Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 8/26/25
At the Fort Smith Board of Directors study session meeting held 8-26-25, the Board discussed the annual Departmental Service Objectives and Key Performance Indicators reports from all of the City departments ahead of the upcoming 2026 budget-making season.
Director Martin mentioned that in some departments he would like to see more “specificity” in their objectives with more measurable “actionable items.” One example he gave would be instead of a more vague item about homelessness, to include a goal to “reduce the point-in-time count by X.” He praised the Police Department for the specificity in their report.
Director Kemp praised the partnership between Human Resources and the Peak Innovation Center and the Chamber of Commerce to recruit high school seniors. Director Martin encouraged HR to recruit more actively including participation in job fairs. HR mentioned that they will be participating in a job fair at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville soon to focus on recruiting engineers.
Director Kemp asked Chief Finance Officer Richards what would need to be done to not budget a deficit in 2026. Richards said that the general fund is the biggest concern. There will need to either be an increase in revenues or a shrinking of expenditures. He said that the “biggest ticket item we have is our people.” He suggested the potential to “right size the programs in the general fund.” He voiced concerns about inflation and rising health care premiums. One possible positive thing towards budgeting for the general fund he mentioned was that property tax assessments will be going up and with the half a mil each going to the Police and Fire pensions from property taxes the increased income from the property taxes will help reduce the need for the City to subsidize those pensions.
Director Kemp asked about the timeline for the solar and LED energy conservation projects. Sustainability Officer Robertson said that they are still in the design phase and “a little bit behind” but are anticipated to be finished in the third quarter of 2026.
Director Kemp questioned if the former Crain Kia property planned to serve as a second police precinct, police training center, and city-wide fleet maintenance center might not be necessary. He said that police response time is “already good.” He asked if the police start leasing their vehicles whether the property was really going to add efficiency for the police department. The Police mentioned that officers on the south end of town have to spend a long time if they need to go back to headquarters for something and that the new station would offer a visible presence on Hwy 71. Director George Catsavis mentioned that having all the maintenance for vehicles under one ton size under the same roof might save money and that money paid to the County to use their training facilities could be saved by the training facility. Director Kemp mentioned the training facility being able to attract outside agencies. Director Kemp asked about grants for the police station. Acting City Administrator Dingman said that there is potential for grant funding and the City is “continuing to look for” them. Director Rego encouraged “caution” in being “too hasty in liquidating” the property.
DIrector George Catsavis asked about doing targeted spraying for mosquitos, particularly near the river and in the Village Harbor and Hillcrest neighborhoods. Streets Director Meeker said that the budget for mosquito spraying had been cut but that the spraying could be done if the Board were to direct his department to and to fund that spraying. Director Rego acknowledged that the decision was made by a vote to discontinue spraying for mosquitos (with Rego and Good voting to keep spraying and Christina Catsavis abstaining) but said that he has received a lot of feedback from citizens who are “not happy with what we did.”
The Board discussed the updated Capital Improvement Plans for Streets, Bridges, and Drainage projects that will be funded through the 5/8 sales tax for those purposes.
Interim Engineering Director Marts mentioned that staffing continues to be a challenge in his department with project engineer job vacancies that have remained unfilled for a long while. It was discussed that funding has still not been secured for the relocation of the utilities on Towson scheduled for 2029-2030.
The Board heard updates about the 48 inch water transmission line from Lake Fort Smith and the need for upgrades to the Lake Fort Smith water treatment plant.
The existing lines coming from Lake Fort Smith are currently delivering water at their maximum capacity. About 35% of water from Lake Fort Smith comes into the city via 22 inch transmission lines from 1935-1936. These lines lose about 1.7% of their water and fixing leaks in them is difficult. 6 miles of those lines have already been replaced by the 48 inch line. 65% of the water from Lake Fort Smith comes into the city via 36 inch transmission lines from the 1950s and 1960s. Those lines have a similar rate of water loss to the older 36 inch lines because they are made of a better material. The plan is to slip line the remaining 27 and 36 inch pipes rather than replace them all with new 48 inch line.
The 48 inch transmission line will provide water to the east side of town and south of Zero Street and be a redundant way to get water into the city. It will have a 100 year lifespan. Phase 1, 6 miles, has been completed. Phase 2A is 3 miles currently designed and will cost $15 million. $12 million for Phase 2A has been secured from Congressman Womack’s Congressionally Directed Spending and will require a $3 million local contribution from the City. Phase 2B is 9.3 miles and is currently designed and will cost $45-$60 million and does not yet have funding. Phase 3 is 8.9 miles and under design. It will cost $25-$50 million. A part of Phase 3 funding for part of the casing will be paid for by ARDOT. Phase 4 is 2.1 miles and involves two 36 inch lines being run under the Arkansas River. It will cost $25-$50 million and needs funding. Phase 5 is 4.2 miles and its route is still under consideration with some points of contention regarding its route. It will cost $25-$50 million and needs funding.
The Lake Fort Smith treatment plant is currently operating near its maximum capacity during the summer months. Its last major upgrade was in 2012. It currently provides 30 million gallons per day in the winter months. The proposed Lake Fort Smith plant upgrade and 48 inch transmission line will provide 48 million gallons per day, all gravity fed (without need for pumps like the water that comes in from the Lee Creek Treatment Plant). It is best to have both projects completed around the same time. The total cost for the Lake Fort Smith plant upgrade will be $180-$360 million. The total cost for the transmission line will be $148-$225 million. The grand total for both projects together will be $328-$585 million.
Director Martin asked what the time frame to complete the projects would be if they were fully funded. Utilities Director McAvoy answered 6-8 years. Director Martin asked if the increased water capacity would be enough to provide water to the proposed prison in Franklin County if both projects were fully funded and completed. McAvoy answered “It could.”
It was discussed that bonds, rate increases, taxes or some combination of those sources would be needed to fund the projects. Based on the maximum estimate, the projects are still unfunded by $570 million. Director Martin called the cost and potential funding sources “consent decree-esque.”
Grants and Government Relations Manager Hoover mentioned that the current federal administration has a “different take on grant funding” and grant funding is “bone dry.” However, he acknowledged that Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Fort Chaffee, and that Fort Smith provides water to several rural municipalities including one across a state line are all situations that may help provide opportunities for grants.
