Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 7/14/26

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting held 7-14-26 with Director Kemp absent, the Board heard an update from the non-profit organization Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. regarding their cemeteries (Forest Park, Rose Lawn, and Holy Cross)and discussed the City taking ownership of and responsibility for the cemeteries. This issue was discussed at the 7-15-25,8-19-2025, 9-23-25, 12-9-25, and 12-16-25 meetings. In December of 2025, there was discussion between Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. and a private company regarding the private company taking ownership of the cemeteries, but Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. was not interested in that transaction and decided to continue to own and operate the cemeteries themselves.

Director Rego and Director Christina Catsavis expressed their support for the City taking over the cemeteries.

Marty Clark with Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. said that the organization is keeping the cemeteries running and “essentially breaking even” but struggles with grounds maintenance. He said that they did not want to have the cemeteries run by a private for-profit company and think they would be best run under public ownership. Clark suggested establishing a citizen led committee for cemeteries and for fundraising and mentioned Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. being interested in being involved in the committee.

Ed Ralston with Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. said that the cemeteries have conducted 55 services this year and are so far $25,000 in the positive for the year. They took in $25,000 in donations and without those donations would have broken even “with a substandard level of maintenance.” He said that the cemeteries would be using funds from the perpetual care fund to do some infrastructure projects soon. He said that First Security bank with whom Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. has a $650,000 loan that is in default understands that the loan is unlikely to be repaid and is willing to facilitate what needs done to make sure that the City would not assume the debt if they were to take over the cemeteries.

Director George Catsavis expressed his interest in helping out temporarily but wanting to have a way out if City finances changed or the City changed their mind about running the cemeteries. Director Martin said that there would be “no way out” or temporary measure, that the ownership would be permanent. Acting City Director Dingman agreed that the City would be obligated “forever.” Director George Catsavis asked if the City could just help with the upkeep of the grounds and mowing rather than taking over the cemeteries entirely. Dingman clarified that the City cannot do that and cannot contribute to helping the cemeteries while they are owned by a private non-profit as it is not constitutional.

Director Martin praised Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc.’s positive year to date financial situation. He also mentioned that he has not heard many complaints about their properties recently. He asked what would happen with the bank and the loan if the City were to take over the properties. Ralston said that First Security does not have any interest in repossessing the cemetery properties that are collateral for the loan and that they would likely consider the loan defaulted and write it off.

Director Good voiced his view that a private company taking over the cemeteries would be the best option. He expressed concerns about leaving the responsibility of caring for the cemeteries to someone from outside of the area, but also expressed concerns about the City taking over the cost responsibilities for ongoing support of the cemeteries.

Director Martin mentioned that the company that offered in December to take over the cemeteries is still interested. Director Christina Catsavis said that she received a recent complaint from a family with burials in Woodlawn that is currently run by that company that said that it is “disgraceful the way they’re maintaining it.” She expressed concerns that when the private company runs out of room to sell plots they won’t bother to maintain the property. Director Good said that when he recently viewed Woodlawn that it was “immaculate.”

The City taking over the Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. cemeteries will be added to the next meeting agenda for a vote.

The Board discussed adding an ordinance that would fine any person or entity for transporting homeless individuals into Fort Smith. The discussion is in response to speculation that homeless people from other parts of Arkansas and other states are being transported into Fort Smith and dropped off here to access the support resources offered here.

3 other cities, St. Joseph, Missouri, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Joplin, Missouri enacted ordinances of that type in 2025. None of those 3 have yet taken any enforcement actions on their ordinances. The exact fines for violating St. Joseph and Joplin’s ordinances were not listed, but the fine for violating Ft. Wayne’s is up to $2500 plus prosecution costs.

Director Martin said that he has heard from first responders and downtown business owners that “This is a growing problem.” He said that law enforcement in other places are bringing homeless people to Fort Smith. He said that he has heard claims but that there is no proof that other cities are providing homeless people with bus tickets to Fort Smith. He said that firefighters said that 4 out of 5 homeless individuals that they interact with say that they are from out of state and that many claim to have taken a bus to Fort Smith after hearing about Hope Campus. Director Martin said “We want to take care of our own.”

Director Rego questioned the enforceability of the ordinance and noted that none of the cities with ordinances already in place has done any enforcement on them. He also voiced his belief that no “person is less-than” because they are not from this community.

Director Good voiced his view that the ordinance would be hard to enforce and unlikely to help. He said that he has not heard on the street or during his visits to Next Step Homeless Services about people being transported in by other entities. He voiced his belief in taking care of all people in need.

Neighborhood Services Director Gard said that most of the homeless individuals he talks to when addressing encampments say that they are from outside the area and often outside the state. He said that many come here because “Fort Smith is a generous city.”

Casey Wilson with Hope Campus championed case management and outreach services as ways to help the homeless problem. He mentioned that Conway had dropped off 3 people in Fort Smith. He mentioned that the City of Fayetteville has a program that pays homeless people to pick up trash and suggested that possibly a program could be instituted to employ homeless people to maintain the cemeteries. He also mentioned that Hope Campus has an office space open for a police officer and would be happy to have a police substation located at the campus.

Director Christina Catsavis mentioned the strain on resources including the police department caused by the homeless population. She mentioned that Hope Campus is the top address for calls received by the Fire Department. She voiced her desire to differentiate between the people who want to participate in programs and be re-housed and reintegrated into the community and those that do not. She expressed her concerns about property owners having to pay to clean up their property due to homeless encampments, sometimes involving extensive and expensive cleanup operations even requiring heavy equipment.

Director George Catsavis asked what percentage of people using Hope Campus are returned to no longer being homeless. Wilson said that the facility serves 519 unique individuals per year and that last year 109 were moved out of homelessness.

Director Settle voiced his support for taking a “Fort Smith first” approach to homelessness, prioritizing taking care of people who are from here.

Sharon Chapman with Next Step Homeless Services mentioned that the point-in-time count had an uptick around 2020 but currently is down 10% from 2023. She said it is “trending in the right way.” She also mentioned “The homeless population is really transient.” She expressed concerns that it would be hard to distinguish who is truly from here and how long a person has been here to qualify as being from here in relation to a prioritizing Fort Smith residents.

Director Good agreed that Fort Smith resident prioritization would rely on truthful reporting and would require additional funds and manpower. He asked if it would be constitutional to ask where people are coming in from and to fine cities and organizations for transporting people into Fort Smith. Dingman said that the City Attorney would be best prepared to answer those legal questions but said that the question “bears exploration.” He noted that the ordinances in place in other cities have not been enforced and legally challenged yet to see how theirs hold up.

The Board will vote on an ordinance at the 2nd regular meeting in August.