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Officials forum covers water-slide cost overrun, railroad crossing complaint and administrator hiring process
Summary
Directors pressed staff over a shortfall in funding for a water-slide installation, requested that HR screen top city administrator candidates during budget work, and asked staff to pursue repairs to a Fort Smith Railroad crossing sign; board approved several appointment nominations.
During the officials forum on Oct. 21, directors raised several operational matters: a large and unexpected cost shortfall on the city’s water-slide project, a resident’s complaint about a nonworking railroad-crossing phone number, and a proposed recruiter-assisted screening process for the city administrator search.
Water-slide costs: Several directors criticized the city’s handling of a water-slide installation. City staff said the project budget originally was $4.2 million; purchases to date include $2.6 million to buy the slides and $509,000 for slide assembly work, plus a roughly $100,000 design contract. Staff reported two recent contractor bids to set the slides and build foundations at about $3.2 million and $2.8 million. Staff said the city currently has about $650,000 unobligated on the project, leaving a large shortfall to cover the lowest reported construction bid. A director asked whether the city should sell the slides rather than fund the additional construction cost; another director said parking is a separate issue and was not part of the current slide contracts.
Railroad crossing: Director Kemp raised a public complaint about a railroad crossing near 0 Street and Highway 71 where the crossing-identification sign listed a phone number that a resident reported was not working. The sign was identified as belonging to the Fort Smith Railroad Company; the director asked staff to follow up with street, highway and railroad contacts to ensure the crossing and its emergency contact information are corrected.
Administrator search and appointments: The board discussed the closed application period for the city administrator position, which closed Oct. 16. A director proposed that human resources identify the top five to eight candidates by experience and perform initial screening interviews; several directors agreed. The board then adopted appointment nominations for several advisory roles: Director Kemp to the Advertising and Promotion Commission, Carl Lehi to the Fire Code Board of Appeals and Adjustments, and the mayor as voting delegate to the National League of Cities.
The board recessed briefly for an executive session to consider appointments and returned to adopt the nominations and to adjourn.
