OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

RVCC Governing Board Regular Meeting - August 27, 2025

Meeting Portal — Wednesday, August 27, 2025
BodyFort Smith, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateWednesday, August 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:48

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Okay.

0:03

It is see it's a little bit after three.

0:08

We'll go ahead and call this meeting in order.

0:12

We'll start with roll call.

0:14

Judge Holtz.

0:15

Here.

0:17

Administrator Dingman.

0:21

Chief Baker, but your Thompson.

0:24

Okay, Jason Thompson for Fort Smith PD, Chief Waters.

0:29

Sheriff Runyon.

0:32

Association President Sizemore.

0:35

Fort Smith EMS Director Hearns here.

0:38

Mayor Kinslow.

0:40

And Travis Cooper is absent.

0:44

Okay.

0:45

So first thing is this if you had any sent the minutes from last week's or last month's meeting.

0:57

Entertain a motion to accept the minutes.

1:02

Okay.

1:06

Is that you that second?

1:07

Okay.

1:08

Any discussion about them.

1:12

All in favor?

1:13

Aye.

1:14

Any opposed.

1:17

Okay.

1:17

First order of business is going to be the 2026 budget and the discussion of the budget.

1:27

I sent the operating budget to each of you in the agenda packet.

1:35

And I think right now what we could start with is just there a motion to accept the operating budget for 2026.

1:55

Okay.

1:57

Moved.

1:58

Any seconds?

2:00

Now questions.

2:11

We'll get to that.

2:12

Yeah, that's that's the second thing.

2:14

The first thing is the operating expenses from Tyler.

2:19

That's the printout that's got uh all of the personnel and uh operating expenses for that.

2:27

Uh and you'll see that the total operating expenses for 2026 3,724,055 and 60 cents.

2:44

Okay.

2:46

Any other questions.

2:53

Hearing none.

2:54

All in favor.

2:57

Any opposed.

2:59

Okay.

3:01

The next part of the discussion is that chart on the last page of your packet.

3:09

As you know, we are looking at a new facility construction at 4501 borough road, and I am trying to identify a funding stream for that facility.

3:21

We just got approval uh on Bashir's construction company to start working on the uh the the GMP um for that facility.

3:36

And based on what I have so far, what I have in front of I have two options.

3:43

The first row is what's going to be available in the fund balance at the end of 2025.

3:51

This was what is the remainder of that first payment from the 911 fund from Sebastian County to Fort Smith for the River Valley Communications Center.

4:01

And then the second row is the estimated very conservative estimate of the remainder of the 911 fund that'll be transferred to the River Valley Communications Center fund at the beginning of 2026.

4:15

What's going to happen is is the uh reconciliation of 2025 is going to have to happen.

4:21

And once that's completed, whatever's left in that fund will be transferred here.

4:27

Based on the calculations that I did after meeting with Melissa at the county and discussing all of the expenses that's yet to come out for 2025.

4:39

That's a very, very rough estimate of what we'll be.

4:43

All right.

4:45

Now we have that's the fund going into 2026.

4:49

We have the revenue uh again, very conservative estimate based on prior projections from the Arkansas State 911.

4:57

These are going to be your wireless fees.

5:00

Uh these are the ones that we have to certify every year, and it just comes in quarterly payments.

5:05

Um, I'm estimating uh 1.75 for 2026 on 911 uh wireless revenue and then the 911 landline fees um on top of that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████37%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████████████27%
Procedural██████████████14%
Technology and Innovation██████████10%
Personnel Matters████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Workforce Development███3%
Pending Litigation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

River Valley Communications Center Governing Board Regular Meeting - August 27, 2025

The River Valley Communications Center (RVCC) Governing Board met on August 27, 2025, at 3:00 PM at the Fort Smith Police Department Community Room. The board approved the 2026 operating budget, discussed funding for a new facility, received updates on construction and radio equipment, and considered future staffing and organizational structure for full consolidation. The board also agreed to explore consolidating civil defense sirens and mass notification systems under RVCC.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the July 29, 2025 meeting by a vote of 9-0. (Motion by Tom Sizemore, second by Boyd Waters.)

Discussion Items

  • 2026 Operating Budget: RVCC Executive Director Dr. Wes Milam presented the 2026 operating budget totaling $3,724,055.60. The budget covers personnel (24 telecommunicators, 5 supervisors at the Fort Smith ECC, plus county dispatch through 2026), operating expenses, and includes a reclassification of telecommunicator job descriptions to three levels to improve retention. The board unanimously approved the budget (motion by Jeff Dingman, seconded by Doug Kinslow, vote 9-0).

