Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 10/8/24

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 10-8-24 and led by Vice Mayor Rego in the absence of Mayor McGill and with Director Settle leaving about an hour and 20 minutes into the 2 1/2 hour meeting, the Board voted unanimously in favor of zoning changes for 5500 Spring Hill Road that would allow for the 23.55 undeveloped acres to be developed into the Liberty Ridge subdivision composed of 74 single family residential lots.

Director Martin inquired about whether the 4 inch water line in the area is sufficient. Brandon Hebert, engineer on the project with Halff Engineering, said that they will be extending an 8 inch water line to the project and will also be adding a pump station. He assured “There should not be any issues with water.”

The Board voted unanimously without further discussion to amend the Unified Development Ordinance to standardize and modernize language regarding signage for the entire city. Changes include removing the requirement for monument signs to be within a certain proximity to the property line, allowing whole monument signs to be used for advertising, allowing banners for a limited time for special events and new businesses, allowing facade signage on accessory structures, and allowing signage at business parks/shopping centers to advertise the businesses located in the park/center.

The Board voted unanimously to renew Westark Taxi’s franchise to operate a taxi service for 5 years.

The Board discussed whether to establish a Utility Advisory Committee. The committee would have been be made up of 3 Directors and 1 citizen from each of the 4 wards. It would have met at least monthly to research and advise the Board on water and sewer matters. The committee was discussed at the 9-24-24 study session meeting.

Joey McCutcheon spoke in opposition to the creation of the committee. He expressed an interest in greater accountability for the Board and expressed his preference for the whole Board to have extra meetings on the water topics instead. He said that water issues “has not been a priority” and Administrator Geffken has instead spent his time on “socialist” plans including the Move Fort Smith plan, Safe Fort Smith plan, and Energy Plan.

Dan Williams spoke in opposition to the creation of a committee. He expressed a desire for transparency and accountability. He suggested that Geffken be fired.

Chris Cadelli spoke in opposition to the creation of a committee. He said that the committee “will become a dumping ground for work and responsibilities” of the Board. He expressed his preference for extra Board meetings instead.

Crystal Cadelli spoke in opposition to the creation of a committee. She expressed concerns that the committee would have “no power to make change” and could only make recommendations.

Director Morton mentioned the complexity of the water and sewer issues and said that there is “not enough time in Board meetings to dig into these issues the way I think they need to be.” He said that the committee would “try to develop a better process for information flow to the citizens.” He suggested that if the committee is not proving to be effective after a year they could do away with it. He mentioned that all of the other Directors have jobs and that they don’t all have time for extra meetings. He said that the committee would be like all of the other boards and commissions in that the meetings would be open to the public and would be recorded. He said that it would be possible to arrange to have the committee meetings live streamed.

Director Good said that he could not think of a time that a committee has been thrown “under the bus” or “used as a scapegoat.” He expressed that there would be transparency in either committee meetings or additional Board meetings. He said that additional Board meetings would be easier than committee meetings for him personally to schedule off work to attend.

Director George Catsavis said he is “not sold on this.” He said that the ordinance creating the committee is “not very specific.” He asked if the committee would address water rates, efficiency, and complaints about water bills. Director Morton said that committee would not deal with individual bill issues or water rates. Of water rates, he said “That’s purview of the Board.” He expressed a desire to hire a big-city national top-tier expert engineering firm to consult with the committee on ideas for dealing with water and sewer issues efficiently, quickly, keeping costs down, and limiting the need for future rate increases.

Utilities Director McAvoy questioned if there would be time limits on the committee meetings and how long the meetings might be.

Director Martin said “People want us to slow down.” He said “I’m a no at this point.”, “People need better understanding of what’s happening with water and sewer.”, and “It’s my job.”

Director Christina Catsavis said that she liked the idea discussed initially of the committee including experts on the topics. She said “sometimes we need committees”, saying that she “can’t put any more hours into it” and mentioned working full-time while serving on the Board “We can’t do it all.” However, she said if it is not a committee of experts “I don’t know that that does any good.” Director Morton said that some local engineers and people from plants with their own water treatment facilities and other local people with experience and knowledge on the topics could apply to serve on the committee. Director Christina Catsavis expressed concern about hiring paid consultants. She mentioned hearing feedback from citizens that the City spends a lot on studies, some of which don’t result in anything. Director Morton mentioned the $4.5 million savings on the new cell at the landfill that was a result of hiring a consultant.

