Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 1/18/24

The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 1-18-24 kicked off with 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.

Mayor McGill made a proclamation in support of the National Day of Racial Healing.

The Board voted unanimously to approve issuing industrial revenue bonds for a $30 million dollar expansion to Walther Firearms’s existing Fort Smith facility. The facility expansion will allow the company to double their employee count in Fort Smith and those added jobs will each pay over $20 per hour. Mayor McGill and Director Settle both thanked Walther for their investment in the city. Director Settle suggested that at some point in the future the Board might consider if/how the Police Department might transition to using all Walther made firearms.

The Board voted unanimously to make payments of $2500 each to 5 property owners on Edinburgh Drive for flood damages.

The Board was scheduled to vote on an amendment to the City’s Tort Claims Policy to establish a program that would allow for payments to property owners for flood damage resulting from delayed drainage improvements .

This issue was discussed in depth at last week’s study session meeting. As a result of discussion at the meeting, changes were made to the amendment to the policy that was originally proposed. Those changes include wording that requires that claimants demonstrate that flooding was due to the delay of specific drainage improvements that were included on the City’s 5 year Streets, Bridges, and Drainage Capital Improvement Plan, that the property be located outside of the National Flood Insurance Program regulatory flood zones, that the property owner or tenant have flood insurance, that the payment would be limited to the lesser of $2500 or the deductible on the claimant’s insurance policy, and that the program be limited to a budgeted amount and that payments would be made on a first-come-first-serve basis until those funds are exhausted.

Director Morton who originally advocated for the payments expressed opposition to the revised version of the policy change and said “In the form that it’s in, it doesn’t really accomplish anything.” He opposed the requirement to have flood insurance saying that it rendered the proposed policy “completely useless”. He said that when he originally was in favor of requiring or strongly encouraging flood insurance he had a much lower price in mind for the cost of flood insurance (based on his own experience buying it years ago), but after speaking with Insurance Consultant Merry, he learned that flood coverage typically costs between $500 and $1000 per year with around $800 being the average for most households. He said that his idea to offer payments was to help people who don’t have much money and that “this doesn’t do that.” Director Morton also expressed his view that the policy needed to also contain wording that would cover for flood damage caused by delayed City drainage maintenance like flooding caused by trees blocking up a ditch.

Director Good said the policy “sounds like it heavily covers the City” and inquired how the policy compares to what other cities in the state are doing. Administrator Geffken said that “no other City covers” flood damages and that the policy would be “going above and beyond” other cities.

Director Martin called the policy “really really strict as to who is able to qualify” and expressed that he felt like it would make it so that nearly no one would qualify for payments.

Director Christina Catsavis expressed her view that the campaign promoting flood insurance would likely still not be effective enough at getting residents who don’t live in a flood plain to purchase the insurance.

The Board voted unanimously to table the amendment to the Limited Claims Policy so that it could be rewritten to reflect the changes suggested at the meeting and the new version will be presented to the Board for a vote at the first meeting in February.

The Board voted unanimously in favor of establishing the system for vouchers for spaying and neutering of pets for low-income Fort Smith residents. The voucher system originally mentioned in the most recent animal ordinances limited the vouchers to one per household per year, but the new version will allow up to 4 vouchers per household per year through 2026 and then will only allow for one per household per year after that. The reasoning behind that change is that while the spay/neuter ordinance is still new and the stray population is still such a problem that some households might need more vouchers to sterilize their multiple pets in the beginning years of the program.

The voucher system will include an online application process with vouchers covering up to $100 per animal and could be used to also cover microchipping and rabies vaccination if provided at the same time as the sterilization. The income guidelines for the vouchers will mirror the income guidelines for the City’s Project Concern water bill discount program. The vouchers will be issued on a first-come-first-serve basis until the allotted budget for the program is exhausted. The allotted amount for 2024 is $150,000.

Brenda Altman, currently on the Board of Fort Smith Animal Haven and formerly a member of the Kitties and Kanines Board, spoke in support of the voucher program calling it “a great tool to prevent overpopulation of animals.” She also expressed her support for the TNR program also up for a vote later in the meeting.

Director Christina Catsavis suggested with “such a problem with pets not being fixed” that the income requirement be removed.

Director Settle expressed his view that the income requirement should be left in at least the first year or two to give the underprivileged “first shot” at the funds and then later on the Board could reconsider and possibly lift that requirement.

Director Morton expressed his support for the income requirement in the beginning of the program and then reassessment of that part of the program after it has been established long enough to get a feel for how much the program is being utilized.

Director Martin suggested that after a few months of monitoring the program, if it is not being highly utilized yet that it could then be opened up to all residents regardless of income.

Director Good said that stray overpopulation is a “huge problem all throughout the city” but acknowledged that he has noticed a higher need in some low to moderate income areas of the city (especially noting some greater issues on some areas of the North side than the South side). He expressed support for keeping the income requirement so that those low and moderate income areas could have the opportunity to use the funds first.

