Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 1/2/24

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 1-2-24 the Board voted unanimously without discussion to approve a zoning change to allow for additional land uses at 7301, 7401, and 7501 Massard including liquor store with drive-through, restaurant, tanning salon, and banking/finance.

The Board voted unanimously to approve a zoning change to allow for 10 single story 640 square ft tiny homes to be built by the Fort Smith Housing Authority on a .57 acre vacant lot at 308 and 324 North 4th.

Director Morton called the pictures shown of the houses in the agenda packet “very attractive.” Kyle Salyer with the Fort Smith Housing Authority said that the pictures included were of a set of tiny homes that the FSHA has already built and is having success with at at 9th and D that are the same plan as the ones proposed for North 4th. Director Morton asked if the homes would be rentals or for individual sale. Salyer clarified that they would be for rent.

Director Settle questioned whether there would be enough parking with the planned 10 homes and 10 parking spots with one of those being a handicapped spot. He expressed concerns about residents parking on the street when 4th street may soon become a truck route. Salyer added that the one handicapped parking spot corresponds with the one unit of the complex that is a dedicated ADA unit that will only be rented to an ADA tenant. He said that at the similar development at 9th and D they also provided for offsite parking and that it is not utilized so he expects that the planned on-site parking will be enough for the new development. Planning Director Rice confirmed that there has not been a parking problem at the 9th and D development and assured that the planned parking for the new development meets the requirements for code and added that if there is overflow that they could park along D Street rather than 4th and if needed that they could seek a shared parking agreement nearby.

Director Martin, expressing interest in them as a possible affordable housing option, asked what the rates would be for the rentals. Salyer did not have that information to answer the question.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to approve a zoning change to allow for an undeveloped lot at 10001 Chad Colley to be developed into the Ridge Creek subdivision of 52 residential lots.

The Board voted unanimously with no discussion from the Directors to approve changes to the City’s mission statement, vision statement, and values statement. The previous versions of each statement were approved in 2007. The mission statement previously was “We are a unified team committed to consistently providing citizen-focused services for the advancement of a thriving community.” The new mission statement is “The City of Fort Smith is committed to providing high-quality, resident-focused services for the advancement of a thriving community.”

The previous vision statement was “Our vision is providing world class services by valuing the contributions of every citizen and employee, being agile, being values-based, being continuous-learners.” The new vision statement is “Fort Smith strives to be a dynamic, business, family, and military friendly destination that welcomes people from all over the world.”

The previous values statement was “Our shared values are…Integrity Always! Absolute Professional!! Accessibility for All!!!” The new values statement is a longer, more detailed, more grammatically standardized statement with main points including safety, growth, world class quality of place, quality core services, environment, and integrity.

Fort Smith resident Rick Murphy spoke in support of the changes to the statements saying he was “really impressed with this new mission statement” and praising elements of the new statements at “critical components in attracting new citizens and industry”.

The Board voted unanimously to contract with Goodwin & Goodwin for $159,605 for improvements to Woodlawn Park including drainage improvements, sidewalk connectivity, basketball court resurfacing, and preparations for the prefabricated restroom to be delivered in late February.

While there was no discussion specifically about the planned improvements for Woodlawn, the discussion about a parks improvement that included a bathroom sparked a discussion about park bathrooms more generally. Director Morton inquired what the restroom policy was for the parks as it has come to his attention that park restrooms are currently closed for the season. Parks Director Deuster answered that they typically start to close the restrooms for winter in late October or early November and that they reopen them in April. She added that with the new bathrooms, they are actively looking at ways to keep those heated and make them able to be kept open year round. Parks is working with IT to add electronic locks that can be locked at night and unlocked in the morning remotely. Director Settle said that he didn’t like the idea of restrooms closing seasonally and also didn’t like the idea of leaving them open 24-7. He suggested that Parks look into what other cities are doing on their bathrooms saying that some nearby cities have employees physically lock and unlock the bathrooms every day and keep them open year round. Director Martin also expressed an interest in keeping restrooms open year round noting that parks are packed during the unseasonably warm days.

During the Officials Forum section of the meeting Director Morton and Administrator Geffken mentioned that Next Step Homeless Services recently received a $3.1 million grant that has made their plan for a tiny house style transitional housing facility for homeless people fully funded and that they should be ready now to begin construction on the development.

Director George Catsavis mentioned that the Board of Directors has been invited to visit Singapore and visit with top level government officials there in relation to the Foreign Military Sales Program. Senator Boozman recommended that the Board make the trip. Director Catsavis expressed concern about the cost of the trip especially in light of concerns regarding funding the water department needs.