Agenda Highlights 1/20/26

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 1-20-26, the Board will vote on whether to demolish dilapidated buildings at 3222 Blair, 3925 Rowe, 1108 North 9th, and 510 South K.

The Board will vote on whether to appropriate $1,274,935 from the general fund for installation of the additional water slides purchased for Parrot Island water park. Recently 2 bids were received for the installation for $2,828,810 and $3,134,000.

Local company Royal Ridge Construction has offered a proposal that would cost $1,059,934.12 for the plumbing, fittings, and concrete foundations and an additional $680,000 for pumphouse and electrical work, for a grand total of $1,739,934.12. That proposal would still leave an estimated $600,000 in work that would need to be done by other companies. The grand total for the Royal Ridge work and the work from other companies that would be needed to get the slides installed and operational would be $2,339,935. That price would not include fencing, sidewalks, landscaping, etc. Those items are estimated to cost an additional $350,000. So the grand total for all of the work needed to get the slides installed and operational and the fencing, landscaping, etc would be $2,689,935. With adding together the $655,000 remaining from the $4.2 million originally appropriated for the purchase of the slides and their installation and using the $760,000 interest from the account for the sales tax for Parks capital projects, the amount available from those sources for the project would be $924,935. The remaining gap in funding left would be $1,274,935.

This issue was discussed at the 1-13-26 meeting.

If the Board votes to approve the appropriation to fund the water slide installation, they will also vote on waiving the required bidding process and awarding a no-bid contract for the installation to Royal Ridge Construction for $1,739,934.12.

The Board will vote on whether to renew their services agreement with Main Street Fort Smith for downtown development services for $12,500 per month (the same amount as 2025).

The Board will vote on whether to renew the services contract with The Roosevelt Group for advocacy for grants and relationships with the federal government related to military affairs (especially the FMS project) for $12,500 per month. The lobbyist firm previously helped Fort Smith on the $4.3 million grant for noise mitigation at schools and the $600,000 Military Installation Readiness and Resiliency study grant.

The Board will vote on whether to renew services contracts for services to senior citizens with Sebastian County Retired Citizens Association for $175,000, Area Agency on Aging for $60,000, and Project Compassion for $9,500. The funding for these contracts would come from the County sales tax.

The Board will vote on whether to renew the services contract with Fort Smith Museum of History for $20,000 to assist with their utilities costs.

The Board will vote on amending the contract with Burns & McDonnell for an additional $1,830,000 for additional work on the Lake Fort Smith water transmission line.

The Board will vote on whether to issue a non-residential solid waste permit to Redline Contractors. The 2 year permit would include a 5% franchise fee.

The Board will vote on whether to purchase replacement equipment for the Solid Waste department, a Caterpillar 260A Skid Steer from Riggs for $64,835.41, a Caterpillar 350 AK tracked excavator with hammer attachment and hydraulic tool kit from Riggs for $719,902.31, a Caterpillar D8-BR medium dozer with waste handling package and ripper attachment from Riggs for $1,036,654.67, and a Freightliner 1145D Plus truck with hoist and tarping system from Doggett Freightliner for $288,955.