OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

River Valley Communications Center & Motorola Purchase Meeting (Nov 17, 2025)

Meeting Portal — Monday, November 17, 2025
BodyFort Smith, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, November 17, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:08

Transcript — Verbatim
0:36

If we're ready, we'll go ahead and coach come to order.

0:49

Okay, we talked about that's good.

1:01

Okay.

1:03

We're gonna go ahead and call it or call together this meeting for orders.

1:10

We're gonna start with bro call baker here.

1:14

Clark, here Cooper, here Damon here, Ern Hopes, Mark Allen proposes.

1:21

Mark Allen for proxy Kinslow here.

1:23

Runyon.

1:24

Present Seismore?

1:26

Yes.

1:27

Okay, we presented to the board the minutes, minutes from uh the October 28th meeting.

1:34

Do I have a motion to accept the minutes from the October 28th meeting?

1:37

So second.

1:47

All in favor?

1:48

Aye.

1:50

Any posed.

1:53

Okay.

1:53

The only agenda item that we have today is regarding the motorola purchase.

2:00

And what I need to begin the discussion is a motion to move forward with the motorola pro uh motorola purchase.

2:09

I need a motion to accept the purchase.

2:11

So the second to accept the purchase of Motorola.

2:19

So then we'll go to discussion.

2:26

Discussion they would like to talk about.

2:32

Explain how the purchase is currently structured and then what the obligations will be in terms of uh annual payments and such.

2:38

Right.

2:39

As it's currently structured.

2:41

This is uh five payments.

2:52

Five payments.

2:55

Yeah, that's the T yeah, we're not gonna be able to put this up on the board.

3:03

So we have five payments of one million sixty-six thousand five hundred and eighty-five dollars and sixty-seven cents.

3:10

First payment will be commenced on February the second of 2027.

3:15

This defers the payments out in February of 2027 uh as written.

3:20

The five equal payments uh equals the um with interest is five million three hundred and thirty-two thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars and thirty-five cents.

3:31

This includes the principal um uh four million six hundred and thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and fifty-six dollars plus the interest to take it out for five payments.

3:43

Last payment would be November the 30th, 2030.

3:52

Wellis, can you can you also explain where that money's coming from?

3:58

That way we can actually see the the payment in 2027 is going to be put into the total operating cost of the R River Valley Communications Center, RBCC.

4:13

And so you will have the personnel costs, you're gonna have the day-to-day operations cost of the RBCC, but then you will also have that lease payment added uh in 2027.

4:27

Uh we are also looking at well by then we are looking at the facility construction costs that we are awaiting by the first of the year.

4:38

We just don't know what that'll be yet.

4:40

And so we I mean as a as the board in making this decision, we know without a doubt that the money is there where it's going to be there you make these angles perfectly the the money is going to be part of that operating cost.

5:00

And as the ILA suggests, when we take the um I'm sorry.

5:04

It doesn't suggest that it doesn't suggest it states that once thank you, Chief.

5:08

The ILA states, section 6.2 that any operating costs above the revenue that we receive the state will be split.

5:18

70% city of Fort Smith, 30% Sebastian County.

5:22

So what the budget will look like in 27 is that we will take any funds revenue against the operating expenses to include this payment.

5:37

Anything over will then be split and submitted.

5:41

And we've identified both city and county has those funds.

5:47

The funds for the actual funds will reside with the city.

5:51

I see if that's what you're asking.

5:53

The city of Fort Smith will actually write the check.

5:55

As far as the 70% and the 30%, over county and city have shared that they we would have the funds available to support this in that term.

6:07

Can you answer that with that?

6:09

I'd say I mean that's a function of how the I mean for the city anyway and how the general fund is structured each year and build that into our general fund expenses.

6:17

I suppose that I surmise that the county will do the same thing is build out what the general fund obligations are going to be for each subsequent budget year.

6:25

We know that it's going to be X amount of dollars equal to our in our case, 70% of that number that we have to build into our operating budget.

6:35

I mean, and it's frankly what we're what we're doing now is building that.

6:40

I mean, what we have done in the past is built in a number for operation of our dispatch center.

6:45

So it would be considered similar cost to that, but uh we will structure it a little bit differently than we did when we was coming out of the police department's communications program will structure it out of this, and it'll be a general fund obligation that the city has to has to contribute.

7:02

That's that's a function of the really the interlocal agreement states that we will we will make these payments, and so uh that's what we're committed to.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procurement████████████████████████████28%
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Procedural█████████████13%
Technology and Innovation█████████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Financial Oversight████████8%
Community Engagement█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

River Valley Communications Center & Motorola Purchase Meeting (Nov 17, 2025)

The River Valley Communications Center (RBCC) Board convened to address the critical procurement of Motorola infrastructure required for the new dispatch center and the future facility construction. While the Board unanimously approved a motion to move forward with the Motorola purchase, significant debate ensued regarding the financial sustainability of the project, particularly concerning the ability of smaller municipalities to afford their allocated share of the costs under the existing Interlocal Agreement. Speakers expressed deep concern that the proposed funding structure represents an unsustainable financial burden, with the 30% county share requiring sub-allocation to smaller cities potentially exceeding their current budgetary capacity.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion to accept the minutes from the October 28th meeting was made, seconded, and passed with no dissent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Concerned Board Members representing smaller communities: Expressed strong opposition to the current funding plan without further negotiation. They argued that the smaller jurisdictions cannot afford the increased payment obligations, stating they are facing a "breaking point" where they cannot pay for the requested 911 services.
  • Concerned Board Members: Raised skepticism regarding the necessity of a hardened facility, suggesting the use of existing county emergency management buildings or other options to reduce costs, noting that the current plan may be over-built.