Director Christina Catsavis mentioned that her own water bill even without factoring in the charges for sewer this month was nearly $800. She mentioned having received phone calls from citizens regarding astronomical water bill increases this month. She said people were told to be expecting about a $5 increase. She said that the power to hire and fire department heads should be given back to the Board of Directors. Director Morton added that he has also received calls about people receiving unexpectedly extremely high bills, some as high as $1000.

Director Settle said of the duties of the proposed committee being the Board’s job “It should be our responsibility”. He suggested that instead of establishing a committee or adding extra scheduled meetings that the first study session meeting of the month be solely devoted to water and sewer issues every month starting next year. Director Morton said he would want the meetings to start in October or November as there is “no advantage to waiting”. To kill the original motion regarding creation of the committee to allow for Director Settle’s proposal that the first study session each month be about water and sewer to be added to an agenda for a vote, Director Morton motioned for a vote to table to original committee creation issue indefinitely. The vote to table and effectively kill the original motion passed with all but Director Rego voting in favor of tabling. Devoting the first study session of the month solely to water and sewer starting in November will be up for a vote at the next regular business meeting.

The Board voted in favor of a resolution affirming that they would prefer for City offices to remain in the 623 Garrison building and would like to pursue purchase of the building (rather than consider purchasing a different building in a different neighborhood). The resolution only states the Board’s preference on the matter to direct Administration what to focus on. Any actual purchasing related decisions will have to come before the Board for a vote. The matter was discussed at the 9-24-24 study session meeting.

Crystal Cadelli spoke in opposition to the resolution because there is still 4 1/2 years left on the lease on the 623 Garrison building. She suggested that the matter does not need to be discussed until a couple of years before the lease is up. Director Christina Catsavis said that the building is being sold and that the new owners might not offer an option to purchase the building. She said that purchasing the building would save $12,000 per month in rent. Cadelli asked if the sale of the building would void the lease. Director Morton said that it would not, that the lease would continue in its current form for the remaining 4 1/2 years, but that owning would save money. Cadelli expressed concerns about the costs of renovation to the 623 Garrison building. Director Christina Catsavis said “Nobody’s doing renovations.” She said that the purchase of the building would give the City use of the entire building, so they could spread out in it to reduce overcrowding without renovating. Cadelli said the offices “should stay where we are until we can get financially stable.” Director Martin said that what has been paid in leasing the building could have bought the building twice. Alluding to the recent purchase of water slides for Parrot Island, Cadelli said the building “could have been bought with slide money.”

Brian Westney spoke in opposition to the resolution. He mentioned the $14.6 million in renovations mentioned by Administration in the agenda packet for the previous meeting. He voiced support for the purchase of the other proposed building, the former Southwest Times building on Wheeler, because even with the $2 million cost of breaking the current lease it would cost $5 million for that building instead of $20 million for the 623 Garrison building. He expressed concern about the City going into debt. Director Christina Catsavis said that it would be about $4 million to purchase the 623 Garrison building, not $20 million because “there’s no need for renovations.” Director Morton said that the Administration mentioned the $14 million for renovations, but that the Board did not.

Joey McCutcheon spoke in opposition to the resolution. He said of the City having recently signed a 5 year lease “Does that not speak to the Board’s intention to be downtown?” He expressed concern that the CBID is controlling the Board.

Dan Williams spoke about religion and suggested that Director Morton spend his personal money to purchase the 623 Garrison building and allow the City offices to stay downtown for free.

Director Settle voiced his preference for purchasing the 3600 Wheeler building. However, he said that the Board should have meetings with the public about what they want out of a city hall and where it should be before making a decision. He said that with 4 1/2 years left on the lease that there is not a need to make a decision right now. He suggested that the issue be tabled to allow for more public input.

