Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 11/7/23

The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 11-7-23 began with a vote to increase the amount of Industrial Revenue Bonds that Mars Petcare can issue for the expansion of their facility from the $145 million authorized in December 2012 to $180 million. Director Morton and Mayor McGill both thanked Mars for their investment in our community. The Board voted in favor of the bond amount increase unanimously except for Director Settle abstaining from discussion or voting on the matter because he works for Mars Petcare.

The Board voted unanimously in favor of two changes to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The first will allow required trees and shrubs to be planted in the interior of the site so long as they are visible from the right of way instead of the current rule that would require the property owner to seek a zoning variance to plant them there. The main reason this change was proposed is so that the variance would not be needed to make the landscaping accommodate utilities. Planning Director Rice said that variances are sought frequently for that reason and that it delays development for a month to wait on the variance to be approved.

The second change will remove the wording about “accessory buildings” in the section defining what “home occupation” is so that it would only be in relation to small businesses operated inside residential dwellings (just the primary house, no longer including outbuildings, sheds, barns, etc.). Planning Director Rice clarified that that change is just a little “cleanup” to make that definition part of the code match the bigger body part of the code so that both are in line with State Law.

Fort Smith resident Jo Elskin spoke to suggest that to enhance pleasant walkability the trees required to be planted should be required to be shade trees and that developers should be required to plant one tree every 25 feet. She also suggested that required perimeter shrubbery be required to be heat and flood tolerant varieties.

The Board voted unanimously to demolish dilapidated abandoned buildings at 812-814 North 21st and 600 North 10th.

Director George Catsavis asked how much the demolition would cost. Building Services Director Deer estimated that the one on North 21st would cost $15,000-$20,000 and the one on North 10th would cost $8000-$10,000.

Director Morton suggested that a program be considered where once clean-up and/or demolition liens on a property reached a certain amount that the City would offer the property owner a small amount like $500-$1000 plus the liens to buy the property and then it could be transferred to the Fort Smith Housing Authority for closer to fair market value and they could rehabilitate the structure or build housing on the lot.

Director Morton asked how many dilapidated buildings like these two there are. Deer said that there are 13 that are in process of coming to the Board, with 6 of those set to come before the Board “pretty quickly”. Director Martin said that “13 seems low”. He requested a list of where properties are in the process, as the over 300 properties that are included in the Neighborhood Services list provided monthly to the Board includes the whole range of properties in violation of codes from minor cosmetic issues to abandoned falling down uninhabitable unsafe structures. Director Rego agreed that a prioritized list would be useful and that Building Services could come up with a list of the top properties that are most likely to be in the process towards demolition in the next 6 months. That list could help in conversations and plans with the Housing Authority. Director Christina Catsavis and Director Settle both expressed that how long the water service at the blighted property has been shut off could be one good indicator to consider for targeting and prioritizing properties to address.

Director Christina Catsavis asked about the timeline on the demolition process. Deer clarified that once a property has reached the point of being condemned signs are posted on the property and a certified letter is sent. The property owner has 30 days to correct the problems. If the problems have not been addressed, then it comes before the Board for a vote regarding demolition. Then the property owners have 30 days to demolish the structures. In that 30 days, the City seeks bids from companies to perform the demolition. If the property owner hasn’t demolished it themselves in 30 days, the City sends a letter to the State environmental department in Little Rock and seeks approval for the demolition to begin. So in all, it takes 60-90 days from the first condemnation letter.

The Board was slated on the agenda to vote on whether to make downtown metered parking free for the holiday season from November 24, 2023-January 5, 2024. The free holiday parking has been offered every year since 2016.

Director Rego motioned that the measure instead be amended to offer free parking all the way until March 31, 2024 to allow for more information to be collected that would include a non-holiday period.

Director Settle said that he has heard concerns from business owners that don’t mind the free parking during the holiday but oppose free parking in general because they feel the meters prevent people who live downtown and employees of other businesses from parking in front of their businesses so that their customers cannot use the parking. Director Morton agreed with Director Settle that parking meters are there to create turnover for businesses and that employees and residents take up parking. Director Rego said that employers could direct their employees where to park. He said that the number of people living downtown is “not a staggering number” and that “residential behavior wouldn’t offset potential benefit”. Director Christina Catsavis mentioned that during the free holiday period First National Bank asks its employees to not park in front. Director Settle said that employers telling their own employees not to park in front of their businesses doesn’t stop the employees from parking in front of other businesses.

Director Christina Catsavis said that parking doesn’t have to be “all or nothing”. She said that City Administration and 64.6 have already been working on a strategic plan that could allow for meters to still be used in some places (like in front of government offices) and meters could be removed in other places. She said that she would like to see more data and expressed support for extending the free parking until March. Deputy Administrator Dingman said that a full discussion of parking options including some metering, no metering, zoned parking, hour limits, and other strategies is already going to be scheduled soon for an upcoming study session.

