Agenda Highlights 7/11/23

The Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting scheduled for 7-11-23 will begin with a vote on a zoning change for 7500 Massard to allow for the undeveloped lot to be developed into the Preston Grove private gated single family home subdivision with 26 lots.

The Board will vote on a zoning change for 5215 Kelley Highway to allow for an AT&T commercial communication tower consisting of a 150 ft pole with a 4ft lightning rod and a 50x50 compound for radio and electrical equipment surrounded by an 8ft high privacy fence to be built on the lot shared with the existing United Brotherhood of Carpenters office.

The Board will vote on a zoning change for 4713 Jenny Lind to allow a lot that currently has a single family home on it to be redeveloped to allow for expansion of the gas canopy and a parking lot at the existing Oakcrest Market convenience store adjacent to the property.

The Board will vote on changes to the rules regarding fowl within the city limits. The issue was discussed at the 4-4-23 meeting and 6/27/23 meeting. The proposed new rules would limit allowable fowl to chickens and ducks only, only female chickens (no roosters), would allow 4 fowl on lots at least 5000 sq ft up to a maximum number of 20 fowl on appropriately sized lots., would require that fowl be kept only in fenced rear yards, and would require that coops not be closer than 25 ft to any building.

The Board will vote on issuing First Baptist Church a temporary revocable license to allow them to place a covered drop off area in a portion of the public utility easement at 1400 Grand.

The Board will vote on whether to issue an order to demolish a dilapidated house at 7812 Joseph Street that has been unoccupied since at least 2018.

The Board will vote on paying King Irrigation,Lighting, and Lawn Maintenance for mowing of the Forest Park, Roselawn, and Holy Cross Cemeteries. The cemeteries are owned by Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc., but the non-profit organization has no funds or equipment currently to maintain the properties. Because of the importance of cemeteries to our community, the City Administrator authorized the mowing to be done even before the properties could be addressed by the standard cleanup lien process. The cemeteries have been mowed twice per month in April, May, and June for a total price of $33,507 and the board will be voting to appropriate $67,614 (accounting for the expected expense for the remaining the 3 months of the grass growing season) from the Demolition Clean Up Program budget. Liens will be placed on the properties until the cost is repaid.

The Board will vote on contracting with Hawkins-Weir for $467,500 for pump station evaluation required by the consent decree. The money for this will come from the excess sales tax.

The Board will vote on whether contract with RJN Group for $2,785,397.46 for a sewer system assessment of gravity sewer lines and manholes that is required by the consent decree. The money for this will come from the excess sales tax.

The Board will vote on purchasing a thermoplastic striping truck from MRL Equipment for $744,539 to allow the City’s Streets Department to perform striping themselves instead of having to always hire an outside company.

The Board will vote on a bank stabilization project for Frog Bayou to reduce the amount of sediment entering Lake Fort Smith. The whole project will cost $83,800 but a $39,360 grant from the State will make the City’s final responsibility for the bill a total of $44,440.

The Board will vote on integrating the Payit online payment system currently used for water and utility bills into the CityView system to allow online payments to the City for business licenses and other fees. This would have a one-time fee of $5000 and transaction fees of 80 cents per transaction plus $2.50 per card transaction and $1.25 per ACH transaction.

The Board will vote on the purchase of a spare pump for Mill Creek Wastewater Pump Station from Instrument and Supply for $119,993.