Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 5/20/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 5-20-25, the Board voted to order the demolition of vacant houses at 3632 Kinkead and 1504 Belle Avenue.

The Board discussed amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that would restrict tobacco retailers from operating within 1000 ft of a school or daycare and would add wording to the existing description of “tobacco retailer” to also include vape products, e-liquids, alternative nicotine products, CBD, and related goods.

There are currently a total of 152 businesses in the city that sell tobacco related products, 26 of those are classified as tobacco retailers, and 15 of those are within 1000 ft of a school. The 15 that are already licensed would be allowed to continue to operate as a conditional use in their current location.

In response to inquiry from the Board regarding making the amendment and its restrictions retroactive so that it would apply to businesses currently licensed to operate within 1000 ft of a school, the City Attorney provided his opinion that to make it retroactive would be unconstitutional and the affected business owners could sue the City for compensation.

(Author’s Note- There were comments from citizens on both sides of the issue on both the UDO amendment and the ordinance prohibiting sales of CBD to people under 21 but a technical malfunction resulted in the livestreams of the meeting not having audio for part of the meeting. There was not sound for all of the comments, only the last few, so rather than report on some but not all of them, none of the citizens’ comments on those two agenda items are included in this article.)

Director Christina Catsavis expressed concerns about the lack of notice and hearings prior to the amendment. She also said that “1000 ft may be excessive.” She spoke against making the amendment retroactive mentioning her experience as a small business owner and the amount of money and “sweat equity” that goes into opening a business. Of making it retroactive, she said that is “not a government I want to be a part of” and “not a city I want to do business in.”

Director Settle asked for clarification that as the amendment to be voted on is written that it would not put anyone out of business. Planning Director Rice confirmed that it would not.

Director George Catsavis expressed concerns that the situation reminded him of the Regina’s House of Dolls situation in which the City lost a costly lawsuit.

Director Kemp said that he is “passionate about this topic” and voiced his concerns about youth vaping. He said of the issue “It does need something.” He expressed having “great concerns” about the shop opening 40 ft from Northside High. He mentioned that relatively few people would take issue with a vape shop opening up in the vacant former automotive parts store across from Walgreens that is still within 1000 ft of Northside. He suggested that instead of a blanket limitation against tobacco shops within a certain number of feet of schools that tobacco shops be dealt with in the same way as mini-storage facilities, that any such business would have to come to the Board for approval and be decided on each on its “own merit.”

Director Rego asked why daycares were included in the amendment. Rice said they were part of what was presented to the Planning Commission “via citizen inquiries.” Director Rego asked if daycares are also part of the distance requirements for liquor stores. Rice said that they are. Director Rego asked how many of the 15 existing tobacco retailers within 1000 ft of schools are within 1000 ft of high schools. Rice answered that there are 3 within 1000 ft of Northside, with 2 of those being within 500 ft, and there are none within 1000 ft of Southside.

Director Settle called the amendment an “opportunity to protect the kids of our city.” He said of the proposed distance “1000 feet’s too short. I’d go a mile.”

Director Christina Catsavis mentioned her personal anti-smoking stance and her grandmother having died of lung cancer. However, she expressed opposition to the amendment out of concern for the “future of regulation in the city” and the city “turning into a nanny state.” She spoke in favor of “limited government” and said that the “free market will regulate a lot of this.”

Director Kemp said that there is “much more work to be done with the State legislature” on the issue than at the City level and expressed a desire for more rigorous enforcement of existing laws on the matter.

Director Kemp motioned for an amendment to the UDO amendment to prohibit tobacco retailers within 500 ft of a school or daycare (instead of 1000 ft). Director Kemp’s amendment was approved with all but Directors Settle, Martin, and Good voting in favor.

The Board then voted on the amendment to the UDO to prohibit tobacco retailers within 500 ft of a school or daycare. The issue passed with all but Director Christina Catsavis voting in favor.

The Board voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance to prohibit the sale of consumable hemp derived CBD to people under 21 years old within the City limits. The opinion of the City Attorney is that the City should not regulate sales of the products at this time because the State Act 629 that would have limited it at the the State level is currently under federal injunction as a result of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law and Act 934 that would go into effect if the State wins that suit would restrict the sales to only over 21 statewide. The City Attorney advised the Board to wait and “monitor the pending litigation.”

Director Rego asked how long the case regarding the State legislation was likely to take to be resolved. While City Attorney Rowe acknowledged that he could not be certain, he said that it would “hopefully” be “within the next 9-12 months.”

Director Settle called the ordinance “a good thing” and an “opportunity to try to protect our kids.”

Director Kemp said that it is “sad you have to have this sort of process.” He spoke in support of the ordinance saying “We need to stand up for the next generation.”

