannot be too prepared in this day and age”. He said that AML plus an additional private policy would be the “gold standard”. Maintaining AML coverage as the secondary coverage and switching to Cowbell as the primary insurer seemed to be favored by Merry and IT Director Gentry.

The Board discussed the five year Capital Improvement Plans for Streets, Drainage, and Bridges. Projects for 2024 include 12.7 miles of streets improvements, a detention pond near Hardscrabble, traffic signal work, levee stabilization, work on the Maybranch Outfall culverts, retention ponds at Acme Brick Park, extension of Spradling Avenue from John Bell Jr. Park to North 23rd, a project to assist the Fort Smith Housing Authority building project at the former Bailey Hill Reservoir site, and improvements near the Bakery District at 6th and Wheeler.

Director Morton said of the detention ponds at Acme Brick Park, “I would like to move that as quick as we prudently can” and that he would be “disappointed if that takes till 2026 to complete.” He asked how urgent the May Branch outfall culverts are. Snodgrass answered “very urgent.”

Director Settle expressed opposition to the back-in parking planned for near the Bakery District saying “There’s gonna be a wreck there.” Director Christina Catsavis mentioned back-in parking in Fayetteville and said “Everyone hates that.” Geffken said that the City “can reconsider that.”

Director Rego agreed with Director Morton about the speed on the Acme ponds and encouraged the newly hired grant writer to work on pursuing external grants to help on the ponds and park amenities at that property.

Director Martin noted that Towson Avenue is mentioned in the 5 year plan as being slated to be bid in 2028. Snodgrass said that next year ARDOT will do an overlay of the street pavement, but that there will still need to be utilities relocation work, rights of ways obtained, and new curbs, new gutters, and sidewalks. Geffken added that ARDOT needs to obtain 210 easements and that 8-10 businesses that are in proximity to the street will be especially complicated situations.

Director Catsavis asked if there have been any engineering plans done on the Planters Road extension saying “There’s been a lot of pushback on that.” Snodgrass said that there were some initial plans made in 2004 but no designs more recently.

The Board discussed the 5 year Capital Improvement Plan for the Parks Department. Some planned projects for 2024 include improvements at John Bell Jr. Park including 8 basketball courts, 14 pickleball courts, sports lighting, a water amenity, a pavilion, and upgrades to 2 of the soccer fields to accommodate the needs of a minor league soccer team planning to make those fields their home field. Other 2024 projects include a new playground at Carol Ann Cross Park, fencing near the splash pad and covered seating near the newly poured basketball courts at MLK Park, walking trail and basketball court and playground improvements at Tilles Park, a restroom at Woodlawn Park, a dog park on Old Greenwood, improvements at Hillcrest Park, and artificial turf on 2 fields at the Kelley Ballparks. At Creekmore Park, a train themed toddler playground and swings are set to be installed.

The youth basketball court at Creekmore that was previously discussed during the recent update on the Parks 2023 Capital Improvement Plan is no longer being planned. In the part of the park where it was slated to go, where the non-ADA compliant sandbox area is currently, there is now a plan for a patio and picnic area including 2 cornhole boards.

The Creekmore pool will be getting a new bath house and diving well enclosure, but the estimate for the cost of the bathhouse currently far exceeds the previous estimate. The cost is currently estimated to be $6.6 million, $4.6 million for the bath house and $2 million for the diving well. The diving well enclosure needs to be done along with the bath house because waiting and doing it separately would result in a substantially higher price than doing the two projects together. The higher estimate for the project puts it $2.6 million over the allocation for it from the excess sales tax. To make room in the budget to prioritize the new bath house, the Chaffee Dog Park that has already been put on hold due to flooding (and will likely need to be relocated to a different site) and Segment 2 of the Chaffee Trail are both being pushed back to 2026. The 2024 plan still includes contributing the $125,000 City share of the partnership with ACHE, ArcBest, and FCRA for Chaffee Trails.

Director Settle expressed opposition to the new basketball and pickleball courts at John Bell Jr. Park because it is a new park and on the edge of town. He suggested instead spending that money on a new slide for Parrot Island Water Park or possibly amenities at other parks in the city including Martin Luther King Park. Geffken said that the City has been investing in John Bell Jr. Park to make it “another jewel in the crown.” Director Morton agreed with Director Settle about John Bell Jr. Park. Director Good said “I don’t like the idea of taking taking steam out of our sails”, but also said “I don’t think moving money away from it is gonna hurt.”

Director Morton expressed opposition to the high cost of the bath house. Of the $4 million price, he said “I’m just not buying it.” and called it “way too much money.” He said that “All we need is what we have at Parrot Island.” He also said that what he hears people praising about NWA are not their pools or their basketball courts, but their trails and biking amenities. He said it “Troubles me greatly” moving the Chaffee trail expenditures further out.

Director Rego agreed with Morton about not wanting to push back the trail. He also expressed opposition to moving any money away from John Bell Jr. Park. He asked if there are any public pickle ball courts already. Geffken responded that there are 8 at Chaffee. Director Morton and Director Martin added that they are in poor repair. Director Christina Catsavis added that they do not have a bathroom.

