Regional intermodal authority one step closer to reality

An almost two-hour meeting Monday (June 29) between city and county officials resulted in another step toward the formation of a regional intermodal authority.

Mat Pitsch, director of the plan to study and plan a regional intermodal operation, said officials with Fort Smith, Van Buren and Crawford and Sebastian counties “agreed to a final version of a legal binding agreement” that they will now take to their respective boards for consideration.

The Western Arkansas Planning and Development District is shepherding a process to identify the viability of creating a formal organization that would develop, maintain and/or operate intermodal/port facilities. The goal is to create a structure and facilities “that would enhance regional freight management and advance the competitiveness of the region’s business,” according to WAPDD information. In other words, the group hopes to maximize the use of all forms of transportation — rail, barge, air, interstate — so as to reduce shipping costs and increase service options for regional business and industries. The regional task force studying the issue first met Feb. 18, and in late April hired Pitsch to direct the effort. Efforts to create a regional freight system were first attempted in the early 1990s.

Pitsch said the hope is to have the 11-page document creating the authority approved by Aug. 27. The regional multi-modal transportation authority is allowed under Act 690 of the 2001 Arkansas General Assembly.

“We’ve put a pretty tough schedule out there for them, but sometime in the next few months, we’ll work to educate their board members and quorum court members … and hopefully we’ll get a positive vote and get a legal document,” Pitsch said.

If all goes well, Pitsch said the authority’s first meeting of new board members could happen Sept. 16.

Among many other legal details, the document to be considered would create a 12-member board based on the following appointments:
• The mayor of each city (Fort Smith and Van Buren) will appoint three members — one member must be a government or elected official, one member must represent a manufacturer or shipper, and one member must be a city resident.

• The county judges of each county (Crawford and Sebastian counties) will appoint three members — one member must be a government or elected official, one member must represent a manufacturer or shipper, and one member must be a county resident.

Pitsch said the authority will “truly allow economic development to be conducted on a regional basis” in terms of shipping goods and commodities into and out of the area. Pitsch explained at a May 27 intermodal task force meeting that because a Fort Smith plant was able to reduce shipping costs by 28%, the plant — which employed about 1,000 — remained open and its sister plant in another state was closed. He said a regional freight management system will “vastly improve” the chances to keep large employers in the area.

Pitsch said Monday’s approval was a major step, but said the hard part is just beginning.

“To get all four of them to agree on this one legal document, yes, that is a big step,” Pitsch said Monday. “When you see one person from one part of the region vote to push a project in another part of the area, to me that is truly transformational. … Regionalism is a tough gig, but it’s worth it in the long run.”