Fort Smith city directors consider lobbying trip to Washington

It might be an expensive trip, but Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly told city directors Tuesday night (Dec. 16) that a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. might be worth the time and money.

The city board is being asked to prioritize projects that the city’s lobbyist — Doug Thomas, with Watts Partners — would then try to include in an infrastructure stimulus package Congress has talked about approving in early 2009. City staff provided directors with a list of 20 projects totaling more than $32.5 million. (Link here for a previous report on city board discussions of possible stimulus projects.)

One item was not on the list.

“I-49 should be the No. 1 project on the list,” said City Director Kevin Settle. “I don’t see it here.” (Funds for Interstate 49 are on a list submitted by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.)

Directors then decided to individually identify their top projects from the list the city staff provided. The prioritized list will be announced at a Dec. 23 special board meeting.

Kelly said city officials need to travel to Washington, D.C. sometime in mid-February to meet with U.S. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark, and U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., to encourage them to work for infrastructure stimulus funding for the Fort Smith projects.

“As many board members as possible need to go to Washington … to talk to both senators and the congressman,” Kelly said.

He asked the directors for commitments and availability by Dec. 23 so a trip and the appropriate meetings could be scheduled.

MAYOR’S REPORT

Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker opened Tuesday’s board meeting with a few comments about conditions in Fort Smith.

He said 2008 has “been a very interesting year, a very productive year” with many positive things happening in the area.

That note of praise, however, was followed by Baker’s “for the citizens of our community who are losing their jobs.” He noted that Fort Smith has historically benefited from the manufacturing sector, but finds it unfortunate and alarming that “we have a lot of jobs in a (manufacturing) sector that is being hard hit.”

The Mayor also said he has “a lot of concerns about the quality of health care in the community. … There are some very serious issues in the (medical) community of which we all should be aware of.”

He did not mention specifics, but said an early 2009 forum would address the issue of medical care in the community. (The City Wire will update this issue with information on the forum and comments from area medical officials.)

CABLE, RETIREE ISSUES

In city business, the board approved 7-0 to extend the non-exclusive franchise to Cox Communications, the cable carrier in the Fort Smith region. There was about 30 minutes of discussion about how Cox has moved religious programming to a different “tier” on the channel schedule, and how that has proven to be a hardship on the poor, elderly and those in nursing homes.

Kara Bushkuhl, director of finance for the city, talked about retiree benefits cost, specifically, a proposal to move the management of such benefit funds to the Arkansas Local Government Health Management Trust administered by the Arkansas Municipal League. The change also includes a request from city staff to engage Little Rock-based Stephens Capital Management to manage the city’s retiree benefit assets. For the retirement assets to be invested in the new structure for 2009, approval by the city board is necessary before Dec. 31, Bushkuhl said.

Several board members sought more time to consider the complex financial move, resulting in the board voting 6-1 to table the issue for a Dec. 23 special meeting.