Former Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack has died (Updated)

Ray Gosack, former Fort Smith City Administrator, has died. Gosack, 58, served the city for 12 years as deputy city administrator before moving into the city’s top slot in 2011.

Prior to taking the position, he worked as acting city administrator after the departures of Bill Harding and Randy Reed.

When the Fort Smith Board of Directors agreed by unanimous vote at a Jan. 4, 2011, meeting to make the Greenwood native their new full-time leader, the audience erupted in a loud and prolonged applause.

Thus began a close working relationship between Gosack, the Board, the city’s 800+ employees, and newly elected Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders. That relationship ended abruptly in July 2015 when Gosack submitted his resignation. On Friday (Oct. 20), it was announced Gosack had died of complications from a sudden illness, leaving an emotional Mayor Sanders at a loss for words.

Sanders attempted to share his thoughts on Gosack during a phone call with Talk Business & Politics Friday morning, but became too emotional. He called back after about 30 minutes and provided prepared remarks. “I have a written statement,” he said. “It’s the only way I’ll get through this.”

Sanders’ statement: “Ray Gosack was a man for whom I have great respect. He’s been an outstanding public servant and a very good friend. He is a man of great intelligence, a very giving person, always crediting others for the work instead of himself. There are going to be a lot of folks who work with the city with sad faces today.”

GOSACK REMEMBERED
Sanders’ assessment applied to City Director Don Hutchings, who spoke with Talk Business & Politics by phone, calling Gosack “a very close friend to me and a dynamic leader in our city.”

“You could list 100 things that he did as far as improving our city, but one of the best legacies, of course, would be Chaffee Crossing,” Hutchings said, adding that he’d “spent a lot of time in his office” over the years, going out to eat and enjoying good talks “about the city.”

Hutchings, who is also lead pastor at Evangel Temple, said he’d spent a lot of time with Gosack in the last few weeks of his life.

“I was in contact with him — visiting with him, praying with him. He found out about three weeks ago. I’m just completely taken off guard,” Hutchings said.

Hutchings last spoke to Gosack on Wednesday, he said, adding that Gosack “told me he wasn’t in any pain, and we prayed together. He told me some things he would like for me to say at his memorial service, and I’m just humbled and so honored to have a small part in it.” Hutchings said Gosack “deeply loved the Lord and he loved our city more than anyone will ever know.”

Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman also spoke of Gosack on Friday, remembering fondly the man who brought him to Fort Smith.

“Ray was a friend and mentor to me,” Dingman said. “He had a very academic-based approach to city management, and was well-respected in the profession, especially within the state of Arkansas. I didn’t see him often over the last year, but when I did it seemed he was enjoying his retirement. He was a champion of Fort Smith to the end, and he will be missed.”

City Director George Catsavis, who worked mostly with Gosack during his six years on the Fort Smith Board of Directors, remembered a man whom “everybody liked.”

“He was extremely knowledgeable with city government,” Catsavis said. “He knew everything, and was fun to work with – very outgoing and fun to be around.”

Catsavis continued: “This is very sad. Ray was a good person. I’m just really shocked. He was always available to answer questions, and I really feel he had the city’s future at heart in everything he did. We’ll miss him.”

GOSACK’S CAREER
Gosack gave no reason for his departure from the city last year, but a possible reason he left was that a majority of the Fort Smith Board of Directors and Gosack did not agree on the city’s direction in terms of budgets and spending priorities.

Gosack’s career with the city included being responsible for streets, traffic control, engineering, water and sewer utilities, parks, and sanitation. Some of the key projects he had a major role in include Chaffee Crossing redevelopments (Graphic Packaging, Mars PetCare, Umarex USA, Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, infrastructure construction), Lake Fort Smith water supply expansion project, wet weather sanitary sewer improvements, numerous arterial street projects, landfill cell expansions, downtown streetscape and resurgence, various retail developments, makeover of Carol Ann Cross Park and construction of Elm Grove Community Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Prior to returning to Fort Smith, Gosack served during 1988-1999 as the assistant village manager and director of management services for the Village of Homewood, Ill.

He also worked as administrative assistant for the city of Fort Smith between 1985 and 1988. Gosack earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas. He was recognized as the outstanding 1985 graduate of the MPA program. Gosack also served as a B-52 (bomber) pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors will not have a noon study session on Tuesday (Oct. 25) to allow the Mayor and members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors to attend Gosack’s funeral service, which will be 11 a.m., Tuesday (Oct. 25), at Grace Community Church.