Agenda Highlights 6/3/25
The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 6-3-25 will begin with a vote on a zoning change for an undeveloped lot at 1017 Cavanaugh Rd to allow for the construction of a duplex.
The Board will vote on a zoning change for an undeveloped lot at 7201 Texas Rd to allow for the construction of a duplex.
The Board will vote on whether to suspend the sewer rate increase that would go into effect June 1, 2025 for Arkoma for 21 days to allow for Fort Smith and Arkoma to negotiate a compromise and craft a new agreement for Fort Smith to provide sewer and water services to Arkoma. This issue was discussed at the 5/27/25 meeting.
The Board will vote on whether to apply for a $10,190,700 federal Community Noise Mitigation Grant. The grant would be used for sound reduction measures for existing residential buildings near the Ebbing Air National Guard Base to mitigate the jet noise. The City’s required match contribution would be a total of $1,132,300 that could be spread out over 5 years at $226,460 per year.
The Board will vote on whether to approve Hero’s to apply for a liquor license to relocate to a new location at 301 Garrison.
The Board will vote on whether to renew the 3 year software and licensing contract with Microsoft. The renewal would cost $441,531.54 for the first year and $400,948.84 each year the second and third years.
The Board will vote on entering into a solar service agreement with Blue Path Finance for the financing and Entegrity for the ongoing operations of a 6.2 MW array in partnership with OG&E and a 2.4 MW array in partnership with AVECC. The arrays will produce a combined 15 million KWH of electricity per year. The municipal facility electricity needs that the arrays will be offsetting average 35 million KWH of electricity per year. The project was approved at the 9-17-24 meeting.
The Board will vote on adding $602,244.50 to the existing contract with Forsgren for the resurfacing on Phoenix to cover sewer line replacement work that needs to be done at the same time as the streets project.
The Board will vote on whether to enter into an agreement of understanding with ARDOT regarding traffic improvements to be done near Ebbing Air National Guard Base to accommodate increased traffic from the Foreign Military Sales program. The projects include intersection and signal improvements at Phoenix and Airport Blvd, an additional access road along Phoenix south of Airport Blvd, and a traffic signal on Phoenix at the north end of the base. The projects were awarded $2.5 million from Senator Boozman’s Congressionally Directed Spending funds. The City’s required match contribution would be $500,000.
The Board will discuss potential future steps for hiring a Director of Internal Audit to fill that vacant position and/or other plans for obtaining internal audit services. The Internal Audit Department is currently being supervised remotely by the outside company Baker Tilly. This issue is only scheduled on the agenda for discussion, not for any voting action at this time.
