Library may rename a facility to honor former Mayor Baker

Fort Smith City Director Kevin Settle has asked city staff to consider the options to honor former Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker.

Baker ended on Dec. 31 a 20-year stint as the city’s mayor. He was defeated Nov. 2 by Sandy Sanders, who captured 53.9% of the vote.

Baker’s health was a major issue prior to the election, and his frail appearance and weak voice at events after the election continue to feed speculation as to his prognosis. A recent hospital stay by Baker forced the rescheduling of the Spirit of the Frontier Awards. The hospitalization was Baker’s fourth known hospital stay in the past 13 months. Baker successfully underwent surgery and chemo for colon cancer in late 2007.

Settle told The City Wire that one option is to name a branch of the Fort Smith Public Library or the main library facility after Baker. Settle said he seeks to “gauge what the library board thought,” and stressed several times during the interview that it is “very, very, very, early in the process.”

Settle acknowledged that, considering Baker’s health, there were some thoughts about moving quickly “to honor somebody that is able to cherish the honor, instead of waiting until after the fact.”

And while Settle leans toward naming the main facility after Baker — “It’s not a branch. He represented the whole city.” — FSPL Executive Director Jennifer Goodson suggested that the Windsor Branch would be more appropriate.

“To me, that would be a natural fit. The Mayor (Baker) lives on that side of town, and his wife is an avid user of that branch,” Goodson explained.

Also, there is precedent for naming a branch of the library system after an individual, Goodson said. The Market Trace branch in south Fort Smith was renamed the Miller Branch to recognize the financial support the library received from Robert Miller and his family.

Goodson said naming rights to the branches cost $250,000, but the library board has not set a price for naming the main library. Also, a $250,000 donation in Baker’s honor for the Windsor Branch would likely funnel into the endowment trust for that branch. Goodson said the money would do much to support the branch and its programs.

Anything that happens in the form of the name requires library board approval, Goodson explained. However, she said the library board and staff is interested in working close with the city board and staff on the possibility. She also stressed that talk of honoring Baker through the library system is “very preliminary.”

But she does think a connection to the library is a “more meaningful fit” than naming a street or other places considering Baker’s years of service as mayor and an educator in the Fort Smith Public Schools.

“There is a lot of interest in the community in honoring him in some way,” Goodson said. “It would certainly be fitting, because of his support of the library.”

Acting City Administrator Ray Gosack said he notified Goodson soon after Settle and other city directors mentioned honoring Baker through the library system.

“I wanted her to hear it from us first that the board was considering this,” Gosack said.

Gosack also said city code creates a process that is open for public input.

“We have a process in place for naming buildings that requires public notice. It will take at least 45 to 60 days for the board to go through that process,” Gosack said.

Settle and Gosack said funds raised for naming rights would be from the private donors and not from city funds.