Director Christina Catsavis said that purchasing the 623 Garrison building would mean paying less money, having more space, and owning it at the end. She said “It’s a good deal.” She said that the City doesn’t need to spend $2 million to break the lease to buy the Wheeler building for $6 million. She said that a city hall does not need to be a “taj mahal” or “glamorous.”

Director Morton said that the City does not need to spend extra money on leasing for the rest of the 5 years. He expressed his desire to purchase a building. He said while the building on Wheeler is a “fine building” it would also require some renovations to best serve the purpose as a city hall and that it would not be big enough for the needs. He said that the 623 Garrison building if purchased would have functional extra space. He said that the CBID would be generating no profit on the arrangement with the building. He said that the current building has been fine since the 1970s and purchasing it “saves the City money” and “makes total economic sense and total practical sense.”

The Board voted on whether to table the issue until the second study session in January 2025. The vote failed only with Director Settle, Director George Catsavis, and Director Martin voting to table. The Board voted on the resolution to express a preference for staying downtown and pursuing purchase of the 623 Garrison building. That vote passed with all but Director Settle and Director Martin voting in favor of staying downtown and pursuing buying the 623 Garrison building.

The Board voted unanimously to re-approve the City’s share of the County property taxes for 2024 at the same rate. The City’s share of the property tax will be 5 mills to the general fund, and 1 mill each to the library, fire retirement and pension, and police retirement and pension. The rates are at the State maximum except for the one for the library. The tax for the general fund is expected to generate $8.5 million.

Director George Catsavis and City Clerk Gard clarified for the audience that the taxes are not new and will not result in any new or additional increase on property' owners’ tax bills.

The Board voted unanimously to contract with Krapff Reynolds for 8,160 ft of sewer pipe repairs, cleanouts, and manholes. The contract will be for $3,145,779. The original estimate for the project was $1,847,795.28. The funding will come from the sales tax for consent decree sewer work.

Chris Cadelli spoke and expressed support for spending on consent decree work. He said that the contract shows that the $4 million for water slides does not sound like a “drop in the bucket” after all. He also expressed concerns about water bill increases and criticized Geffken’s job performance.

Director Martin inquired about the difference between the estimate and the lowest bid. Utilities Director McAvoy said that the initial estimate was $1,847,795.28, but a follow-up estimate from earlier this year estimated it at $2.8 million. Director Martin mentioned inflation. McAvoy said that it is a problem nationwide and in some places some projects are coming in at 200-300 times more than the estimates. He said that the bid is a “viable bid” and “We really need to get the work done.”

Director Morton mentioned that the work could come in for less than the bid and closer to the $2.8 million estimate.

McAvoy mentioned that fixing the lines reduces sewer overflows and also pumping and treatment costs by keeping water from getting into the lines and into the sewer system.

The Board voted unanimously to accept a settlement from Birch Recycling with whom the City contracted for recycling from August 2020 through August 2024. The City claims there was a financial discrepancy of $850,921.24 owed to the City by Birch from the proceeds of the sales of recyclable materials. Birch disputed that claim but has agreed to settle for the full amount.

Jeremy Wolf, national sales manager for Birch Recycling, said that the contact that was signed was not what Birch had proposed, but they signed it it anyway. He said the contract “Did not benefit Fort Smith or Birch.” He said that while Birch feels “misled”, they would still do business with the City again if the opportunity were to arise. He said that in the 18 years the company has been in business they “have never not paid somebody.”

Director Morton inquired about the discrepancy. Solid Waste Director Riley said that when her department reviewed contracts they found that the City was underpaying Birch by $80 per ton so the City paid the $350,000 they owed for that and the review also showed that the City had not been paid for the revenue from material sales. As a result of that claim being disputed, a third party auditor was hired and concluded that Birch owed the City the $850,921.24.

Director Morton asked if the new recycling contract with a different provider is better, worse, or about the same than the contract with Birch. Riley said that the new agreement is more favorable for the City. She said the agreement with Birch “wasn’t as thorough” as it should have been “for either side.” She said that the new agreement results in a $15,000 net expenditure annually and that it is a $140,000-$150,000 savings over the old contract.

The Board voted not to contract with RDG Planning and Design for up to $698,000 for the creation of a masterplan for the former Acme Brick property purchased by the City to be redeveloped into detention ponds to reduce flooding and a park.

