Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 1/17/23
The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 1-17-23 was kicked off by a presentation from the Girl Scout Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in which troop members shared information about their annual cookie sale fundraiser currently underway and presented the Board with sample cookies. The sale began January 13 and will run through February with cookie order deliveries expected the second week of February and cookie booths to open February 17th.
Police Chief Baker spoke about his and Director Good’s representation of Fort Smith at an event in Little Rock for the National Day of Racial Healing. At the event Chief Baker presented the Fort Smith Police Department policy recognizing the role of the Police Department in racial healing and committing to support of the principles of the National Day of Racial Healing. The FSPD is the first department in the country to declare their commitment to such a policy. Baker said the department is “committed to leading the way to racial healing through policing in Fort Smith, Arkansas”. Director Good praised Chief Baker and the Police Department and said of Baker’s participation in the NDORH event “What I witnessed today, you all would be so proud of” and said “Leadership sets the tone, and this is true leadership.”
Mayor McGill presented a video filmed last year of his reading of his official proclamation regarding the National Day of Racial Healing.
The Board voted unanimously to relinquish control of some street sections located within the ABB campus so that they can be closed off and gated for the safety of ABB employees. The Board also voted unanimously to create/allow utility easements in those areas.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the pay rates for city employees. The new rates include a 7% merit raise for all employees. Employees already at the top pay rate will receive a one time lump-sum bonus payment of 7% of their base pay. There are also small increases for Fire Fighters. The biggest increase is a 23.85% raise for all uniformed Police Officers (except for the Police Chief) that will go into effect in July.
The Board voted unanimously to partner with Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization to develop an Alternative Mobility, Bicycle, and Pedestrian Master Plan. The City will be responsible for a total of $24, 117 while Frontier MPO would pay the remaining $96,465 of the cost of making the plan from Federal Funds that they have access to.
Mobility Coordinator Micheal Mings said that a lot has changed in Fort Smith since the current active mobility plan was made in 2004 prompting a need for a master plan that is more than just a map of trails and that considers current situations like growth at Chaffee Crossing and upcoming bicycle highways statewide. Director Rego agreed that a lot has changed in the nearly 20 years since the existing plan was made. He asked if the new comprehensive plan would be helpful in obtaining grant money for trails and other active mobility infrastructure. Mings answered that it would be helpful and mentioned that Conway, AR recently received a substantial grant for trails and that their comprehensive plan similar to this one played an important role in obtaining that grant. Frontier MPO’s Reese Brewer agreed that there is a need for a “consistent and cohesive plan” to “leverage that plan” for federal and other grants to build trail infrastructure.
Director Good expressed concern for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians and urged that it be a strong consideration in the plan. Mings agreed and expressed that improved visibility of sharrows where they are the best option (like on quiet residential streets) will be included but that they are not very protective and that trails are the best most protective infrastructure type for safety.
Director Morton asked how truck routes factor into the plan. Mings said it is “not the desire of people on bikes to be going in traffic with semi trucks” and that quiet residential streets are the preferred routes for bicycles. Morton mentioned that ARDOT is looking at rearranging truck routes through the city and suggested that that be taken into account when crafting the plan. Director Morton said that “the planning idea is an excellent idea”. Sharing further thoughts on the bike plan later in the meeting during the Official’s Forum section, Morton mentioned that Chaffee was a popular biking area even before the growth and development out at Chaffee Crossing and suggested that the City make sure that bicycles are kept in mind as Wells Lake Road is being developed because it is “easier to work on roads before you build up to the the edge of them than after”.
The Board voted unanimously to accept a bid for $3,098,678.30 from Forsgren for 1.8 miles of street overlays and two railroad crossing repairs.
Director Settle asked why the South 66 railroad crossing was being prioritized at this time while it is not as high a traffic street as many others. Engineering Director Snodgrass responded that that crossing is one of the ones in the worst condition in the city and that it serves the Airport tower.
Prompted by Director Morton, Snodgrass explained how to compare the cost with previous years for street overlays the cost is calculated by total square yardage rather than by mileage length because of the differences in width of streets. The number of lanes varies as well as the width of the lanes.
The Board discussed whether or not to enter a cost sharing agreement with Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority and Rival Commercial Real Estate for street overlays, new railroad crossings, and minor storm drain work on Ward Avenue between Terry Street and Fort Chaffee Boulevard. The total cost to the city is estimated at $257,047.17.
The FCRA approached the Board about sharing in the cost of the project (the City paying 257,000, FCRA paying 260,000, and Rival paying $75,000). The City’s share of the project is about the same as the same as the overlay project the City had already included in the 2022 Capital Improvement Plan.
