Plan proposed to extend Kelley Highway to downtown riverfront

It was announced Tuesday (Sept. 23) that an important link in future infrastructure development along the Arkansas River could become a reality by the end of the decade.

According to city of Fort Smith Director of Engineering Stan Snodgass, included within a five year capital improvement plan presented to the city's Board of Directors' study session Tuesday is funding to begin design in 2015 of an extension of Kelley Highway from Midland Avenue to Riverfront Drive.

Complete funding for the project, he said, would be around $8.5 million and could break ground as early as 2018.

There had initially been discussion of extending Spradling Avenue to Riverfront Drive, but he said study of multiple routes lead the city to make Kelley Highway the designated route for moving traffic directly to Riverfront without having to first travel to downtown or drive from Midland Avenue to Riverfront Drive.

With the chosen Kelley Highway route, Snodgrass said fewer homes and businesses would be impacted and it would give direct access to Interstate 540 where Spradlin would require more turns and no direct interstate access.

While design work on the road extension is not scheduled to begin until next year, he told the Board that plans would likely be drawn for a three-lane road, with some sections possible being four lane. The reason, Snodgrass explained, was due to the limited traffic expected along the route.

The capital improvement plan for streets, bridges and drainage will also add funding for the study of bike lanes, with the first planned discussion of implementing bike lanes or possible trails to take place Thursday (Sept. 25) at the Elm Grove Community Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park at 4:30 p.m.

2015 BUDGET NOTES
In other business, Fort Smith Finance Director Kara Bushkuhl told the Board that work was underway for the city's Fiscal Year 2015 budget, noting that public meetings with the Board regarding recommended budgets was scheduled for Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 at the community room of the Fort Smith Police Department. The meetings would be held at 6 p.m. both nights.

As the year draws to a close, she noted that the general fund still has 11.9% in excess funds, adding that this year's total means the city is "ending the year better in the general fund" than in previous years.

Requests from various city departments for the upcoming budget, Bushkuhl noted, were being cut in order to balance the budget. She did not state specifically what the cuts were, simply noting that all city departments would not receive every request made at the beginning of budget preparation this year. A priority, Bushkuhl said, would be providing city staff with cost of living raises and re-instating merit raises that have been cut in previous years due to budget shortfalls resulting from declining sales tax and other revenues.

"All of our reductions are geared towards including those numbers in the budget proposal.”

A ‘PACE’ PROGRAM
In another item of business, a presentation to the Board Tuesday by the Advanced Energy Association of Arkansas explained how an energy improvement district could positively impact local businesses should the city of Fort Smith decide to form its own district or partner with the city of Fayetteville.

Steve Patterson, with the AEAA, made the presentation and said the property-assessed clean energy (PACE) program would allow businesses to take out loans for energy efficient improvements to their properties, payable once per year just as property tax is paid. The loan approval process, Patterson said, would make the loan tied to the property and therefore reduce risk for lenders.

A state law establishing the program during the last legislative session states that all loans must be able to be repaid using money saved on energy, therefore averting any further budgetary pressures on businesses that choose to improve energy efficiencies within their properties.

No action was taken on the presentation as the Board directed city staff to further research Fayetteville's district and report back its findings.