Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 5/13/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting held at Fire Station 11 on 5-13-25, the Board discussed the City’s Limited Claims Policy in which the City chooses to take financial responsibility for some damages to personal property even though State law makes Cities immune from tort liability.

Claims paid out through the policy since 2019 total $83,776.10. The highest volume of the claims have been for sewer backups at a total of $68,090.74. The second highest volume of the claims have been for water damage at a total of $13,535.34 with $7,992.38 coming from a single incident in which a water line damaged by the City caused a driveway and surrounding landscaping to have to be repaired. One claim was placed for damage from a fallen tree for $2000. One claim was placed for issues caused by a manhole for $150.02. One claim was placed from flooding resulting from overflow of a drainage ditch.

Director Christina Catsavis asked about why the tenants of properties on Edinburgh that were purchased by the City through the flood buyout program that were the inspiration for including claims for personal property from flooding in the Limited Claims Policy had not applied for the coverage. Acting City Administrator Dingman and Utilities Director McAvoy said that the City’s official resolution came after the flooding and the buyout for most of those houses, one claim was made since the formal policy was in place.

Director Kemp asked about how residents are informed about the Limited Claims Policy. McAvoy said that on sewer backups the affected residents are given an information packet by the utilities supervisor working on the site and that water issues are handled similarly. Damage from fallen trees is addressed when affected residents report the damage. Damage from flooding is new enough a procedure is not yet in place. Director Kemp asked what might cause someone to apply for damages and not qualify. McAvoy said that a common reason to not qualify would be if a sewer backup was due to a problem with the private property owner’s line rather than the fault of the City.

The Board discussed water and sewer services for Arkoma. Currently, Arkoma buys water and sewer services from Fort Smith and is billed as an industrial customer. Their sewage usage is measured and billed based on a flow meter that tracks the actual amount of sewage entering the Fort Smith system for treatment. Currently Arkoma is over 3 years delinquent on their water and sewer bill and has a balance due of $120,000.

With the increased sewer rate set to go into effect June 1, 2025, the 618 customers in Arkoma would see dramatic increases. Currently Arkoma customers pay $2.69 per CCF for sewer. With the new rates, it would increase to $8.75 per CCF. The average Arkoma customer’s utility bill would go from $69 per month to $176 per month. The amount paid to Fort Smith by Arkoma would increase from the current $511,000 per year to $1,311,000 per year.

Arkoma is facing challenges with their water delivery system. Only 20% of the water purchased from Fort Smith is being billed to Arkoma’s customers with 80% of the purchased water being lost through unaccounted for water loss. Arkoma proposes changing to having their sewer volume charged based on what Arkoma bills their customers for. For example, if Arkoma buys 10,000 CCF of water and bills their customers for only 2000 CCF, they would only need to pay Fort Smith for 2000 CCF for sewer wastewater. Arkoma also proposes Arkoma paying a 5% surcharge as out-of-town customers. Currently, the extra 50% charged to out-of-town customers is not being applied to Arkoma because the sewer flow meter that is located just outside the Fort Smith city limits is read at the same time as Fort Smith water meters.

Arkoma proposes paying their delinquent bill with an additional $2000 monthly payment which would allow for it to be paid off in 5 years.

Director Christina Catsavis asked about penalties in place for Arkoma being late paying their bill. McAvoy answered that the agreement includes a 10% late fee, but Fort Smith Administration and the Fort Smith Utilities Department met with Arkoma and agreed to waive late fees and set up a payment plan, but no payment plan was ever set up.

Director George Catsavis expressed frustration about the delinquent billing issue having been allowed to go on for 3 years. He mentioned that if a Fort Smith homeowner is 10 days late on their water bill their water is shut off. McAvoy said that the situation has been allowed because shutting off water to Arkoma would be shutting off water to 618 users and that Fort Smith would still be receiving wastewater for sewer treatment from Arkoma even with the water shut off. Director George Catsavis expressed concerns about the Board being “in the dark” about the situation. McAvoy said that the information was given to Administration and was not passed on to the Board.

Director Martin asked if Fort Smith provided sewer for any other outside cities. McAvoy answered that it does not. Fort Smith used to provide sewer treatment for Barling, but no longer does. Director Martin voiced his view that Arkoma residents need to pay the same as Fort Smith residents saying “We can’t subsidize someone else.”

Director Christina Catsavis agreed with Director Martin about not subsidizing Arkoma. She said that it makes her “angry” that the information regarding the Arkoma situation was given to Administration but not given to the Board. She expressed her desire to consider a policy regarding what information comes to the Board.

Director George Catsavis asked what could be legally done if Arkoma refuses to pay what they owe. McAvoy answered that Arkoma’s water could be shut off.

Director Kemp asked about the impacts to Fort Smith customers if the Arkoma situation is allowed to continue or their proposal is accepted. McAvoy said that it would negatively impact the debt service ratio needed to be maintained to fulfill the bond covenants and would also potentially impact operating costs. Director Kemp voiced his agreement on matching Arkoma rates to the Fort Smith rate structure. He said that Arkoma’s proposal is “too much” and the length to pay back the delinquent amount is “too long.” He suggested if the Board were to accept Arkoma’s proposal that they require Arkoma to meet benchmarks on repairing their water system.

