Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 4/7/26

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 4-7-26, the Board voted unanimously with no discussion from the Board to renew Non-Ambulatory Transportation Service’s franchise to provide transportation for the disabled and elderly to medical appointments. The franchise will be good for 5 years.

Dave Carnahan with NATS spoke and mentioned that the service has been in operation for 46 years and has 13 vans and 16 employees.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to allow the Central Business Improvement District (CBID) to reduce their number of members from 8 to 7 (also dropping the number required for a quorum from 5 to 4). When the CBID was originally established in 1976, it was made up of 5 members. It was later expanded to 7 members and in 2013 expanded to 8 members. The CBID prefers to have 7 members as it is an odd number.

The Board voted to appropriate $20,000 per year for 2026, 2027, and 2028 to Main Street Fort Smith to go towards the local contribution required for the grant for the Levitt Amp series of free concerts at the Riverfront. Originally, the agenda item was to vote on only the appropriation for the 2026 season.

Dan Williams spoke in opposition to the appropriation. He suggested that since the recent Main Street Fort Smith survey showed homelessness as a top concern about downtown that homelessness be prioritized for spending instead. He requested a way to gauge response to the concerts.

Krystal Cadelli spoke in opposition to the appropriation. She said that “small things keep adding up” on the City’s budget. She suggested prioritizing infrastructure instead of entertainment.

Gary Podgurski spoke in opposition to the appropriation. He suggested prioritizing spending for water and consent decree projects instead.

Director Rego expressed his view that $20,000 is a small amount of money in the City budget. He called the expenditure “money well-invested back into the entertainment options of our community.”

Director Good said that the concerts are “more than a concert”, also an opportunity to meet people and be part of a community. He also said “The music is fabulous.”

Director George Catsavis asked about the return on investment in terms of sales tax revenues generated from the concerts. Amanda Hagar with Main Street Fort Smith did not know the data on the ROI. She mentioned that the concerts average 200 attendees each and that a higher attendance is anticipated for the upcoming season. She said the concerts are aimed at increasing family foot traffic on Thursdays downtown.

Director Settle suggested that because the Levitt Foundation has approved grant funding for 3 years that the City contribution for all 3 years could be voted on all at once.

Director Martin asked if the City contributes to sponsor the Peacemaker music festival. Acting City Administrator Dingman said that it does not. Director Martin requested more information on the ROI from people coming into town for the shows and staying in hotels and patronizing restaurants for the concert series. Dingman mentioned that the concerts are an amenity for residents who live here and not necessarily intended to be “a regional draw.”

Director Rego motioned for an amendment to appropriate the $20,000 each year for 2026-2028 instead of just for 2026. Director George Catsavis expressed concern about not being able to predict the City’s financial situation in future years. Director Rego said that it would be a “catastrophe” if the City were to be down to its last $20,000 in the general fund in the second or third years. He said that he was “1000 percent confident” that the City would not be down to its last $20,000. Director George Catsavis said that the situation reminds him of the waterslides with the recent services contract for Main Street Fort Smith for $150,000 being approved and now there being another request for additional funding for them.

Director Good asked about the ROI for the concerts. Hager said that while she doesn’t have the economic number, that most of the headliners stay in hotels and eat downtown. She said that the concert series “eliminates barriers” to residents being able to experience “high caliber” music together. She said that the concerts “help to tell a story that downtown is safe.” She said “This is for us.” She praised Peacemaker but mentioned that Peacemaker is a ticketed event and that the Levitt series is free.

Since Levitt has chosen to award Fort Smith grants multiple years, Director Kemp asked what Levitt liked most about Fort Smith. Hagar mentioned that they liked our “welcoming” community, staying downtown, and the “well-oiled machine” of volunteers and the production company making it “easy and effortless.” Director Kemp suggested Main Street Fort Smith use the Advertising and Promotion Commission’s tools in the future to show the ROI to help secure more grants. He said “It’s always positive when we can foster culture.”

The Board voted on the amendment adding the appropriation for additional years. The amendment passed with Director Christina Catsavis and Director George Catsavis abstaining, Director Martin voting against it, and all others voting in favor of the amendment. Then the Board voted on the appropriation of $20,000 in each year for 2026-2028. The issue passed with Director Martin voting against it, Director Christina Catsavis and Director George Catsavis abstaining, and all others voting in favor. When asked, Director Christina Catsavis clarified her abstention was to prevent the perception of conflict of interest because in the past her husband has had business dealings with 64.6 (now Main Street Fort Smith). Director George Catsavis said that he abstained because he didn’t want to approve the appropriation for 3 years down the road and he wished that the appropriation had been discussed sooner. He praised Hagar saying “I think Amanda is doing a good job. I’m happy for her.”

The Board voted unanimously to appropriate $35,000 for improvements needed to improve digital accessibility to comply with ADA requirements including improved accessibility of the City websites, publicly available documents, City board meeting materials, and broadcasts. One improvement will be adding live captioning to the Board of Directors meeting video footage.

Gary Podgurski spoke in support of the appropriation saying that as a disabled person “I can’t recommend this enough.” He said that with it being required by Federal law the City does not really have a choice but to make the changes. He said “This is a big deal.”