  • RVCC Construction Project Funding: Dr. Milam presented two funding options for the new facility at 4501 Burrough Road. Option 1 would dedicate all 2026 state 911 revenue ($5.54 million estimated) solely to construction, spreading operating costs across the city and county. Option 2 would not use 911 revenue for construction, leaving operations funded but requiring alternative funding for the facility. Estimated ending fund balance under Option 1 is $5,397,489; under Option 2, $3,582,062. Discussion included concerns from Steve Hotz (County Judge) and Doug Kinslow (Greenwood Mayor) about the impact on smaller municipalities. Jeff Dingman (City Administrator) supported Option 1 as "cleaner." The board voted 8-0 to table the decision until the September meeting, pending a detailed breakdown of costs for all municipalities (motion by Tim Hearn, second by Doug Kinslow).

  • Construction Update – Radio and Equipment: Dr. Milam updated that Motorola will be used for radio equipment due to compatibility with AWIN (statewide interoperability). He explained that choosing a non-Motorola vendor would require a costly ISSL gateway ($1.3 million) and limited interoperability. He plans to reduce costs by purchasing 10-12 consoles initially instead of 16. The board also discussed using ProQA for protocol-based emergency medical, fire, and police dispatching, and the benefits for CALEA accreditation.

  • Staffing and Organizational Structure for Full Consolidation (2027): Dr. Milam presented a proposed structure based on an updated APCO Retains staffing report (using 2024 call data: 267,209 total calls). The structure includes: Executive Director (1), Admin Coordinator (1), Chief of Operations (1), Chief of Compliance (1), Communications Supervisor (6), and 911 Telecommunicator (56 FTE). This would place 8 dispatchers on duty 24/7, up from current combined minimums (Fort Smith 4, Sebastian County 2, Greenwood 1, etc.). The board noted the increase but recognized the need based on call volume. Dr. Milam will email the report to members and provide a three-year outlook.

  • Civil Defense/Tornado Sirens and Mass Notification System: Dr. Milam proposed that the consolidated RVCC host the county-wide tornado siren activation and the HyperReach mass notification system (currently managed by Sebastian County Emergency Management). The system could integrate with the National Weather Service for polygon-based siren activation. Board members agreed this aligns with consolidation goals. Dr. Milam will bring cost estimates and options to future meetings.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the 2026 operating budget (unanimous, 9-0).
  • Tabled the decision on using 911 revenue for facility construction to September 30, 2025 meeting, pending cost breakdown for municipalities (8-0).
  • Board expressed support for hosting civil defense sirens and mass notification systems at RVCC; Director Milam will develop proposals.
  • Discussed radio equipment (Motorola) and protocol dispatching (ProQA) as part of construction planning.
  • Received staffing report; further analysis and cost projections to be presented at future meetings.
  • Next regular meeting scheduled for September 30, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. It is see it's a little bit after three. We'll go ahead and call this meeting in order. We'll start with roll call. Judge Holtz. Here. Administrator Dingman. Chief Baker, but your Thompson. Okay, Jason Thompson for Fort Smith PD, Chief Waters. Sheriff Runyon. Association President Sizemore. Fort Smith EMS Director Hearns here. Mayor Kinslow. And Travis Cooper is absent. Okay. So first thing is this if you had any sent the minutes from last week's or last month's meeting. Entertain a motion to accept the minutes. Okay. Is that you that second? Okay. Any discussion about them. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed. Okay. First order of business is going to be the 2026 budget and the discussion of the budget. I sent the operating budget to each of you in the agenda packet. And I think right now what we could start with is just there a motion to accept the operating budget for 2026. Okay. Moved. Any seconds? Now questions. We'll get to that. Yeah, that's that's the second thing. The first thing is the operating expenses from Tyler. That's the printout that's got uh all of the personnel and uh operating expenses for that. Uh and you'll see that the total operating expenses for 2026 3,724,055 and 60 cents. Okay. Any other questions. Hearing none. All in favor. Any opposed. Okay. The next part of the discussion is that chart on the last page of your packet. As you know, we are looking at a new facility construction at 4501 borough road, and I am trying to identify a funding stream for that facility. We just got approval uh on Bashir's construction company to start working on the uh the the GMP um for that facility. And based on what I have so far, what I have in front of I have two options. The first row is what's going to be available in the fund balance at the end of 2025. This was what is the remainder of that first payment from the 911 fund from Sebastian County to Fort Smith for the River Valley Communications Center. And then the second row is the estimated very conservative estimate of the remainder of the 911 fund that'll be transferred to the River Valley Communications Center fund at the beginning of 2026.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com