Discussion Items

  • Project Structure and Cost: The Chief and Chief Baker explained the purchase includes five annual payments of $1,066,585.67 starting in February 2027, totaling $5,332,928.35 with interest ($4,639,956.56 principal). The purchase covers the 8-Wing system infrastructure, a new tower, 17 console radios, and a call logger for digital recording.
  • Funding Breakdown: The Interlocal Agreement dictates a 70/30 split between the City of Fort Smith and Sebastian County. The County's 30% share is proposed to be distributed among smaller municipalities based on population. Speakers debated whether the county can absorb this share or if the cities must pay.
  • Feasibility and Alternatives: Several members questioned the construction costs and the timeline, noting a 7-10% increase in construction material costs since the project was last reviewed. Options for extending payments to 10 years (though with higher interest) or utilizing existing facilities were discussed as potential cost-saving measures.
  • 911 Fund Utilization: The Chief discussed the 911 Turnback Fund revenue, highlighting a drop from ~$2.2 million in 2020 to ~$1.8 million in 2024-2025. It was proposed that foregoing salary reimbursements ($1.79 million) could help offset the new capital costs, though this was framed as an option to be reviewed later.
  • Timeline and Construction: The goal remains for construction to begin in March 2027, with a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) contract for the building to be finalized in January 2025. The Motorola equipment must be ordered now to align with the facility opening, but the final facility costs are still preliminary estimates.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion Passed: The motion to accept the Motorola purchase proposal, moved by Jeff Dingman and seconded by Chief Baker, passed with a vote tally of 8 in favor, 0 against (with one member absent). Note: The transcript mentions "8 for" at the end of the voting call.
  • Future Action Required: The Board agreed to reschedule the next meeting (currently set for November 25th) to allow time for the County to negotiate with the smaller municipalities regarding the funding burden. A decision on the full financial restructuring will be revisited after these discussions.
  • Budget Status: No payments are currently being drawn; the first payment is not due until February 2027.
  • Next Steps: Chief Baker promised to facilitate meetings with the smaller communities and private sector partners (OGE, AOG, Cox) to seek cost offsets. The agenda for the next meeting will be clarified to avoid previous errors.

Meeting Transcript

If we're ready, we'll go ahead and coach come to order. Okay, we talked about that's good. Okay. We're gonna go ahead and call it or call together this meeting for orders. We're gonna start with bro call baker here. Clark, here Cooper, here Damon here, Ern Hopes, Mark Allen proposes. Mark Allen for proxy Kinslow here. Runyon. Present Seismore? Yes. Okay, we presented to the board the minutes, minutes from uh the October 28th meeting. Do I have a motion to accept the minutes from the October 28th meeting? So second. All in favor? Aye. Any posed. Okay. The only agenda item that we have today is regarding the motorola purchase. And what I need to begin the discussion is a motion to move forward with the motorola pro uh motorola purchase. I need a motion to accept the purchase. So the second to accept the purchase of Motorola. So then we'll go to discussion. Discussion they would like to talk about. Explain how the purchase is currently structured and then what the obligations will be in terms of uh annual payments and such. Right. As it's currently structured. This is uh five payments. Five payments. Yeah, that's the T yeah, we're not gonna be able to put this up on the board. So we have five payments of one million sixty-six thousand five hundred and eighty-five dollars and sixty-seven cents. First payment will be commenced on February the second of 2027. This defers the payments out in February of 2027 uh as written. The five equal payments uh equals the um with interest is five million three hundred and thirty-two thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars and thirty-five cents. This includes the principal um uh four million six hundred and thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and fifty-six dollars plus the interest to take it out for five payments. Last payment would be November the 30th, 2030. Wellis, can you can you also explain where that money's coming from? That way we can actually see the the payment in 2027 is going to be put into the total operating cost of the R River Valley Communications Center, RBCC. And so you will have the personnel costs, you're gonna have the day-to-day operations cost of the RBCC, but then you will also have that lease payment added uh in 2027. Uh we are also looking at well by then we are looking at the facility construction costs that we are awaiting by the first of the year. We just don't know what that'll be yet. And so we I mean as a as the board in making this decision, we know without a doubt that the money is there where it's going to be there you make these angles perfectly the the money is going to be part of that operating cost. And as the ILA suggests, when we take the um I'm sorry. It doesn't suggest that it doesn't suggest it states that once thank you, Chief. The ILA states, section 6.2 that any operating costs above the revenue that we receive the state will be split. 70% city of Fort Smith, 30% Sebastian County. So what the budget will look like in 27 is that we will take any funds revenue against the operating expenses to include this payment. Anything over will then be split and submitted. And we've identified both city and county has those funds. The funds for the actual funds will reside with the city. I see if that's what you're asking.

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