Agenda Highlights 9/23/25
At the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting scheduled for 9-23-25, the Board will discuss whether to enter into a loaned personnel agreement with Burns & McDonnell to allow for Ben Marts to serve as the Interim Director of Engineering. With all 4 Streets and Drainage project engineer positions currently vacant, there are no qualified applicants to fill the position even temporarily. The agreement would be for up to 6 months of full-time work at a cost not to exceed $317,493. This issue was discussed and tabled at the 9-16-25 meeting.
The Board will discuss the City potentially taking ownership and responsibility of Forest Park, Roselawn, Holy Cross, and Washington cemeteries. The situation was discussed at the 7-15-25 study session meeting where Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. (the non-profit organization that currently operates Rose Lawn, Holy Cross, and Forest Park cemeteries) and Bobbie Woodard-Andrews (who currently operates Washington Cemetery) requested for the City to take over responsibility for all of those cemeteries and was discussed again and tabled at the 8-19-25 meeting. The 9/23/25 discussion will include a proposal by Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. that includes plans for scaled back levels of care (rather than matching the levels at Oak Cemetery that is currently owned by the City) and contracting out services to lower costs. The annual costs of the new proposal would be $404,021 annually (versus the previous proposal of $719,153). The one time capital expense of the new proposal would be $159,350 (and after the distribution of the $170,000 from the perpetual care fund would only be $10,650), $782,200 less than the previous proposal.
Other creative approaches were also considered including fundraisers, using high school student required community service hours for maintenance, and taking a native wildflower and pollinator friendly mowing approach. Goat grazing was considered but at $650-$700 per acre was concluded to be cost prohibited. Using the A-Team for maintenance was considered but the A-Team is currently at capacity with working for the Streets Department. Using inmates was considered but in light of the legality and supervision challenges was deemed to not be a suitable option.
The Board will discuss the findings of the study of the Department of Solid Waste conducted by Sloan Vazquez McAfee. Topics in the study include analysis of service rates and fees needed to cover costs of solid waste services and fund obligations and potential for a City owned recycling facility.
Currently, Fort Smith’s trash rates do not cover the cost of delivering the services. In the study 17 other cities in Arkansas and Oklahoma were compared and found to all have trash rates higher than Fort Smith’s with the average being 57% higher than Fort Smith’s. The current Fort Smith residential rate is $15.89 per household per month.With recycling and yard waste picked up weekly (the current program) the cost to provide services is $23.44 per household per month. With recycling and yard waste picked up bi-weekly the cost to provide services would be $21.93 per household per month. Without recycling or yard waste pickup at all the cost would be $17.42 per household per month.
The study mentioned that the current model, where households have to subscribe to recycling service (at no extra charge) rather than every household automatically being issued and encouraged to use a recycling bin, only has a participation rate of 25-30% of households. About 2,000 tons of residential curbside recycling are collected per year.
The Board will discuss the Strategic Priorities. They were discussed at a day-long session and were slated to be voted on at the 9-2-25 meeting but were tabled to allow for further discussion. The Strategic Priorities as previously discussed would include
Create a Military and Defense Industry Support Officer position
Host a Riverfront Development Summit before the end of 2025
Develop a new long-term infrastructure reinvestment policy during the 2026 budget cycle
Market Fort Smith to attract industry and tourism including developing an Economic Development Commission.
Reimagine the budget process including planning a budgetary workshop, establishing quarterly reviews, and creating a zero-based budget
Establish a Public Works Department by reorganizing the City staff regarding the Utilities, Engineering, and Streets departments.
