FCRA rejects dissolution request from four beneficiaries

So much for getting off to a good start. The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) Board of Trustees passed a resolution Thursday (May 16) that rejects calls for the trust to dissolve by Dec. 31, 2025.

Specifically, the board unanimously approved a resolution that FCRA would support “ongoing and future operations of the Trust as a successful enterprise and economic driver for the affected counties and communities in the State of Arkansas, and believe it to be in the best interest of these communities and the State of Arkansas for the Trust 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 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 have passed resolutions calling for FCRA dissolution. Only the authority board can vote to dissolve the organization.

Representatives from the four beneficiaries of the FCRA met privately April 23 to discuss ideas about the dissolution of FCRA and agreed upon 15 conditions to move forward on ending the authority. (The list of conditions can be found at this link.)

Trustee Scott Archer said he thought there had been “good discussion about moving this football forward” at the FCRA April meeting. The trustees agreed April 18 to have meetings with representatives from the beneficiaries to discuss what still needs to be done by FCRA and when discussion of dissolution would be appropriate.

While a meeting on that had been scheduled, it was canceled because certain parties could not attend. No new meeting has been scheduled.

“We have to have that meeting to establish that communication with the beneficiaries, and I think we have got to get that process started,” said Archer, who is a principal engineer with Fort Smith-based HSA Engineering. “I don’t want to be sitting here five years from now, definitely not 10 years from now.”

While Archer said the trust needs to have meaningful conversations about how to finish, he doesn’t want to see political pressures keep it from doing its job.

“We need to stay out of the political realm and do the work set out to do,” Archer said. “We need to continue the work. … We also need to be committed to our beneficiaries to find a solution to get this wound up.”

Archer said meetings with the beneficiaries would help everyone to get the facts.

“There has been lots spread around. We need to hire the right people, get facts and make our decision based on those facts. I do think we need to be in communication with our beneficiaries about what our intentions are and what we are going to do,” Archer said.

According to the resolution, part of the issue leading to needing the resolution is the list of conditions agreed upon by the beneficiaries in a meeting at which the FCRA executive director or the chairman of the trust were not included.

“WHEREAS, despite their public comments of working together with the Trust for the coordinated and successful winding down of the Trust’s affairs, the Beneficiaries have privately met with one another and excluded the Trust from these meetings while discussing the future of the Trust; and

“WHEREAS, following these private meetings, the Beneficiaries have presented an extensive list of demands to the Trust that run contrary to the Indenture of Trust and the prior public statements of the Trust and the Beneficiaries that they will work with one another,” noted part of the resolution.

It 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.