Director Martin asked if Granicus, the company used for the City’s website, has any responsibility for making the improvements. Communications Manager Buchfink said that he investigated that but that Granicus does not have a legal obligation because their contract was entered into before the DoJ ruling that pertains to the requirements. Director Martin asked about the ADA rule being in place prior to the contract. Buchfink clarified that the new ruling was the first time that there were real guidelines laid out to follow and clear requirements that must be complied with. City Attorney Rowe agreed that Granicus is not obligated and the City must comply and must “foot the cost to do it.”

The Board discussed an amendment to the existing contract with Halff Associates for design for the flood mitigation ponds at the former Acme Brick Property. The original idea for the site included 2 ponds, but recent soil tests revealed that the Quarry pond on the west side of the site would require extensive rock excavation. To reduce construction costs, it is suggested that a third pond be built further west to eliminate the need to excavate the Quarry pond deeper. Also, the amendment would include a design for a potential wet version of the Quarry Pond instead of the originally planned dry version. The wet version would be a lake-like water feature year round, unlike the dry version that would only have water in it periodically when heavy rains fill it. The amendment would also incorporate $173,000 worth of design work for consent decree sewer work related to the project. The amendment would cost a total of an additional $464,860.

Joey McCutchen spoke in opposition to the contract. He expressed concerns about the expense. He said that the design costs should have been known about sooner.

Shane McKinney spoke and expressed support for flood mitigation efforts. He expressed concerns about the escalation in costs on the project. He suggested that the City find ways to get more correct estimates to address project creep on future projects.

Krystal Cadelli spoke and mentioned that the amendment would cause the design cost for the project to be double the original design cost.

Gary Podgurski spoke and expressed concerns about the elevations at the site and the need for pumping. Engineering Director Mittge clarified that the elevations would allow for gravity flow and that no pumps would be needed.

Director Settle reminded that the original contract for the design was for $466,000. He said that the amendment larger than the original contract should have been brought to study session. He voiced his desire to see what the original design contract has done so far and a break-down of the details of what would be done in the amendment. He suggested tabling the issue to a study session.

Director Christina Catsavis agreed that she would like to see the issue sent to study session.

Director Rego said that in the long-run a third pond would alleviate construction costs. He mentioned that studies conducted by an engineering firm would be needed for grant opportunities.

Director George Catsavis asked why the issues prompting the need for the amendment were not discovered “from the get-go.” Mittge said that full designs were not in the scope of the original agreement. A representative from Halff said that “The third pond has been a plan for a while.” Director George Catsavis voiced his support for sending the issue to a study session.

The Board voted unanimously to table the issue to a future study session meeting.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to contract with Forsgren for $2,865,200.96 for 2.45 miles of street overlays and installation of 2000 feet of pipe.

The Board voted unanimously to contract with Burns & McDonnell to borrow a project manager employee to serve as Interim Deputy Director of Engineering for Streets and Drainage for up to 3 months of full-time service plus 6 months on-call while recruiting is underway for a permanent Deputy Director and also borrow up to 3 additional part-time engineers. The cost would be up to $425,000. There is currently a serious lack of engineers on staff in the roadway section of the Engineering Department with a net loss of 9 experienced staff members between July 2025 and July 2026, 60% of the roadway section staff.

Joey McCutchen spoke in opposition to the contract. He said “A city this size shouldn’t have to rent engineers.” He expressed concerns about the high cost. He mentioned that when Ben Marts was borrowed from Burns & McDonnell recently that it cost double what it would cost to hire a regular engineer.

Director Christina Catsavis mentioned not seeing the engineering job openings listed on the City website. She mentioned that last year the pay for engineers was raised to be competitive to attract applicants. Mittge apologized saying that the openings not being listed on the website was “my mistake.” He said “The pay scale has helped”, mentioning that it helped attract him personally.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to contract with Crawford Construction for $1,125,245 for replacement of 385 ft of 20 inch water line and 340 ft of 30 inch encasement at the I-540 and Euper Lane crossing.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to purchase controlled door access and security camera systems for the Creekmore pool bath house from Heartland Business Systems for $98,402.76.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to issue new non-residential solid waste permits to Axis Dumpsters and BS Dumpster Rentals and to renew the permits for Prime Sanitation, W&W Roll Offs, and KL Dumpsters. The permits will be for 2 years and include a 5% franchise fee.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to contact with Motorola for the relocation of 911 radio systems from the Sebastian County 911 facility to the consolidated 911 facility. The radio relocation will also include relocation of the VHF paging system for the FSPD and removal of equipment from the County site including rooftop transceivers and dishes. The total cost will be $272,042.23.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion to purchase a building automation and energy management system for the boiler and cooling tower systems at the Police Station from Northwest Controls for $142.900.

During the Officials Forum section of the meeting, Director Rego suggested that the City reach out to drone manufacturer Swarm Aero that in response to difficulties in zoning for their facility in Fayetteville might be looking for another city serve as their home. Mayor McGill said “That is on the radar.”

Director Settle requested that future study session meetings be moved back from the smaller back room at the Blue Lion to the larger main room at the Blue Lion (where the regular Board of Directors meetings are held) starting in May. Director George Catsavis voiced his agreement.