Agenda Highlights 4/28/26
At the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting to be held 4/28/26, the Board will discuss the recommendations from the Community Development Advisory Committee for the allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)vand HOME grant funds for 2026. The total available for the grants is $772,874 for CDBG and $367,054.07 for HOME.
Recommendations for the CDBG funds include
$81,500 for the Salvation Army for rehabilitation of apartments to be used for transitional housing for the homeless
$68,066 to replace the plumbing in 16 units at Nelson Hall Homes
$19,500 for an HVAC unit for Hope Campus
$10,000 for Antioch for Youth and Family to purchase food
$10,000 for Community Rescue Mission for case management
$15,021 for Crawford Sebastian Community Development Council (CSCDC) for dental clinic services
$12,510 for Boys & Girls Club for a workforce development program at the teen center
$12,510 for Girls Inc. for their membership program, transportation, and outreach
$15,020.10 for Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy for case management
$12,510 for Next Step Homeless Services for case management
$10,000 for Sebastian Retired Citizens association for food for Meals on Wheels
$10,000 for the Salvation Army rental assistance program
$5,850 for Arc for the River Valley for a sensory patio
$253,980,06 for the Fort Smith Housing Authority housing rehab assistance program
$60,000 for Fort Smith Housing Authority administration
$154,574.80 for administration
Recommendations for HOME funds include $55,058 to CSCDC for property acquisition, rehab, and resale, $275,291.07 to CSCDC for their home buyer down payment assistance program, and $36,705 for administration.
The Board may possibly discuss sending a letter to the state legislature asking them to pass a law requiring hospitals to notify the public 180 days in advance if they intend to discontinue major services. The issue was discussed and tabled at the 3-31-26 meeting with the intention to invite the State Representatives and State Senators serving Fort Smith to the study session. The legislators were invited but declined to attend because the legislature is still in session. They expressed a willingness to participate at a later date. City staff recommends postponing discussion of the issue to a June study session. While this item is still on the agenda, it will likely not be discussed at the meeting.
In response to a petition being circulated to put changing the form of Fort Smith’s city government from City Administrator form to Mayor-Council form on an election ballot for a vote, the Board will discuss the potential change in form.
In the Mayor-Council form, Fort Smith citizens would elect a Mayor, a City Clerk, 8 Council Members, a City Attorney, and a City Treasurer. All positions would be for 4 years with the Council Members serving staggered terms. The Council Members would be elected at-large by all the voters in the city unless an ordinance is passed to limit them to each just being elected by each of the wards. If the change were to be made, all officials currently serving under the current form would remain in place until January 1, 2029.
Under the Mayor-Council form, the Mayor would be the CEO of the City. They would preside over Council meetings and would have a vote in the meetings. They would have veto power, but their veto could be overridden by a 2/3 vote of the Council. They would supervise all of the officers of the City. They would have the powers of a Sheriff to keep the peace and suppress disorder. The Council would have legislative powers and would manage and control the City’s finances.
