Directors approve Convention Center lease

On Tuesday night (Feb. 21), Fort Smith City Directors voted to move 240 residents from Ward 1 to Ward 4 in order to correct a precinct split that was not addressed during the City's redistricting last year.

The issue was with Precinct 4B, and involves a small area to the east of Hendricks Boulevard, along South P, Q, S, and T Streets; together with a small area to the east of Albert Pike Boulevard, along South 44th Street. These areas were allowed to remain in Ward 1 during city ward redistricting, but they belong to a Ward 4 precinct, and are accordingly being moved to Ward 4.

Had the Ward lines remained as they have since 1991, election officials at that precinct would have had to have different ballots for each "precinct part." Gosack said such an arrangement would have made it difficult for officials and voters to keep the ballots straight.

According to the Secretary of State's office, such precinct splits are common in the redistricting process.

City Clerk Sherri Gard wrote in a staff memo that the move will increase the largest population variance between wards from 3.08% to 5.18%. That keeps the City well within the 15% variance allowed by state law.

Gosack said the move will not affect the March 13 sales tax election.

CONVENTION CENTER LEASE
As part of the meeting's consent agenda, directors approved renewal of a lease agreement with the Fort Smith Advertising and Promotion Commission (A&P) to operate the Fort Smith Convention Center.

The A&P began its lease of the Convention Center in July 2011. The lease was set to expire on Feb. 29.

The initial term of the new lease will run through December 31, 2014; after that, it will renew every year unless either the City or the A&P opts out.

Under the lease agreement, the A&P will submit an operating budget for the Convention Center to the City, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The A&P, however, will have sole authority to run the Center's day-to-day operations.

City Director George Catsavis asked Gosack whether the subsidy the City is providing for the Convention Center would be adjusted depending on the Center's profits or losses. Gosack said it would, but that operating expenses would also play a role in determining the subsidy.

188TH RESOLUTION
Also as part of the consent agenda, directors passed a resolution urging the U.S. Department of the Air Force and Department of Defense to keep the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith. Deep defense department budget cuts have resulted in the removing of about 100 A-10 fighter planes from the Air Force fleet, including the 20 A-10 planes in Fort Smith.

Moving the A-10’s out of Fort Smith is expected in fiscal year 2013. The unit employs about 350 full-time personnel, with about 1,000 on the base once a month for training. The annual economic impact of the 188th is $150 million.

"We want to work with our Congressional delegation and our citizens to do everything we can on this," said Mayor Sandy Sanders.

The resolution formally invites U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his staff to visit Fort Smith and the 188th Fighter Wing prior to the unit's deployment this spring.

Col. Mark Berry, maintenance group commander for the 188th, spoke briefly and thanked the City and community for its efforts to keep the unit.

Berry said he had just returned from Tucson, Ariz., where some of the troops in the 188th are preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.

"From 1,000 men and women wearing the uniform," he said, "we are very proud that you are fighting for us."