Director Christina Catsavis inquired about what plans there are to publicize the launch of the program. Public Relations Manager Buchfink answered that there are plans for social media, email, and billboard campaigns. Director Rego suggested also sending out bilingual physical mailers and also making presentations to civic groups and churches to promote the program.

The Board voted unanimously to establish a trap-neuter-return (TNR) system for feral cats. The intention of the program is to help reduce the population of feral cats. The system will offer payment to veterinarians who are registered as vendors with the City for submitted invoices of up to $50 per feral cat for services including sterilization, vaccination, ear notching and record keeping. The payments will come out of the same budget allotment as the sterilization voucher program and will be available up to the allotted budget amount for the program. The program will be run through Buchfink and the Finance Department so as to not add burden to the Animal Services part of the Police Department.

Director Rego said of the program “This is good news.”

Director George Catsavis expressed concern that the program only covers sterilization but does not help feral animals stay fed. Buchfink said that feral cat numbers go down in communities that have TNR programs. Fort Smith resident Mel Winker, who has done TNR all at her own expense that got the whole colony of cats behind her house spayed, spoke in support of the program. She agreed that TNR does not help feed the feral cats but because of the sterilization her neighborhood “won’t have 25 new cats in a couple of months.”

The Board voted unanimously to issue orders that the owners of the vacant houses at 4401 Armour, 1903 North 13th, 1405 North 21, and 9108 Enid must remedy the code violations or demolish the structures in 30 days and if the corrective actions are not completed by the deadline the City will be able to demolish the houses.

While none of the other structures were questioned as the Board widely accepted that they were extremely dilapidated and had high amounts of clean-up liens, the Board did question the house on North 13th. Director Morton inquired about it since it did not appear to be as far gone as the others or have high liens. Building Services Director Deer answered that the property owner had passed away and that the surviving family have spoken with the City and expressed that they don’t have the resources to fix the building or demolish it themselves and have asked that the City proceed with the process to lead to demolition. Director Morton asked if it would be possible for the City to buy the lot and/or to possibly acquire it to possibly sell it to the Fort Smith Housing Authority. Geffken said that at the next tax auction the City would see about purchasing it. Director Good called it a “shame” that the owners did not put it up for sale and expressed his view that people would be interested in purchasing the property as an investment. Deer said that the City does give addresses of properties that are in or near the process of being condemned and demolished when they are contacted by people who express interest in purchasing such properties. Then it is up to those interested parties to reach out to the owners about potential purchases. Director Rego said that he wanted the Board to make special note of the North 13th property when it comes back before the Board for appropriation for the demolition costs. He expressed a desire to weigh the costs of the demolition of the structure (especially with its large size) and compare them with the costs of partnering with an agency that could fix it up.

The Board voted unanimously to pay the first of the invoices related to the added costs (one for $197,779) that are part of covering the $1.6 million gap between the originally estimated cost and the current estimated cost for the expansion of the airport runway. The increased costs are due in part to additional FAA requirements related to runway lighting and navigation equipment. $900,000 of the additional cost will be reimbursed by the FAA, leaving the City with an actual total cost to the City of $700,000. The costs will be paid as the individual invoices arrive. The next invoices are expected to arrive in the next 2 or 3 months.

Director Morton mentioned that the airport has $3.8 million in cash, $5 million in short term investments, and $3 million in CDs and questioned why they don’t split the cost of the additional needed funding 50/50 with the City. Geffken answered that there are rules against it, that the airport cannot spend the mentioned funds they have on hand for economic development purposes.

Director George Catsavis asked why the City spent $100,000 to attract another airline to the airport when the airport has such significant funds on hand. Geffken answered that the airport cannot spend on that either and said that the airport is bound by some “peculiar rules.” Director Settle suggested that making changes to the rules for airports that prevent them from using the money be made a State level legislative priority for 2025.

The Board voted unanimously to purchase properties at 3101 Stanard and 816 Hillside at a total cost of $345,000 through the flood buyout program through which the City purchases properties with flooding issues when the cost of purchasing the property is lower than the cost of the public drainage system improvements needed to remedy the flooding issue.

The Board voted unanimously to renew the annual agreements to make payments of up to $60,000 to Area Agency on Aging, up to $9,500 to Project Compassion, and up $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 funding for those payments will come from the City’s portion of the county wide sales tax that is designated for services for Fort Smith senior citizens. The Board also voted unanimously to renew the long-standing annual agreement with the Fort Smith Museum of History to pay up to $20,000 to cover their utilities.

The Board voted unanimously to purchase a Pierce Enforcer Aerial Midmount ladder fire truck for $2,172,069 to replace ladder truck #3 that primarily serves Chaffee Crossing. The fire truck will not be paid for until it is delivered and delivery is expected to be 39-40 months away.