No recent progress on dissolution of Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority

Four months after Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) officials and its beneficiaries agreed on steps to be taken before work on dissolution of the trust can begin, nothing has been accomplished.

The FCRA was formed in 1997 to oversee redevelopment of 6,000 acres of land released by the U.S. Army from Fort Chaffee as part of a Base Realignment and Closure downsizing. The trust has four beneficiaries – the cities of Barling, Fort Smith and Greenwood and Sebastian County. The cities of Barling, Fort Smith and Greenwood and the Sebastian County Quorum Court have passed resolutions calling for FCRA dissolution. Only the authority board can vote to dissolve the organization.

Representatives of the four beneficiaries and FCRA representatives planned to meet Tuesday (Oct. 15) to look at a projection of property for sale and estimated revenues and expenses for the next four years, but not all representatives could attend, said Barling Mayor Greg Murray. The involved parties are hoping to meet in November, he said.

The dissolution discussion has at times proven contentious, with trust officials pushing back against beneficiary parties.

Murray, Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow, Barling City Administrator Steve Core, Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz, and Fort Smith City Administrator Carl Geffken and Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman attended a meeting June 10 with Daniel Mann, FCRA executive director and CEO, and Dean Gibson, chairman of the FCRA board of trustees, to begin discussing the process of a possible dissolution of the FCRA trust.

At that meeting, the beneficiaries asked for a tally of land available for sale at Chaffee Crossing as well as what of the property FCRA has noted as marketable is right of way and streets and other types of property. The beneficiaries also said a pro forma projection of FCRA revenues and expenses expected in the next five years could better determine a dissolution timeline. Mann said that projection should take about two months to complete and everyone could move forward from there.

The FCRA Board of Trustees passed a resolution May 16 to continue forward “in its successful mission pursuant to the terms of the Indenture of Trust agreed upon by the Beneficiaries on February 19, 1997.” The resolution also states that the trustees believe it is in the best interest of the trust to work in coordination and consultation with the beneficiaries to openly discuss operations of the trust until the trustees decide it is time to dissolve.

Beneficiaries expressed their desire to set a date for dissolution, but Mann and Gibson said an exact date is something they cannot yet give. Mann has in the past given a timeline from three to 10 years, based on the amount of trust land still available for sale, and said Monday he still feels comfortable with that timeline. He said being able to narrow it down more is not now possible.

Murray said Wednesday (Oct. 16) that the beneficiaries are still hoping for a set end date for the trust.

“We are all hoping something can be set for an end, a definite end date,” he said.