Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 4/28/26
At the very brief (about 15 minute long) Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting held 4/28/26 with Director Good absent, the Board discussed the recommendations from the Community Development Advisory Committee for the allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)vand HOME grant funds for 2026. The total available for the grants is $772,874 for CDBG and $367,054.07 for HOME.
Recommendations for the CDBG funds include
$81,500 for the Salvation Army for rehabilitation of apartments to be used for transitional housing for the homeless
$68,066 to replace the plumbing in 16 units at Nelson Hall Homes
$19,500 for an HVAC unit for Hope Campus
$10,000 for Antioch for Youth and Family to purchase food
$10,000 for Community Rescue Mission for case management
$15,021 for Crawford Sebastian Community Development Council (CSCDC) for dental clinic services
$12,510 for Boys & Girls Club for a workforce development program at the teen center
$12,510 for Girls Inc. for their membership program, transportation, and outreach
$15,020.10 for Hamilton Center for Child Advocacy for case management
$12,510 for Next Step Homeless Services for case management
$10,000 for Sebastian Retired Citizens association for food for Meals on Wheels
$10,000 for the Salvation Army rental assistance program
$5,850 for Arc for the River Valley for a sensory patio
$253,980,06 for the Fort Smith Housing Authority housing rehab assistance program
$60,000 for Fort Smith Housing Authority administration
$154,574.80 for administration
Recommendations for HOME funds include $55,058 to CSCDC for property acquisition, rehab, and resale, $275,291.07 to CSCDC for their home buyer down payment assistance program, and $36,705 for administration.
Director Martin asked about using some of the CDBG funds for economic development projects. Director of Community Development Gabucci answered that there weren’t a lot of applications for economic development projects submitted this year, but that economic development was specifically written into the new 5 year plan. She said that every new grant cycle the opportunity to apply is advertised and organizations that have expressed interest previously are also notified directly. Director Martin expressed his desire to find different ways to better advertise the opportunity to encourage more applicants to apply. He acknowledged that it is “challenging to get that information out to folks.”
Director Rego asked for a year over year comparison in the funding totals. Gabucci said that it was $40,000 shorter this year than last year.
Director Kemp asked what areas Gabucci would like to see grow in the future. Gabucci answered “affordable housing” and also mentioned that she would like to see a raise on the cap for the percentage of CDBG funds that can be used for the public service category. She said that in the feedback while crafting the new 5 year plan that she heard a lot of “basic needs being asked for” including food and childcare that fall within the public service category. She also noted that the most applications received are for projects in the public service category.
The recommendations for the allocations will be added to the next regular meeting for a vote.
The Board was slated to discuss sending a letter to the state legislature asking them to pass a law requiring hospitals to notify the public 180 days in advance if they intend to discontinue major services. The issue was discussed and tabled at the 3-31-26 meeting with the intention to invite the State Representatives and State Senators serving Fort Smith to the study session. The legislators were invited but declined to attend because the legislature is still in session.
Director Christina Catsavis asked if the State legislators expressed a “desire” to speak with the Board. Acting City Administrator Dingman said that while he has not had “a lot of direct interaction” with them “I think they are willing to meet and have this type of discussion with us.” Director Christina Catsavis voiced her interest in speaking with them about the possible legislation.
The Board was originally planning to discuss the potential change in the form of City government from City Administrator to Mayor-Council at the 4-28-26 meeting, but that discussion was dropped from the agenda because Director Good wanted to participate in the discussion and had to be absent from the meeting.
