Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority now official
by July 21, 2009 8:40 pm 74 views
The Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority is now a legal reality.
On Tuesday night (July 21), the Fort Smith Board of Directors and the Sebastian County Quorum Court approved the 11-page legal agreement designed to establish the authority. The authority will create and manage a regional freight management system that utilizes rail, trucks, barge and any other transportation assets to lower shipping costs and make shipping more convenient for area companies.
According to the agreement approved 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.
The Crawford County Quorum Court and the Van Buren City Council approved the authority prior to July 21.
Among many other legal details, the document to be considered would create a 12-member board based on the following appointments:
• The mayor of each city (Fort Smith and Van Buren) will appoint three members — one member must be a government or elected official, one member must represent a manufacturer or shipper, and one member must be a city resident.
• The county judges of each county (Crawford and Sebastian counties) will appoint three members — one member must be a government or elected official, one member must represent a manufacturer or shipper, and one member must be a county resident.
“Now it’s time to get to work,” Pitsch said after the Sebastian County Quorum Court vote.
The next phase of the effort is to “get 12 outstanding authority board appointments,” Pitsch said. “It will be a big, big deal to get the right people on the board.”
Of the four governing bodies, not one vote was cast in opposition to the authority. The only voiced opposition to the authority came from Rick Parrish, the chairman of the Fort Smith Port Authority. Parrish has said a new regional authority is not needed because the Fort Smith Port Authority could serve that role.
Fort Smith City Director Kevin Settle said Parrish’s comments need to end.
“Our port authority and our port authority chairman need to get on board with this,” Settle said near the end of the Fort Smith board meeting.