The Fort Smith Board of Directors met on March 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. (the meeting was called to order and lasted several hours). The board considered a mosquito fogging resolution, contracts for water slides at Parrot Island Water Park, a management agreement with American Resort Management (ARM), a water capital improvement plan, sanitary sewer assessment agreements, and a consent agenda. Public comment was heard on several items. Votes were taken on all agenda items.
Good evening. Good evening and welcome to the city of Force Ridge Board of Directors meeting on this March seventeenth of twenty twenty-six. These meetings are being televised live for the benefit of residents who cannot be with us in person. At this time, I'm going to ask uh Director Neil Martin, would you do the invocation for us? And Director uh Christina Kasavish, would you leave us in a pledge? Let's pray. Father, thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight to make decisions for the city of Fort Smith. Lord, we always ask for wisdom and guidance from you, Lord. I pray that you would um impart uh intellect and and um correct information into our brains, Lord, so we can make decisions that will move our city forward. Lord, I pray that you be those that come and speak before the board. Lord, we pray for wisdom for them. We pray for um courage. And Lord, we just we're thankful for all that you do for us each and every day. And Lord, we're we're thankful for your son who uh who died on the cross for our sins, Father. We love you, we thank you. We ask these things in your name. Amen. And to the Republic for which stands one nation under God and the visible with liberty and justice for all. Okay, thank you. Uh that have any item of business not already on the agenda for this meeting for this meeting. Okay. Seeing none, we'll ask for approval of the March third regular minute. So moved second. Thank you. All in favor. Thank you. As a reminder, a motion and second to adopt each of the following items must be offered before director's comments are made. Also, public comments on items must pertain to the presented item. This time we will go to the first item on the agenda. Thank you, Mayor. The first item tonight is a resolution reinstating mosquito fogging operations by the public works department. This topic was discussed at the February 24th study session, and the board placed a resolution on this evening's agenda for consideration. The city performed mosquito spraying for many years but discontinued the program in 2025 due to budgetary considerations. There has been discussion on both sides of this issue the past few years. Some residents favor the program for control of nuisance and potential disease carrying mosquitoes, while others contend that the chemicals used have detrimental effects on residents, pets, pollinators, and other beneficial insects or the environment in general. Board members have recently received feedback from residents opposing discontinuing the program, which has led to this consideration. Okay, thank you very much. Are they any citizens' comments, Madam Clerk? Yes, we do have two that have signed in. The first being Nancy Rainey. And then she has also provided some information that I'm passing out. Okay, Ms. Rainey, you're recognized. Nancy Rainey, 8108, Adam Drive, Fort Smith, 72903. Good evening, and thank you for giving me time to talk about item number one on the agenda, citywide permethrin spraying. As we head into spring and summer, our city will face rising complaints about mosquitoes because of concerns about mosquito porn illnesses. While the goal of reducing mosquito populations is understandable, the blanket approach of using this insecticide carries significant unintended consequences for our local environment and public health. This includes essential pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as the natural predators of mosquitoes such as dragonflies and damselflies. By killing these predators, we risk creating a rebound effect where mosquito populations actually surge once the chemical wears off because their natural checks and balances have been wiped out. It also impacts bird populations that rely on insects as their primary food source, particularly during nesting season when birds might use permethrin uh coated nesting materials, which causes weak eggs and bird illnesses.