Director Settle asked about other customers outside of the City who use Fort Smith sewer. McAvoy said that there are a few direct customers, mostly in the islands that are not annexed into the City limits. He named Gerdau as one such customer. He said that those customers pay an extra 50% surcharge on water and sewer. Director Settle expressed his desire to have a policy requiring the Board to approve any sewer permits outside of the City limits. He mentioned the recent change to the law that eliminates Extraterritorial Jurisdictions. He requested the Board be provided a list of all of the out-of-town customers saying “I’m afraid it’s more than we think.” He voiced his view that Arkoma users should be individual water and sewer customers of Fort Smith.

Director Rego requested the Board be provided with information about other times when there were similar situations regarding a municipality providing water and sewer across state lines and the process that came into play in situations elsewhere where a municipality did not meet their obligations. McAvoy mentioned that it is not the first time Arkoma has been in arrears, so it is not “undiscovered territory.”

Director Kemp called Fort Smith’s water and sewer system a “regional asset”. He mentioned that moving outside of the city is “going to cost you more.”

Director Christina Catsavis asked if Fort Smith has been inspecting Arkoma’s sewer system as it is allowed to per the 1980 agreement between the two cities. McAvoy answered that Fort Smith has not.

Mayor McGill mentioned that Arkoma Mayor Joshua Johnson was in attendance at the meeting and willing to speak and answer questions if invited to do so by the Board. Director Martin said that based on the consensus of the Board about the situation “I don’t know if that would add any value.” The Board seemed to express agreement. Johnson was not invited to speak.

The Board heard an update on the Ride For Smilies bike share program from Mobility Coordinator Mings. The program started in 2022 has been funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant was to conduct research to determine if the bikes could provide low-income individuals in cities similar to ours with better access to jobs and essentials. That grant is about to run out. The City has been looking for private partnerships, sponsorships, and grants to continue funding the program. The program costs $140,000 annually. Tandem Mobility that administers the program does have a proposed plan for reduced service if new funding is not found to continue the program at the current level.

The e-bikes have been overwhelmingly more popular than the traditional bikes. The e-bikes cost $1 to unlock plus $1 for every 30 minutes of use. The traditional bikes cost half that. The bike rental in the Fort Smith program is 3 times cheaper than in nearby programs. Usage has increased year over year. There have been a total of 2,500 unique users and 9000 total trips. Through November 2024, there were 3,552 trips from the Riverfront, 2,263 from Chaffee Crossing, 1,456 from the Convention Center, 1098 from Kinkead & Waldron, 807 from 32nd & Grand, 676 from Martin Luther King Park, 532 from Woodlawn Park, and 494 from Nelson Hall Homes. Recreation was the top use for trips on the bikes with 74% of trips from all users being for recreation with 65.7% of trips from users from carless households being for recreation. 15.3% of all trips from all users were for shopping/dining with 22.3% of trips from users from carless households being for shopping/dining. 4.6% of trips from all users were to go to or from work with 2.3% of trips from users from carless households being to go to or from work. The bikes nearest low income neighborhoods and student housing saw the most repeat users. The bikes nearest to trails saw the highest use.

Mings said “I wish I had better news to share about funding” but mentioned potential funding that is being sought including an ARDOT grant and discussion planned with the CBID. The CBID has expressed transportation as a priority and mentioned bike and scooter rental racks in some of their plans. Two of the top performing bike stations are located in the CBID. Mings said that the program will be out of grant money by the end of June and that they have already scaled back from 40 bikes to only 15 to make the funding stretch that long.

Director Rego asked about the costs involved in the program. Mings said that the costs are driven by an employee who charges and maintains the bikes, vandalism, insurance, and subsidizing the rental price to keep it low. Director Rego asked if there would be any cost to remove the bikes if the funding is not found. Mings answered that there would not be any cost because Tandem would come and unhook and take back the bikes. Director Rego asked if the study data was useful to the University. Mings said that it was.

Director Settle mentioned that averaged out, the cost of the program was $165 per user or $45 per rental. He mentioned that it would be cheaper to just buy bikes and give them to people who need them.

Director Kemp suggested the potential for a small scale program where the City owns the bikes in the high usage areas where the program could “build itself through its own profitability.”

Mings mentioned that a Request For Proposals could be made in the future to see if other providers could provide a lower cost program. He said that it would “undoubtedly be more expensive” for consumers to rent the bikes through another company.

During the Citizens Forum section of the meeting, Thomas Gage spoke about the Sisters Development up the hill from his property at 5300 Zero flooding his property and The Links’s property. Sisters installed a ditch with a beaver dam cut to drain water away from their road that results in water draining onto Gage’s property. Director George Catsavis said “Something’s gotta be done.” Dingman said that the situation has been reviewed and that the City “will continue to look” but that it “seems everything’s been done properly.” Director Settle says that road in the area “is done crooked” and poured wrong so it causes the water to go wrong. Director Good said there is a culvert where the water should drain but that the beaver cam cut causes it to drain out to adjacent properties. Director Kemp suggested extending a nearby utility easement ditch to fix the problem. Gage suggested that the water be diverted to a pipe to the watershed containment box about 150 feet away.