The Board voted in favor of free parking from November 24, 2023-March 31, 2024 with all but Director Settle voting in favor.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the 5 year capital improvement plans for Streets,Bridges, and Drainage, and Fire, the 10 year capital improvement plans for Streets and Traffic Control, the 2023 Transit Asset Management Plan, and the 2024 Sidewalks program. These plans were discussed at the October 17, 2023 study session meeting. The Parks capital improvement plan that was on the agenda was tabled until next week’s meeting to allow for it to be voted on after the upcoming Parks Commission meeting and some possible adjustments to priorities and timelines in the plan.

Director Martin asked how many of the street resurfacing projects in the CIP for this year are to be done by the City versus contracted out. Engineering Director Snodgrass said that they are all to be contracted out. The City mostly only does small resurfacing in-house. Director Martin asked if the planned resurfacing for Meandering Way would include any speed calming measures. Snodgrass said that it would not.

The Board voted unanimously to contract with Hawkins-Weir for $108,060 for the engineering for the Spradling Avenue extension to run from John Bell Jr. Park to North 23rd.

The Board voted unanimously to contract with Burns and McDonnell for $486,287 for design services on Phase 5 of the 48 inch Lake Fort Smith water transmission line project. The Board also voted unanimously to acquire the necessary easements for Phase 3 of the Lake Fort Smith transmission line project at a total cost of $126,600.

Director Martin inquired about the time frame for the completion of the transmission line. Utilities Director McAvoy said that it is set for the end of 2026 to early 2027.

During the Officials Forum section of the meeting, Director Good spoke about blight. He expressed concerns especially about dilapidated properties on the north side of town. Dingman said that the City Administration is currently working on crafting a formalized plan for moving dilapidated properties into a rehabilitated state by the Housing Authority or someone else. Some proposed solutions may include formation of a land bank. But they are working hard at finding something that is the best fit for this community. Director Good acknowledged that the problem and the solution have a “whole lot of moving parts.”. He also expressed concern about “slumlords” and suggested that while there may be no legal way to inspect inside private properties, it might be good to look into what can be done to address that issue. He suggested that the Board might consider establishing a citizen committee on blight. Director Christina Catsavis added that blight is a “high priority” for her. She said that she would support a new committee if that was what the other members wanted but expressed worry that “Committee is where you send things to die.” Director Martin suggested that rather than a whole new committee that the role of the Property Owners Appeal Board could be expanded to include bringing recommendations of things that need to be done regarding blight. He said that the City needs to “get on a more strict plan of action on blight.”

Director Morton spoke about the recent proposal at the Planning Commission meeting to require developers to build sidewalks on both sides of the street in new developments. The measure was voted down at that Planning Commission meeting due to costs to developers. Morton expressed his view that sidewalks on both sides are a “positive thing” and that they are cheaper to build when the new development is going in than to go back and add them later after the neighborhood is already established.

He also mentioned the personal property damage to homes on Edinburgh Drive during the mid-July floods. He said that the City has a program in place to help residents with personal property damage due to sewer backup caused by the City and when trees on City owned rights of way fall onto fences. He suggested a similar program be put in place to allow for small amounts of money to be issued for flood damage.

Director George Catsavis motioned for a resolution to be drafted and voted on at the next meeting that would call for the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) to be dissolved and the resolution would be presented to the Governor. He said that he has spoken with the Cities of Barling and Greenwood and that they would be interested in presenting similar resolutions. He said that he has also spoken to State legislators who also have expressed support for dissolving the trust. Colby Roe with the City Attorney clarified that the FCRA trust can only be dissolved with the agreement from all 4 beneficiaries (Fort Smith, Greenwood, Barling, and Sebastian County) and also the FCRA itself. So a resolution, even if there were resolutions from all 4 beneficiaries, would not dissolve the trust. Directors Christina Catsavis and George Catsavis expressed confidence that while the resolution itself cannot dissolve the trust, the Governor can choose to dissolve the trust if they receive communication from the beneficiaries that they would like it to be dissolved. It was decided that rather than each city meeting separately and sending the Governor separate communications, that they should schedule one meeting to all meet jointly and draft and sign and present one single unified document.

Director George Catsavis asked Roe if eminent domain could be used by the City to take the building currently being used as the FCRA headquarters to use it for a third police precinct or 911 call center. Roe said that yes, they “probably can”. Eminent domain couldn’t be used to condemn a property and take it over to use for the same thing (like they couldn’t take a park from another entity and use it as a park) but to use it for a different purpose for public benefit would probably be legal. In response, Director George Catsavis said “Let’s get started”. Director Rego said “Absolutely not.” and expressed his disagreement with actions that are “borderline spiteful”. He expressed support for the joint meeting and other actions that are conducted with “prudence and thoughtfulness”. He called the FCRA a “net positive to this community” and said “I do not feel pushed around by the FCRA.” Director George Catsavis mentioned the incivility of the words and actions of the FCRA.