The Board discussed the possibility of rescinding the business license of Eagles Tobacco N Vape that is set to open at 123 North 22nd. The shop is located 40 ft from classrooms at Northside High School. This issue was discussed at the 5-13-25 meeting. Under the current rules, the business is permitted to operate in that location because tobacco retailers are a land use allowed in C2 zoning areas. The business was approved by the Building Department and the Fire Department. The business was approved for a State tobacco sales permit. Though the shop has not opened yet, a business license has been issued. The current policy is that for a business license to be revoked a violation must be present. The policy regarding the State tobacco permit also requires a violation for revocation. The change to the UDO approved earlier in the meeting would not affect Eagles Tobacco N Vape as they have already been issued a license.

Director George Catsavis asked about plans for a deli also being planned to operate on the other side of the same building. Rice confirmed that one is planned for the building.

Director Kemp wondered if Northside High students will be permitted to go inside the vape shop and voiced his interest in having a conversation about the neon sign with the marijuana leaf that is visible from classrooms.

Director Martin called the marijuana leaf sign a “point of contention with a lot of people” and called it “pretty egregious.” He acknowledged that the City “can’t make them” take it down, but voiced his desire to “appeal on behalf of the City and on behalf of the students” for the business owner to take it down voluntarily.

The shop’s owner, Hafid Hafeed, spoke. He said that the business is planned for drivers on Rogers avenue “not for the students.” He said that the prominent signage is to make the shop visible to drivers on Rogers. He confirmed that he plans to open a New York style deli and convenience store in the other part of the building. He mentioned that in his 9 years working at King Tobacco he has not had any legal violations including none for selling to minors.

The property owner of the building, Dr. Hon Chung, spoke. He said that Hafeed “went through all the processes from beginning to end” and sunk money into the business. He called rescinding the license “foolish, unconstitutional, and unconscionable” He said of the discussion alone about the possibility of rescinding the license that he would be “worried about that spirit” even if there is no action taken on the idea. He also said of the building’s color and signage “I don’t like the yellow. I don’t like the green. I don’t like the cannabis leaf.” but acknowledged that the shop is following the law. He expressed concern that the business would be targeted and subjected to “undue enforcement.”

Director Kemp said that he felt that because the shop was not yet open for business is why rescinding the license is “worthy of discussion.”

Director Christina Catsavis said that the discussion is “not worth having” because of the months often involved in getting ready to open a business. She said that discussion of rescinding the business license “sends a message to the business community there’s no stability here.”

In response to the Board’s and community members’ concerns, the business owner agreed to voluntarily remove the neon marijuana leaf sign.

No action was taken regarding the issue and nothing was added to any future meeting agenda in relation to the topic.

The Board voted unanimously without discussion (except for Director George Catsavis who had left the meeting early and was no longer present to vote) to waive $3,974.20 in building permit fees for the $1.5 million renovation project at the Fort Smith Museum of History. The project will include replacement of windows, elevator modernization, and repairs to the masonry and cornice.

The Board voted unanimously (except for Director George Catsavis who had left the meeting early and was no longer present to vote) to add an additional $211,000 to the engineering contract with Halff for the Massard Road widening project to cover the additional cost for the engineering associated with a pedestrian bridge that will be an overpass over Massard connecting to the existing multi-use trail. This issue was discussed at the 3-4-25 meeting but tabled until after the May 13th sales tax vote in case streets capital expenditures needed to be reconsidered in light of the outcome of that vote. The issue that pertained to streets funding was passed by voters.

Andy Posterick spoke in opposition to the widening of Massard. He said that as an avid cyclist who lives in that area he would use and love the pedestrian bridge. However, he expressed opposition to spending money on the widening that is designed to speed traffic and would make the street extra dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists and then spending additional money to add safety features for pedestrians and cyclists. He expressed concerns about safety issues on the City streets and mentioned a recent pedestrian child fatality near a Fort Smith school. He suggested that with concerns about pedestrian safety near Fort Smith schools, with the bridge being in the Greenwood school district, the spending for the bridge should not be done by Fort Smith.

Jo Elskin spoke in opposition to the widening of Massard. She questioned the “benefits or necessity” of the widening. She said that homeowners in that neighborhood are against the widening. She also expressed concerns about safety.

Director Martin asked for clarification that there is already a contract in place for the design of the widening of Massard and that the issue to be voted on at this meeting does not authorize construction to widen Massard. Acting City Administrator Dingman clarified that the existing contract and the amendment to add to the contract up for a vote were for “design only.” Director Martin voiced his desire to look again at the Capital Improvement Plans for Streets to “determine feasibility and need” in light of the May 13 voter approval of the sales tax measure that will renew the sales tax for streets but reallocate it so that instead of a full 1% going to streets part of the tax will be going towards consent decree sewer repairs. He asked for clarification that the widening is “not happening any time soon.” Dingman said that it is on the Capital Improvement Plan for 2026, but that they will be reviewing the Capital Improvement Plan.

Director Kemp said that the widening is “not happening for years.”

The Board voted unanimously without discussion (except for Director George Catsavis who had left the meeting early and was no longer present to vote) to purchase a multi-jurisdictional component for the ProPhoenix CAD/RMS dispatch system used by the Police Department for the soon to be built joint City and County 911 dispatch center for $180,410.