Director George Catsavis emphatically expressed disagreement with the cost sharing agreement. He said he was “not happy with that” and that the FCRA “have millions of our dollars in the bank. They’ve got plenty of money” and said of the FCRA in general that it “isn’t my favorite organization”. Administrator Geffken clarified that the project is for a City owned street and that it would be beneficial to The Barracks development. Director Settle expressed agreement with Director George Catsavis. He expressed frustration that the FCRA is aware that the city wants to keep Deer Trails golf course as a golf course but that they have pushed back when asked to assure that and now are asking for “$250,000 of our money to make commercial property look better”. Director Morton said that he can “certainly understand Settle and Catsavis’s point of view” and called the FCRA’s reaction to the golf course issue “extremely disappointing” and suggested that the Board instead make a “broad agreement” with the FCRA incorporating both the preservation of the golf course and addressing willingness to participate in putting in City money for joint projects. Director Rego reminded and Geffken agreed that to use the golf course land for anything other than a golf course or baseball recreation facility that the land would have to be rezoned and that it would have to go through the Planning Commission process and be approved by the Board. Director Rego expressed concern for the lack of communication of the issue from the FCRA but said that “we actually hold all the cards” and that it would be “a bit of a jumble to tie up road we’re responsible for” over the golf course. Director Morton agreed that the zoning control makes it so that it should not be an actual problem but expressed disapproval over the principle that the FCRA is supposed to manage property for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust (Fort Smith, Barling, and Greenwood) but that “doesn’t seem to make any impression on them at all”. Mayor McGill reminded that the street project is “another issue” separate from the golf course issue. Director Rego said that the “most extreme step we’d want to take would be to table” the measure “not to vote down completely on account of the golf course”
The Board voted on a motion to table the Ward Avenue street project cost sharing issue until the second meeting in February. The Board voted in favor of tabling it with all of the Directors voting to table it except for George Catsavis. It will be back up for a vote again in February.
The Board voted unanimoulsy to make payments of $60,000 to Area Agency on Aging, $9,500 to Project Compassion, and $175,000 to Sebastian Retired Citizens Association for services provided to citizens of Fort Smith including the programs offered at the local Senior Activity Centers. The Board also voted to renew the agreement with the Fort Smith Museum of History to pay up to $20,000 to cover their utilities.
The Board, in keeping with the City’s policy on gifts, voted on approval for the acceptance of an anonymous donation of 3 $25 dollar gift cards to local restaurants to be given to each Police Department staff member (a total gift value of $75 per Police employee).
Director Settle asked if it would be possible to have a generic approval policy for the future for similar gifts including those to other departments. Geffeken said that a blanket resolution could be passed to allow approval to not have to go before the Board for similar gifts within a reasonable value amount. Director Morton voiced his opinion that it is good for the Board to always know and be aware of the gifts. Geffken agreed “there is benefit for it coming through the Board”.
Director Rego pointed out that the grand total of the gift adds up to about $20,000 collectively. He said “Wow!” and thanked the donor. Director Martin also chimed in thanking the donor.
In the Officials Forum section of the meeting, Director Rego invited citizens to attend the meeting about May Branch Trail to be held Wednesday 1-18-23 at 6:30 pm at Elm Grove Community center. There will be free pizza provided at the meeting.
Director Rego also brought up up that Arcbest’s 100th anniversary celebration is coming up and inquired about an update on the possible water tower beautification in conjunction with the event. Geffken said that an agreement has been made for the City to split the cost of maintenance of the water tower near the Arcbest facility with Arcbest and that after an evaluation showed that the tower could not just be cleaned they had requested the tower be repainted including painting “Arcbest 100 in 2023” on the tower. The two options presented were that the City could go through the usual process and the tower could start to be repainted in April or to have the tower painted faster Arcbest could enter into the contract with the vendor that did the evaluation to have the tower painted for $391,500 and then the city could reimburse them for the City portion of the shared cost later. It appears that Arcbest prefers the faster option. The issue will be up for a vote for the Board’s approval at the first meeting in February.
Director Morton mentioned that “water towers are very prominent structures” and that other companies might be interested in also sponsoring towers and sharing maintenance costs. He called entering into more water tower sponsorship agreements a “really good idea”.
Director George Catsavis asked that discussion of the labor shortage at the water department and a step by step run-through of the water meter reading and billing process be presented at a future study session. He also requested that moving the customer service back to the Finance Department be added to a study session. Geffken said that the move would be “do-able” but “incredibly difficult”. Director Good mentioned the tour of the Utilities facility held in September of 2021 that did the whole walk through of the process thoroughly (Director George Catsavis was absent at that tour and meeting) and suggested that maybe that tour could be conducted again. All of the suggested items will be added to study session agendas in March.
In the Executive Session of the meeting, Heather O’Hara was appointed to the Arkansas Fair and Exhibition Facilities Board and Chris Joannides was appointed to the Sebastian County Solid Waste Management Board. The reappointment to the Ward 2 seat on the Sales Tax Review Committee of Richard Morris, who had been previously appointed but resigned, was slated to be discussed further later. No one was appointed to the seat at this meeting.
