Fort Smith City Board of Directors Study Session - April 28, 2026
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Fort Smith City Board of Directors Study Session - April 28, 2026
The Fort Smith City Board of Directors held a study session on April 28, 2026, to discuss Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding allocations for the new grant year, and to explore support for legislation requiring hospitals to provide community notice prior to closure. The meeting lasted a record 10 minutes and included a motion to place the CDBG/HOME item on the next regular meeting agenda.
Discussion Items
CDBG and HOME Funding Allocations
Candace, a city staff member, reported that the final HUD allocations for the grant year are:
- CDBG: $772,874 (flat funding compared to last year, but effectively a $40,000 cut due to new grantees)
- HOME: $367,054.07 (slightly higher than the previous year)
She explained that the five-year consolidated plan now includes economic development as a potential use for these funds, though few applications were received in that category. Director Neil Martin expressed a desire to improve outreach about economic development funding opportunities, noting it is new and challenging to market. Director Kim asked where growth is most needed; Candace highlighted affordable housing as a major need, noting that $367,000 does not go far, and also cited basic needs like food, child care, and transportation. She mentioned that the statutory 15% cap on public service spending limits their ability to meet demand, and the city has asked state representatives to raise it. Director Settle requested a list of other Arkansas cities that receive HOME funding.
Hospital Closure Notification Legislation
The item was placed on the agenda at the March 31 special meeting to discuss support for legislation requiring hospitals to give community notice before closing. The legislative delegation was invited but could not attend because they are at the fiscal session in Little Rock. Director Kasavits reported that legislators are willing to meet, possibly in late May or June, and he has had some discussions with hospital representatives from Baptist and Mercy. He emphasized that he wants to focus on service line closure notification legislation, not further talking points from Baptist. The board agreed to schedule a future discussion with legislators.
Strategic Workshop and Other Items
City Administrator Jeff (likely Jeff Dingman) asked about the proposed strategic workshop on Friday, June 12. Feedback indicated only one board member could attend, one suggested canceling, and one had a conflict. The board left the workshop date unconfirmed but indicated general availability. Additionally, Director George Kasavits raised a future discussion item about freezing utility rates for seniors, which is scheduled for the study session on June 9. Director Neil Martin expressed support for beginning discussions on water supply and future needs.
Key Outcomes
- A motion was made and seconded to place the CDBG/HOME funding allocations report on the next regular board meeting agenda.
- The board will work to schedule a meeting with state legislators to discuss hospital closure notification legislation, potentially in late May or June.
- The June 12 strategic workshop date remains tentative pending further board confirmation.
- The board will address senior utility rate alternatives at the June 9 study session.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, and welcome to the fourth Minister City Board of Directors' study session this April twenty eighth of twenty twenty six. Keep in mind the meetings are being televised live for those who can't be here. On April 9th, 2026, the Community Development Advisory Committee held three public hearings to review funding requests for the community development block grant and the home investment partnership program funding to local agencies to assist the city in carrying out the goals and objectives of the five-year consolidated plan for 2026. We did receive final numbers from HUD for this grant year, so what you're looking at in your board packet is correct. The CDBG funding came in at 772, 874, and the home funding came in at 367,054.07. And I'm happy to answer any questions you have on this item. Okay, thank you, Candace. Just now we'll open it up to the board for any uh conversations question. Director Neil Martin, you recognize Candice. I know that uh one of the things that I've talked about is being able to use these CDBG funds and home funds for economic development. You know, we talked about uh uh you know various ways that these can be used. It didn't look like that there was much appetite for the committee related to that. Is that a true statement? Uh true, we didn't really receive a lot of applications in regards to economic development. It did make it into our five-year plan this year, so we wrote it into the plan as a possibility for funding. So how does someone or some entity um find out about uh those funds being available for um for economic development? Right. So every December we open up our funding cycle, so we advertise a notice of funding availability. Where that goes into the paper, we advertise it on the city's Facebook page, and then we do gov delivery. We also have a list of stakeholders that receive notices that have called our office asking to be added to the list so they get mailed notices of that notice of funding availability, and that comes out annually every December. Okay. I think with it being something new that has never been there before, I think we there might need to be some different ways in which we we go about um advertising that um for folks. And I I think you know, I think that's probably ch challenging to get that information out to folks because it it is so new and it is so different. But um, I really want us to see if there's anyone or any entity that could uh that could use some of those funding dollars. So um thanks for including it in the five-year plan. I'd like to see something come of that. I think there's some opportunity. So um I'll just like to see maybe some different ways in which we um market that out to the community. Certainly. Rick Rigo. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say uh Candace, thank you and and uh committee members, anybody involved uh who takes the time to go through this process. You know, you see it reflected in the memo there. It's year 52 for the CDBG and year 33 for the home uh program funding. You articulated and shared with us verbally and in the memo the numbers uh the amount being received for both programs. Would you mind sharing what what if any uh reduction uh that reflects year over year in those two programs? Um right. So this year we were fortunate to receive flat funding. Now I'll say that when it is flat funding, we still face uh potential cut because since it is a government allocated formula, if new grantees sign up for the program, sign up for the block grant, then they take another piece of that pie. So this year, while we received flat funding for CDBG, we actually ended up taking about a 40,000 cut. So uh home funds were uh just slightly higher than the previous year, but um we're still hoping for more funding in 2027. Sure. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Director Kim. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Ms. Kabucci, just as you're talking about hoping for more funding in the future. If there was when you based on the feedback that you've gotten from the community based on the expertise of your team, where would you like to see this grow? Um, I think affordable housing is obviously a huge problem in the city, and with $360 $7,000, you can imagine that that doesn't go very far for affordable housing.
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