Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 12/2/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 12-2-25 and led by Vice Mayor Rego, the Board voted unanimously for zoning changes for 3706 Towson to allow an undeveloped lot to be developed into an RV park with 39 RV pads, two detention ponds, and a pickleball court.

Director Settle mentioned that in Northwest Arkansas RV parks are used as a permanent place for people to live in RVs and asked if the park would be for people to live in in that way. Deputy Administrator Rice clarified that it will not be a mobile home park and is intended by the owner to be for temporary camping only and that the code only allows for stays of up to 6 months.

The Board voted unanimously for zoning changes for 3505 Johnson that will allow a vacant church building to be utilized for a federal government tax office.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion in favor of zoning changes for 1815 and 1819 Wirsing that will allow for construction of two duplexes on the undeveloped land.

The Board voted unanimously to repeal the covid-era ordinance that allowed Directors to participate in Board of Directors meetings remotely. They will be required to attend in person to participate in meetings. The change is to comply with recent changes to State law forbidding remote attendance except during disaster emergencies declared by the Governor.

Jo Elsken spoke and suggested that the Directors should be allowed to participate in the meetings remotely but not cast their votes remotely.

There was no discussion by the Board on the issue.

The Board voted on whether to approve the Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) for Streets Drainage and Bridges, Streets and Traffic Control, Sidewalks, Parks, Solid Waste, Water, Wastewater, Police, and Fire and the Transit Asset Management Plan. Streets, Parks, Sidewalks, Solid Waste, and Transit were discussed at the 10/28/25 study session meeting. Water, Wastewater, Police, and Fire were discussed at the 11/4/25 study session meeting.

Krystal Cadelli spoke and mentioned her concerns about the spending in the Parks budget. She suggested that the waterslides be sold and that the money from their sale be put back into the general fund.

Director Martin voiced his concerns about the slides and suggested that if any additional money above the original allotment is needed for the installation that it should come from the Parks budget not the general fund. Director Martin said that he is a “no” on the Parks CIP until the issues regarding the slides have been figured out.

Director Kemp said that in his discussions with local contractors it seems that there is a more feasible option for installation of the slides than the quotes recently discussed. He suggested that interest from the Parks sales tax fund could be put toward the installation. He said that from discussions with contractors, the installation could be done in phases on-site to avoid expenses for storage of the slides. He said that pumphouse and the bottom of the slides could be projects that could be bid separately to try to get more bids. He said that he is “confident” in the ability to build on-site without needing to touch Parks budget funds. Chief Financial Officer said that the Parks sales tax fund brings in about $100,000 per year in interest.

Parks Director Deuster mentioned that while the Parks CIP totals $7.3 million, $3.5 million of that will be paid for by grants.

Director Christina Catsavis said that hanging the slides up while building on-site in phases would “make people more upset” and “looks dishonest.” She expressed her desire for Parrot Island to be self-sustaining and for money for Parks to go to public parks that everyone can afford to go to.

Director Martin voiced his concerns regarding the potential future need for funds to take over cemeteries. He suggested that the $300,000 request from the general fund for the Transit capital purchases be paused for one year.

All of the CIPs except for the Water CIP were approved with all but Director George Catsavis, Director Christina Catsavis, and Director Martin voting in favor of them. The Water CIP failed with Director George Catsavis, Director Christina Catsavis, Director Martin, and Director Rego voting against it.

The Board voted to renew the contract with Aqualaw for legal services for consent decree matters for 2026. Fort Smith has contracted with Aqualaw since 2017. The cost for 2026 will increase 4.3% over the cost for 2025.

Joey McCutcheon spoke in support of the need for specialized legal services consent decree matters. He also suggested hiring a specialized engineering firm to assist with engineering matters for consent decree projects.

Director Christina Catsavis agreed about the engineering firm. She voiced her view that Aqualaw is not the firm that the City should be working with. She mentioned that Aqualaw’s Paul Calamita told her “Fort Smith is getting a better deal than we deserve.” She said Fort Smith needs “somebody that believes in us.” She said that she told the White House that the consent decree is “oppressive” and that the administration agreed to meet about it during the recent visit by some Board members to Washington, DC but that meeting was unable to take place because of the federal government shutdown. They agreed to meet with her in February during a trip to DC that she will be making at her own expense.

Utilities Director McAvoy said that he recommends contracting with Aqualaw. He said that they have reduced the stipulated penalties and have moved negotiations forward. He mentioned one set of penalties that were negotiated down from $2 million to $800,000 and another that were negotiated down from $750,000 to $600,000. Acting City Administrator Dingman said that Aqualaw “has advocated for us very well.”

Director Martin mentioned that the specialized engineering firm for consent decree projects is included in the CIP, so it is budgeted for and will just need to be hired.

Director Kemp asked if the contract can be terminated after it has been approved. City Attorney Roe clarified that Aqualaw is contracted to serve as needed on an hourly basis and if there is no request from the City for their services there will be no payment due and that the City may still seek any other counsel that it desires.

The contract was renewed with all but Director Christina Catsavis voting in favor of renewal.

The Board voted unanimously to renew the contract with Daily & Woods for legal services for 2026. Fort Smith has contracted with Daily & Woods since 1968 and Daily & Woods has been designated City Attorney since 1973. The cost for 2026 will be at the same rates as the 2025 contract. Daily & Woods were the only firm to submit a proposal for the contract opportunity.

Joey McCutcheon spoke and called the $200/hour rate “very reasonable” and praised Colby Roe’s work. However, he questioned the average cost in recent years of $377,000 per year. He suggested that it might be possible to save money by hiring 2 lawyers and a paralegal to move legal services in-house. He suggested waiting to approve the contract to first find out what comparable cities are doing and see if there might be a better alternative approach for legal services.

Krystal Cadelli spoke and called Daily & Woods “capable attorneys” but voiced her concerns about them speaking directly with a private citizen about an MOA in relation to a proposed indoor sports complex. She suggested that the City look for a firm that is based outside of town to reduce pressure and influences faced from being local. She suggested waiting and first looking into how comparable cities are handling their legal services.

Director Martin said that representation cannot be paused because there is a need for representation but agreed that it “would be worthwhile to explore” other cities. He requested that the Board be provided with information from other cities by March to consider for the future.

Director Kemp asked how the City has fared in court in recent years. Rowe said that with the exception of a “handful” of FOIA cases and cases where the City initiated eminent domain cases, there haven’t been cases that were lost and damages were won against the City. Director Kemp voiced his preference for a firm that is “reachable” and expressed concerns about an out-of-town firm being as reachable.

Director Christina Catsavis said that it is worth considering hiring 2 lawyers and a paralegal for in-house representation, but expressed her concerns that that might spiral into a much bigger expenditure than originally anticipated.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to renew the contract with First Western for insurance broker and risk management advisory services. The contract will cost $143,000. The 2025 contract was for $130,000.