Fort Smith board to hear agency funding proposals

The Fort Smith board of directors will review $202,700 in recommended funding for 25 community agencies operating in the areas of recreation, arts and humanities and social/community services.

In years past, the city board allocated funds to local service providers and other non-profits like The Fort Smith Classic, a PGA-sanctioned golf tournament that raises money for local charities. The city funded approximately $227,000 in requests for fiscal 2009.

Providing city money to the services began as an effort to assist The Boys & Girls Club and other groups that provided youth activities. As with any program that hands out tax money, requests for the money grew, with the board having to make tough and controversial decisions about who to fund and how much.

On Aug. 11, 2009, the city board created a task force to develop suggested procedures for reviewing requests from the agencies and to come up with a list of names to serve on the review panel.

According to a report from Tracy Winchell, economic development coordinator for the city of Fort Smith, a 9-member panel spent 151 hours reviewing 28 applications. The applications requested $461,391, with the panel cutting the recommended allocations to $202,700.

The report also notes that the city’s goal with the agency funding is to support groups that are “either necessary or beneficial to the economic, social or cultural well-being of Fort Smith, its citizens and guests of the community.”

RECOMMENDED ALLOCATIONS
• Recreation agencies
First Tee: $5,429 to help pay utilities (requested $10,000)
Fort Smith Boys & Girls Clubs: $7,239 to help pay utilities (requested $44,000)
Girls Inc.: $10,859 to help pay utilities (requested $20,000)
Lincoln Youth Services: $12,699 to help pay utilities (requested $18,000)

• Arts and Humanities
Fort Smith Chorale: $4,800 to help pay costs (requested $6,000)
Fort Smith Heritage Foundation: $5,000 for operations support (requested $10,000)
Fort Smith Little Theatre: $6,250 to help pay utilities (requested $6,782)
Fort Smith Museum of History: $10,000 for operations support (requested $20,000)
Fort Smith Regional Art Museum: $6,250 to help pay utilities (requested $6,782)
Fort Smith Symphony: $11,600 for program support (requested $14,500)
Second Street Live: $9,215 to help pay utilities (requested $10,000)
Western Arkansas Ballet: $4,800 for program support (requested $6,000)

• Social/Community Services
River Valley Regional Food Bank: $6,000 to help pay storage costs (requested $15,000)
Reynolds Cancer Support House: $5,390 for operations support (requested $10,000)
Lincoln Childcare Center: $6,791 for operations support (requested $12,600)
Community Dental Clinic: $3,665 for operations support (requested $6,800)
Hannah House: $4,668 to help pay utilities (requested $7,500)
Crisis Intervention Center: $15,000 to help pay utilities (requested $15,000)
Girls Shelter: $8,000 to help pay utilities (requested $8,000)
Kistler Center: $4,500 for technology improvements (requested $7,018)
Children’s Emergency Shelter: $16,170 to help pay utilities (requested $30,000)
Alzheimer’s Association: $5,000 to help pay utilities (requested $5,000)
Next Step Day Room: $10,780 to support case management (requested $20,000)
Fountain of Youth: $9,268 to help pay utilities (requested $17,330)
Community Services Clearinghouse: $13,475 to help pay food costs (requested $25,000)