Chamber, Chaffee boards endorse intermodal authority plan

The boards of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority both approved Thursday (July 16) resolutions supporting the creation of the Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority.

The authority requires approval from the governing bodies in Fort Smith and Van Buren, and the quorum courts in Crawford County and Sebastian County. The Crawford County  Quorum Court has approved the authority and the Fort Smith Board of Directors are scheduled to vote July 21 on the authority.

According to the agreement to be considered by the four governing bodies, the primary purpose of the authority “shall be to acquire, equip, construct, maintain, and/or operate an intermodal facility or facilities” in the effort to improve shipping products into and out of the Fort Smith area. The regional multi-modal transportation authority is allowed under Act 690 of the 2001 Arkansas General Assembly.

During Thursday’s board meeting of the Chaffee Authority, Chaffee Director Ivy Owen requested his board approve the non-binding resolution to show support for the effort to create the intermodal authority. Owen said the Fort Smith chamber board endorsed the measure during their Thursday meeting. The Chaffee board unanimously approved the resolution.

Whitney Yoder, vice president of chamber operations, confirmed that the chamber board approved the resolution. The media is not allowed at meetings of the chamber board.

Another group that met Thursday was the Fort Smith Port Authority. Rick Parrish, the chairman of that authority, spoke against the idea of creating a new regional intermodal. He said the Fort Smith Port Authority could serve that need. According to Deputy City Administrator Ray Gosack, Parrish’s comments did not draw a response from other members of the port authority.

OTHER CHAFFEE BUSINESS
The Chaffee board at its Thursday meeting also formally approved the authority’s 2009 strategic plan. The six objectives of the 2009 strategic plan, first presented to the board during a June 11 planning retreat, include the better use of technology to recruit and retain jobs, expand Chaffee Crossing’s museum district with the possible addition of a botanical gardens, simplifying the process to approve development at Chaffee Crossing and improve rail service.

The recruitment of jobs with a “higher than average wage scale” is the goal of all the objectives, Owen said at the June 11 meeting.