Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 8/12/25

At the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting held 8-12-25, the Board discussed properties that the City owns that are not being used that City staff would recommend be sold or otherwise conveyed to different owners. This issue was previously discussed at the 6-10-25 study session meeting.

The former Bost building is recommended to be conveyed back to Methodist Village who donated it to the City in 1966 to be used for the Bost facility but now would like to have the property and building back to operate it as a daycare center.

Harriet Avenue & Meyer Street is salable, but the donor who donated it would like it back to use for affordable housing.

1801 South 74th, 4401 Massard, 14 vacant acres on Riverfront Drive, 800 North 9th are all recommended as being easiest to sell. 7700 Texas Rd, 4200 North O that could only be used by the landowner to the west of the property, and Division and North T that is a small triangle that would not be suitable for development, are all recommended to be sold or conveyed to the owners of adjacent properties. 2124 North 12th that is next to a vacant lot is recommended for a partial sale to the adjacent land owner.

Properties at 1317, 1321, and 1323 Gary, 816, 820, and 824 Hillside Drive, and 3408, 3414 and 3420 Edinburgh Drive that were all purchased by the City through the flooded property buyout program could all be sold, but would need to be sold with deeds that prohibit building any structures on that land.

Director Rego asked about potential uses for the flood buyout properties since structures could not be built on those. Acting City Administrator Dingman said that some flood buyout properties in the past have been located near churches and those churches bought them to use for parking. He also mentioned greenspace and additional space for adjacent property owners as possible uses.

Director Rego expressed that he is not in favor of selling 800 North 9th because of the historic Mallalieu Church facade on the property.

Director Settle suggested that the flood buyout properties could be sold with restrictions that would allow for buyers to construct homes on stilts on the properties. Director Settle also suggested that 7700 Texas Rd be conveyed to the nearby Cavanaugh School for an additional parking lot. He voiced his support for deeding the former Bost building back to Methodist Village.

Director Christina Catsavis asked about the process for selling the properties and (with the exception of deeding the former Bost building back to Methodist Village) voiced her support for a bidding process open to all buyers even for properties where they are most likely only of interest to a single or small number of neighboring land owners. She mentioned the remnant property that was recently sold on Garrison near the parking garage that had to go through the bidding process and the neighboring property owner that wanted it for a parking lot had to pay $150,000 for it. Dingman agreed that the properties (unless otherwise directed by the Board to go through some other process, like deeding the Bost building to Methodist Village for a “nominal” fee) would all go through the bidding process according to policy and that in addition to notifications of the sale in the newspaper the neighboring property owners would be sent letters letting them know about the sale.

Director Christina Catsavis asked about the possibility of fixing the drainage issue that results in the flooding on Edinburgh to be able to remove the need for deed restrictions and increase the sale price of the properties. Dingman said that the properties were purchased through the flood buyout program because it was cheaper to buy the houses than to fix the drainage.

Director George Catsavis asked about turning the sales of the properties over to a realtor. Dingman said that the properties could first go through the bidding process per existing policy, and then if the Board was not pleased with the bids received that they could reject them and then could use a realtor.

Director Kemp spoke in support of selling properties as a way to reduce maintenance costs and to replenish the General Fund. He asked if Methodist Village would have to go through the bidding process on the Bost property in a way that would create an opportunity for other interested buyers to also bid. Dingman said that it could be done that way through the regular process or the Board could opt to just deed it to Methodist for a nominal fee rather than it going up for bids from others. Director Kemp suggested reconsidering making the drainage improvements on Edinburgh as they would also benefit the current residents of nearby properties. He voiced his support for selling 800 N 9th, but potentially with restrictions requiring developers to preserve the historic facade structure.

Director Rego expressed skepticism about the market for some of the less desirable properties including the flood buyout properties and small properties that are of little use to buyers other than the adjacent land owners. He suggested the Board also weigh the cost of using a realtor for the smaller and lower value parcels as it may not be cost effective to do that rather than just going through the standard bidding process.

Director Christina Catsavis said that she was imagining more higher value properties to be on the list of salable property. She asked about the frontage properties along Old Greenwood that are a part of the former Acme Brick site. Dingman said that the whole site is going through the master planning process still and that breaking off and selling those properties may still be an option in the future but that they are not ready to market yet.

Mayor McGill voiced his support for deeding the Bost property back to Methodist Village.

The Board discussed conducting 360 Reviews of all of the City departments or of all City department heads. 360 Reviews are multi-rater reviews that include self-assessments and ratings from superiors, elected officials, subordinates, peers, colleagues, and people from outside of the organization. There are programs available that are made for the process for department heads but Administration is not aware of programs for departments as a whole. These reviews for department heads typically cost $250-$400 each.

