Waterpark, ACME property, Miss Laura’s on Fort Smith board study session agenda

Those planning to attend Tuesday’s (Jan. 13) study session of the Fort Smith Board of Directors may want to bring a snack. And some patience. The lengthy agenda includes several hot-button issues, including a proposed new plan to fund waterpark slide installation.

First on the agenda is an update of efforts to develop a master use plan for the former ACME Brick property. The effort to develop a plan for the more than 100 acres in Fort Smith has drawn criticism from those who don’t think the city can afford another park, and support by those who believe a new park is a smart, quality-of-place investment.

The board also will hear about a plan to use funds not spent in 2025 for maintenance of Miss Laura’s Museum. The museum is located in what was a former brothel and is one of only nine brothels on the National Register of Historic Places. Adequate maintenance of the building has in recent years been a sore spot for those who want the building protected and those who don’t believe the building should be a long-term city responsibility.

Mayor George McGill and Director Christina Catsavis have called for the city to help maintain the building and support a plan to create a nonprofit that would eventually own and manage the historic structure.

“There was $310,000 in capital funds in the 2025 budget for improvements to the city-owned facility that houses Miss Laura’s Museum, particularly replacing the building’s siding and improvements to the parking area,” Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman noted in a Jan. 7 memo to the board. “These funds were projected to be spent in the 2025 budget but were not, and could be carried over to 2026 without further impacting the operating balance of the general fund or impacting the expected general fund reserve.”

THE SLIDES
ACME and Miss Laura’s may be undercards of the study session. Ownership of Parrot Island Waterpark and installation of five slides at the waterpark will likely be the main event.

The waterpark was opened in 2015 at Ben Geren Regional Park, which is owned by the county. Its initial construction was shared jointly by the county and the city. Grand Prairie, Texas-based American Resort Management (ARM) has managed the waterpark since it opened in 2015.

Water slides that initially were to cost the city of Fort Smith $4.2 million for acquisition and installation could now cost more than $6.3 million. Dingman told the board Oct. 21 that the low bid to install the slides was $2.8 million, which would push the total cost to acquire, assemble, and install the slides to around $6.35 million, well beyond the board-approved budget of $4.2 million. The city has already spent $3.55 million to acquire the slides and to prep them for installation.

Directors Christina Catsavis and George Catsavis have called for the slides to be sold and recover as much money as possible. Director Kevin Settle wants the city to find a way to pay the added cost and install the slides.

Sebastian County officials, who opposed funding for the slides, recently pushed to move control of the waterpark to the city, but the Fort Smith board of directors delayed action on taking full control of the waterpark.

NEW FUNDING PLAN
In a Jan. 7 memo to the board, Dingman said Director Lee Kemp and city staff have worked to find a lower cost to install the slides and reallocate funds to help pay for the work. A new cost, working solely with Royal Ridge Construction, is $2.339 million.

“This number includes waterslides only, it does not include required site amenities such as fencing, sidewalks, landscaping, bollards, etc., those numbers are still to be determined but a working estimate is $350,000,” Dingman wrote.

As to funding, Dingman said some money can come from the Parks and Recreation capital improvements plan (CIP) budget.

“As stated earlier, the city has $655,000 of the $4.2 million that is still unobligated to any other portion of this project,” Dingman noted. “Chief Financial Officer Andy Richards has identified interest earnings in the Parks Sales Tax account that has accumulated since the inception of the tax that has not been allocated to specific projects, that number is $760,000 which leaves a gap of $924,935. The 2026 Parks CIP (attached for reference) could be adjusted at the Board’s direction to claim $924,935 for this project by moving back other scheduled projects to future years.”

The board also is set to discuss extension of the waterpark management agreement with ARM. Dingman said he and Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz signed a temporary management agreement with ARM to ensure the facility would be managed through March 31. He also said they received five responses to a request-for-proposal for waterpark management.

“A review committee comprised of representatives of both the county and the city (co-owners as of now) will review the proposals and make a recommendation to the governing bodies,” Dingman said in a memo. “I anticipate a 5-member panel including myself, Judge Hotz and three others from city/county staff to review the proposals and make a recommendation to the governing bodies for joint approval.”

Link here for the study session agenda.