Director Martin suggested that they keep regular swingsets at the parks as they redo playgrounds. He also suggested that pickleball and basketball might be added at Creekmore. Parks Director Deuster said that a basketball court at Creekmore is being planned as part of another project at that park in the future. Director Martin said the Maybranch trail needs to be a priority. He also encouraged prioritizing dog parks. He said that he has been telling people for a year that there would be 2 coming 2023 “and we have zero”. Director Morton asked about the dog park planned for Old Greenwood being delayed by fencing for water infrastructure. Utilities Director McAvoy said that it has to be fenced for security. Morton said that the neighbors with property that back up to the dog park that are opposed to it have “valid concern.” He also said that it has taken too long and the City’s “effort was poor”. He suggested that the City “need to make a serious effort to look somewhere else.” Director Rego suggested that other land that the City already owns or underutilized space in existing parks should be considered for possible dog park locations. Director Good said that since the majority of the neighbors are against the Old Greenwood location, he is opposed to it. He mentioned that the dog park at Fort Smith Park is underutilized. He suggested considering the City property at the end of Grand Avenue.

Geffken mentioned that since the Fort Smith Athletic Club has closed its indoor tennis courts, he has been approached about a public-private partnership for additional covered tennis courts for Creekmore.

Director George Catsavis asked if the putt putt course at Creekmore is profitable and suggested that it might be replaced with something that would generate more income. Deuster said that the City takes in $1 per game and reinvests it in things like replacing the timbers and greens. Last year, it took in $3000 dollars. Geffken said that the building and course does need work.

Director Christina Catsavis asked how much revenue the water park generates. Geffken answered that it brings in over $1 million per year in revenue with a $40,000 profit.

The Board discussed the Fire Department’s 5 year Capital Improvement Plan. The main expenditures for 2024 include a replacement pumper truck and the new maintenance facility. Fire Chief Waters mentioned that the price of fire equipment continues to increase drastically. The pumper truck that would have been $750,000 in February is now up to nearly $1 million. He also said that they are currently short 12 employees, but that 33 applicants recently passed the exam and will be interviewed. He expects the positions to be filled easily.

The Board discussed the Streets and Traffic Department 5 year Capital Improvement Plan and 2024 plan for Sidewalks. The plans for 2024 include construction of 2.54 miles of new sidewalks and repair of 1.15 miles of sidewalks. Streets and Traffic main expenses for 2024 are replacement equipment including trucks and a street sweeper.

Director Rego praised the sidewalks plans calling them “mobility and walkability minded.” Director Good called the sidewalks on the Northside “amazing.” Director Morton said that he gets more compliments from residents on the sidewalks than anything else.

Director Settle suggested a greater effort be made at removing vegetation from overgrown drainage ditches to help reduce flooding. Streets Director Meeker said that part of the problem is that the department got behind while doing storm clean up this summer. He said that a full time ditching crew and a truck for them is being proposed in this year’s budget.

The Board discussed the 2023 Transit Asset Management plan. Over the next 5 years, the Transit Department plans to spend a total of $5.7 million on assets with $4.6 million of that being reimbursed by the federal government.

Director Rego pointed out that the distance the fleet of buses run annually is the distance from the “earth to the moon and back”.

Director Morton asked about ridership trends. Transit Director Savage said that the Fort Smith Transit is back up to 87% of its pre-covid ridership numbers. Regional trends are at 76% of pre-covid numbers. He called Fort Smith “ahead of the nationwide trend for our area.” He said that he thinks the larger buses have contributed to that.

Director Morton asked how many people are using the app. He said he has used it and “It’s really excellent.” Savage didn’t have the numbers for usage but said that it has cut down on phone calls to dispatch because people are using it.

During the Citizens Forum section of the meeting, resident Craig Lorenson spoke in opposition to the one-way signage installed recently on Vista Blvd. He mentioned that there have been no traffic accidents there. He said that the playground is not a roundabout and doesn’t meet the illumination or signage requirements to be a roundabout. He said that it being a one-way is not necessary and not customary for the area.

Andy Posterick spoke to encourage the Board to think about economic sustainability in their 5 year plans especially concerning roads. He mentioned the long term maintenance costs of roads. He has crafted a report he will send to the Directors in which he has researched and figured the annualized 50 year maintenance costs of roads, sales taxes towards roads, and can show an estimate of how much the road in front of any parcel of property is costing and can compare it to the tax revenue from the parcel. The most profitable parcel is the Reserve at Chaffee Crossing apartment complex. The second most is Rheem. The third is Graphic Packaging. Some parcels are costing the city money. He encouraged the City to encourage development of vacant and blighted lots to generate revenue.

One resident asked for an update on the Planters Road extension and another resident, Michelle Jackson spoke in opposition to the Planters Road extension. She mentioned that the County has put up signs about where the proposed extension would cut through Ben Geren trails. Geffken said that the City is not currently moving forward with the extension. Geffken said that if they were to at some point move forward with it, they would build tunnels or bridges at the places where the 3 trails would be intersected by the road. Jackson said that traffic would be a disruption to the natural environment on the trails even with bridges and tunnels at the crossings. Director Morton expressed support for finding a route south of the previously discussed extension instead. He pointed out that there is no money mentioned in the Capital Improvement Plan for the extension in 2024 and that he does not expect any money to approved for it in 2024.

Jo Elsken encouraged the new Grant Writer to look at new Federal workforce development grants. She said that the Black Chamber of Commerce has expressed willingness to work with the grant writer to help obtain those grants for Fort Smith.