Director Kemp suggested instead of purchasing programs for the reviews that the reviews could be done by the HR department using google forms. He suggested that the reviews only be done of the department heads and the City Administrator and Deputy Administrators, not of the entire staff.

Director Martin said of the reviews as proposed by Director Kemp “I would be open to that.”

The Board discussed a request from the Police Department to start using the Enterprise Fleet Management leasing program for their vehicles in response to the aging police fleet. Some of the reasons for their request are that the program would be more predictable for budgeting and a more cost-effective approach. The program would have a fixed monthly cost for maintenance. The vehicles would be replaced on a shorter cycle. The newer vehicles would be safer and have lower operating costs as well as improve officer morale by offering more reliable vehicles.

Police Chief Baker said that the department has been “making do” on vehicles but that it is at a point where it needs to “do something differently.” The plan would replace 60 vehicles in the first year. It would allow the take-home vehicle program to be fully implemented with no impact to the budget. The take-home vehicle program would reduce damage from storms by spreading the vehicles out further. It would also improve morale and employee retention. Baker mentioned that the department recently lost an officer to another law enforcement agency because the other agency offered them their own take-home vehicle. Baker said that the cost invested in training that officer and recruiting and training his replacement would have by itself paid for half of the first year of the leasing plan. Baker called the plan a “responsible use of taxpayer dollars.” He said that in the first year the program would cost about $1 million and that the department has that in the budget.

John Holland with Enterprise mentioned that the program finds the “sweet spot” of when to replace vehicles. He also highlighted that the program has no mileage penalties or wear and tear penalties and that the City keeps all of the equity on any resold vehicles. He said that when it comes time to resell vehicles Enterprise hand sells them rather than putting them up for auction, resulting in resale prices 15-20% higher than Blue Book values on average.

Director Christina Catsavis asked if the program would eliminate the need for the former Crain Kia property. Baker said that it would not because while one of the two buildings on the property is planned to be used for maintenance it is planned to be used for citywide maintenance for multiple departments, not just for police vehicles, and the other building on the property is planned to be used for a second police precinct and training facility.

Director Kemp said that the leasing program “sounds like a good idea.”

Director Martin asked why when a leasing program for police vehicles was discussed in 2017 it was not something that was pursued at that time. Director Settle said that the issue then was the cost of leasing was more than the cost of buying outright.

Director Settle asked about how the insurance would work with the leasing program. Baker said that it would be exactly the same. Dingman said that some other cities that also use coverage from Arkansas Municipal League also use the Enterprise leasing program.

Director Martin asked if the leased fleet would be all gas or include electric vehicles. Baker acknowledged that the lease program does not lock the department into any particular make or model or style of vehicles, the department can have whatever fuel system they desire, but that the department will only choose gas vehicles and will not be using any electric vehicles.

Director George Catsavis asked about how soon the leasing program could be implemented. Baker voiced his desire to begin it as soon as possible so that orders could be placed right away with the long lead time to find and upfit the vehicles.

The Enterprise leasing plan for the police vehicles will be put on a future meeting agenda for a vote.

During the Citizens Forum section of the meeting, Charlie Hartfield spoke to express his displeasure that the old playground equipment at Hillcrest Park was removed before the new equipment is installed resulting in there being no play equipment at the park for the last 3 months. Dingman said that the park is being renovated and that the renovations including the installation of the new equipment should be completed this fall. Hartsfield also voiced his displeasure that new slides purchased for Parrot Island waterpark have still not been installed.

Andy Posterick spoke and supported traditional neighborhood development patterns and encouraged the Board to consider “radical ideas” other cities haven’t tried yet. To make Downtown more inviting and walkable and successful again he suggested considering a raised land value tax and lowered property tax system sometimes called the “single tax.” He mentioned that when Vancouver switched to that system their population doubled in 3 years.

Krystal Cadelli spoke in opposition to AMI water meters. She mentioned concerns including poor data quality from water debris, calibration issues, and weak signals. She mentioned that AMI meters in Toronto failed 8-9 years early. She suggested replacing all of the plastic housed meters with meters with other types of housing. She said that meters could be swapped out with non-AMI meters for $30 million cheaper than switching to AMI.

Jo Elsken spoke and voiced concerns about aquifer levels falling and water needs increasing. She said that the City should be careful about the use of water and that “resources need to be comprehensively managed.” She voiced her opposition to Fort Smith selling water to the planned prison to be built in Franklin County.

During the Executive Session, the Board decided to move forward with hiring Amanda Strange to fill the vacant Director of Internal Audit position. The hiring will be up for a vote at the 9-2-25 meeting.