Fort Smith Director talks annexation south of city

Interstate 49 annexation. If that sounds familiar, that is because it is.

At a Feb. 5 Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting, City Director and Vice Mayor Kevin Settle floated the idea of annexing part of Interstate 49 around the intersection with Arkansas Highway 22 (Rogers Avenue/Fort Street) in Barling in order to allow growth and development in the area.

While that idea went down in defeat pretty quickly, Settle has proposed another annexation plan encompassing a different part of the new I-49, this time at the interstate's intersection with U.S. 71 south of town.

Settle proposed the latest annexation plan during the Board of Directors retreat over the weekend, though he said the idea has had a lot of thought put into it.

"Actually, it's something I've thought about for a little bit and I wanted to kind of, I thought the retreat was the perfect time to bring it up and an opportunity for the Board to start looking at the growth of the city, future planning. So I thought the retreat was the right spot to bring it up and I thought with the road about done and the city has area around it and we have the water, we do the water in that area, it's just a natural progression for us to get down there and annex the land."

The plan would annex land from Sebastian County, which would move those residents into city limits. And while it may seem like a big transition, Director Keith Lau said those residents are already under the planning jurisdiction of the city.

"It follows into our water and sewer plan, as well. Well, you know, that's part of that ETJ, that extra-territorial jurisdiction, and then our planning area and our whole development plans. That's where we think a lot of the city is going to grow, so it makes sense to go down and annex it and take advantage of the fact that we're going to be putting water and sewer down there and servicing that area."

Lau said Settle’s previous I-49 annexation proposal was taken out of context and that it was "just an honest attempt to help them (the city of Barling) out" by annexing land and allowing the sale of alcohol, which would have spurred economic development around the new highway.

While the previous attempt at annexation would have required the city of Barling's approval, the land under consideration now is in the county, which would have different annexation procedures.

Assistant City Administrator Jeff Dingman, who is also an attorney, said allowing residents to vote on a proposed annexation is typically "the best way to do it," though there are other options and methods available to the city.

"Technically, the city can force somebody to annex if they have reason to, but generally it works a lot better and the city has historically not annexed areas unless the land owners agree and make request, that sort of thing," he said. "But they are already subject to zoning and planning restrictions."

Even though citizens in the area are already on city water and under the city's ETJ, two services residents in the area cannot take advantage of is fire and police protection, which is provided by the county sheriff's department and volunteer fire departments.

By annexing the area into Fort Smith, the new Fort Smith citizens would receive the protection, which Lau, a real estate agent, said would likely reduce insurance premiums in the area.

"They would also enjoy a lower insurance rating because of our ISO rating with the city, so it would lower their insurance cost,” Lau explained.

The savings on insurance would likely not be felt, though, as the new residents would be subject to the city's ad valorem tax of five mils, according to Lau.

"I haven't done the math on that, but there would be some offset on that, yes," Dingman confirmed.

Settle said the idea is just that – an idea. He does not know a timeline for when or if the city will pursue annexation.

"If the landowners agree, if the county agrees, then let's start the discussion and see where it leads us."