Agenda Highlights 5/20/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 5-20-25, the Board will vote on whether to order the demolition of vacant houses at 3632 Kinkead and 1504 Belle Avenue.

The Board will vote on amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance that would restrict tobacco retailers from operating within 1000 ft of a school or daycare and would add wording to the existing description of “tobacco retailer” to also include vape products, e-liquids, alternative nicotine products, CBD, and related goods.

There are currently a total of 152 businesses in the city that sell tobacco related products, 26 of those are classified as tobacco retailers, and 14 of those are within 1000 ft of a school. The 14 that are already licensed would be allowed to continue to operate as a conditional use in their current location.

In response to inquiry from the Board regarding making the amendment and its restrictions retroactive so that it would apply to businesses currently licensed to operate within 1000 ft of a school, the City Attorney provided his opinion that to make it retroactive would be unconstitutional and the affected business owners could sue the City for compensation.

The Board will vote on an ordinance to prohibit the sale of consumable hemp derived CBD to people under 21 years old within the City limits. The opinion of the City Attorney is that the City should not regulate sales of the products at this time because the State Act 629 that would have limited it at the the State level is currently under federal injunction as a result of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law and Act 934 that would go into effect if the State wins that suit would restrict the sales to only over 21 statewide. The City Attorney advises the Board to wait and “monitor the pending litigation.”

The Board will discuss the possibility of rescinding the business license of Eagles Tobacco N Vape that is set to open at 123 North 22nd. The shop is located 40 ft from classrooms at Northside High School. This issue was discussed at the 5-13-25 meeting. Under the current rules, the business is permitted to operate in that location because tobacco retailers are a land use allowed in C2 zoning areas. The business was approved by the Building Department and the Fire Department. The business was approved for a State tobacco sales permit. Though the shop has not opened yet, a business license has been issued. The current policy is that for a business license to be revoked a violation must be present. The policy regarding the State tobacco permit also requires a violation for revocation.

No voting action is on the meeting agenda for this issue at this time, only discussion of the matter is scheduled.

The Board will vote on whether to waive $3,974.20 in building permit fees for the $1.5 million renovation project at the Fort Smith Museum of History. The project will include replacement of windows, elevator modernization, and repairs to the masonry and cornice.

The Board will vote on adding an additional $211,000 to the engineering contract with Halff for the Massard Road widening project to cover the additional cost for the engineering associated with a pedestrian bridge that will be an overpass over Massard connecting to the existing multi-use trail. This issue was discussed at the 3-4-25 meeting but tabled until after the May 13th sales tax vote in case streets capital expenditures needed to be reconsidered in light of the outcome of that vote. The issue that pertained to streets funding was passed by voters.

The Board will vote on the purchase of a multi-jurisdictional component for the ProPhoenix CAD/RMS dispatch system used by the Police Department for the soon to be built joint City and County 911 dispatch center.