Chris Carter, Northside High School Principal, spoke about a vape, CBD, glass, and tobacco shop that is set to open soon at 22nd and B Streets, 40 feet away from the campus’s furthest western classroom. He expressed concerns about students being able to buy vapes and CBD at the store. He also expressed concerns about the appropriateness of the visual appearance of the store’s bright green and yellow signs, including one that features a marijuana leaf. While acknowledging his agreement with opposing the store in that location, Director George Catsavis mentioned that he has researched it and that the store is following all of the existing rules and there is no ordinance against it. Director Good agreed that a tobacco shop of that type is allowed in C2 zoning and there is no legal proximity to schools restriction on tobacco shops. He mentioned that grocery and convenience and big box retail stores are allowed to sell tobacco and vapes and other such products in that same zoning and without restriction based on proximity to schools. He said that it needs to be a bigger issue addressed at the State level with Arkansas Tobacco Control. Director Rego mentioned that the Planning Commission at their meeting held simultaneous to the Board of Directors meeting passed a recommendation to amend the Unified Development Ordinance to prohibit tobacco stores within 1000 feet of a school (with existing stores grandfathered in). Planning Director Rice mentioned that if the amendment were passed by the Board the new business across from Northside would still be grandfathered in because it has already received its business license. She also mentioned that there are currently 152 existing establishments that sell vape products within 500 ft of a school. She said that per State law, the City can only address specific land use, but cannot control what stores sell like that they could not prohibit grocery or convenience stores from selling tobacco or vape or CBD products. Director Kemp requested that the City Attorney look into legal options available. Director Settle expressed his hope that when the business across from Northside opens that undercover police officers “make sure it is legit.” Gage mentioned that Northside has video cameras pointed at the front door of the store and that the first time he sees students going into it he will go over there and “humiliate” the person who owns the store. Director Rego wondered about the possibility of rescinding the store’s business license even though it has already been issued. Directors Settle and Kemp suggested the Board passing an ordinance putting an age restriction on purchasing CBD products. Director Settle motioned to add an item to next week’s agenda to vote on an ordinance prohibiting sales of CBD to anyone under 21 within the City limits. Director Christina Catsavis asked if the City can regulate that. Director Settle answered “I believe we can.” Director Christina Catsavis said that she is in favor of the measure but wonders about the legality. RIce mentioned that there is currently a federal injunction in place involving CBD and it being legally a “plant.” The prohibition of CBD sales to people under 21 in Fort Smith will be on the next agenda for a vote. Director Rego motioned for a review of the business license process for the vape/tobacco/glass/CBD store near Northside at the next meeting. It was added to the agenda.

Theresa Hogan, a pastor who has run an outpatient drug program for 20 years, and Clifford Cunkle who went from a homeless addict to a sober successful, employed, homeowner who regained custody of his children through Hogan’s program, both spoke about their intention to launch a women’s drug rehabilitation program focusing on mental health. Hogan said that the program will have local donors but that it would also need City help.

South Sebastian County residents Tim and Clara Garvey spoke to again express their disagreement with the increased water rates for Sebastian County water users.

Chris Cadelli spoke against the tax being voted on for the consent decree and expressed dissatisfaction with water rates.

Andy Posterick praised the new striping on Roberts Blvd in response to a September 2024 fatality there. He also expressed his frustration that streets policy is too frequently reactionary. No action is taken to make streets safer until there has been a fatal accident. He expressed concerns about the economics of over-spending originally to make fast streets and then having to go back and spend more to add safety features. He also spoke against the widening of Massard road saying it is not an “extremely high traveled road”, questioning the economics of the widening, and expressing concerns about it being more dangerous for bicyclists.

Madeline Bechdel, a small child, spoke to suggest a dog park be built next to John Bell Jr. Park. Director Martin voiced his support for finding a place for a replacement for the Massard dog park.

Mollie Echeveria spoke to suggest that Department Heads should take salary cuts as part of the budget cut measures. She mentioned Parks Director Deuster making 36% more than her predecessor. Director Martin said that Deuster does not make more than her predecessor, she is paid in line with or less than his salary was.

Brian Westney spoke and said that Massard needs more police at night to reduce speeding. He praised Mings’s presentation about the bike share and called Mings a “pit bull when it comes to finding money” and joked that Mings needs to be put on finding money for the consent decree. Westney spoke against the tax being voted on for the consent decree. He also encouraged the Board to “go easy on Arkoma.” Director Martin said that Fort Smith is “not at a point we can offer a lot of grace to others.”

Jo Elsken spoke to suggest that the Board members each individually start receiving weekly reports from a department that is their individual specialty or special interest to help reduce the instances of the Board wishing the Board had been informed of things sooner. She also encouraged the Board to be more proactive in planning for flood mitigation as with the climate situation it is predicted that flooding is going to “get worse and worse.”