Jo Elsken spoke in favor of the masterplan. She expressed concerns about flash flooding and voiced support for the detention ponds calling them the “beginning to solving a lot of flooding.” She said that the ponds would be cheaper than some other efforts to combat flooding.

Director Martin expressed concerns that the planning might include an approach to engaging stakeholders similar to the Move Fort Smith and Safe Fort Smith plan that have drawn some public criticism. He expressed worry that it was going to cause “frustration” from citizens. He said he wants to know what RDG is going to be doing, what it entails, and what the process would look like. He called Acme Park “important.”

A representative from RDG spoke remotely. He said that community wants and needs would be the “driving force” in the planning. He said that there would be market analysis, benchmarking against similar areas where similar projects were successful and what their challenges there were, and finding ways to meet or exceed cost recovery targets. He said that there would be a “close collaboration” with the Streets and Engineering departments on the flood ponds. He said that there would be a technical advisory committee made up of City staff, a steering committee to “guide the process from a broader community perspective”, input from stakeholders, open houses, and community engagement events.

Deputy Administrator Dingman said that the plan would help determine what kind of amenities there would be and how they would fit on the property. It would help determine what investments would “maximize the benefit of the investment” in the property. He said that RDG has stressed the need for a significant public input component. He said that RDG has worked on other projects that also incorporated both detention ponds and a park together.

Director Morton said that he voted for the purchase of the property for the detention ponds, not a “gigantic park.” He called the park “totally secondary.” He voiced his preference that before anything is done on the park that the engineering on the ponds be done. He wants the best cost and most efficient way to capture the most water on the property. He said that he does not want the masterplan process to cause the City to have to wait until the end of 2025 to start working on the ponds. He mentioned that some of the land may be suitable for residential or commercial uses and it might be more valuable to the city to sell that land to recover some of the property cost.

Director Christina Catsavis voiced her support for selling the land that is desirable for commercial and residential property saying “Break off the frontage and sell it.” Dingman said that part of the master plan would address the possibility of leasing or selling those pieces of land. Director Christina Catsavis mentioned having received complaints about overgrown grass on the property and asked if the City is maintaining the easements. Dingman said that complaints had been received about along the northern boundary and along Country Club and that the issue has been addressed. Director Christina Catsavis said “Flooding is high priority.”

Director Martin mentioned that the property was purchased a year ago and that there is still nothing on it.

Director Rego said there is a “clear desire” to hear about scope and costs on just the detention ponds. He said that to maximize the best use of all of the acreage the City will have to engage a professional experienced firm eventually.

The Board voted against contracting with RDG for a master plan for the property with only Director Good and Director Rego voting in favor of entering the contract.

In the Officials Forum section of the meeting, Director Good mentioned the new fitness court opened at Martin Luther King Park.

Director Morton mentioned the extremely high bills that some citizens have been receiving this month, dominantly citizens with irrigation meters. He said that he wants to see the tier system and rates for comparable cities. He said that changing the tiers has created a problem and is “not reasonable.” Director George Catsavis said that irrigation was not mentioned in the meetings about the rate increases. Director Morton said that the charge is based on volume of use. Director George Catsavis said “There’s something wrong here.” Director Morton said “I agree.” Geffken said that the irrigation meters are at the tier 4 rate and that the tier 4 rate went up to $6.76 per CCF (up from $3.35 per CCF) and that tier 3 was also previously $3.35. Director Christina Catsavis said of problems with her own bill, while part of it was related to the irrigation system “I think there’s something with the meters.” She expressed concern about the impact of high water bills in this economy. Director Martin said that people with irrigation meters and the top tier users were most of who he heard from regarding unexpectedly high bills. He said “I think we missed it in terms of communication.” He said that most of the discussion about the rate increases was focused on the 60% of users that use 5 CCF or less and that people with irrigation and higher usage were caught off guard. He said it “drives me nuts.” Director Good said that irrigation was talked about in the meetings and irrigation is usage. He said there was discussion regarding possibly needing to cut back on irrigating. Director Martin said that it was not talked about strongly enough in public sessions and communication via email and social media. He said “I don’t think people knew about it.”