Cemetery support issue back before the Fort Smith Board

A discussion about assuming control of three historic and active cemetery properties will once again be part of a Fort Smith Board of Directors study session set for Tuesday (Dec. 9). The board on Aug. 19 tabled action on taking over the cemetery property.

Marty Clark, president and CEO of Fort Smith-based BHC Insurance and volunteer Fort Smith Cemeteries Inc. (FSCI) board president, first publicly discussed the issue with the board on July 15.

The cemeteries are on the northside of Fort Smith. Roselawn/Holy Cross is off of North O Street and just west of Interstate 540. Forest Park is located off of Midland Boulevard (U.S. 64) and North 50th Street. Forest Park has at least 26,000 graves, Roselawn has 23,345 graves, and Holy Cross has 3,623 graves.

Washington Cemetery, at North 54th Street between Johnson Street and Virginia Avenue, was originally part of the discussion, but Bobbie Woodard-Andrews has said she is not interested in city control of the only active African-American cemetery in the city.

Clark and FSCI board member Ed Ralston have said the nonprofit worked in recent years to stabilize the funding and try to address the funding shortfalls while also addressing needed maintenance and upkeep.

“Despite these efforts, ongoing operations are unsustainable,” Clark noted in a memo to the Fort Smith board. “Forest Park Cemetery, in particular, faces severe drainage and road infrastructure problems that impair use and undermine public confidence. Fundraising is nearly impossible under current conditions.”

Clark and Ralston have said without city support, the properties could be turned over to state control and that comes with uncertainties about maintenance and public use.

In a guest commentary provided to Talk Business & Politics, Clark estimated the annual cost to the city at around $108,000, with fundraising efforts likely to reduce that amount.

Fort Smith Mayor George McGill, and Directors Christina Catsavis, André Good and Jarred Rego have been supportive of the city assuming control of the cemeteries.

“We have a moral and civic obligation” to take care “of our historical archives,” Catsavis said during a Sept. 23 study session, and added later in the discussion, “What does this say to the rest of the state that we can’t take care of our own. … To me it is just shameful.”

But other directors pushed back at the cost and precedent. Director Neal Martin said it could mean “that now we are in the cemetery business,” and could encourage other cemetery owners to seek support from the city.

The board also is facing financial pressures and to end what was recently described as a “structurally imbalanced general fund budget.” The city’s proposed 2026 budget as presented to the board projects an $8.092 million deficit. The proposed budget anticipates $53.695 million in revenue and $61.788 million in expenditures. The board is set to vote on a 2026 budget at its Dec. 16 regular meeting.