Riverfront utility project decision postponed; cost effectiveness cited

FORT SMITH -- Directors on Tuesday night postponed a decision on putting forward nearly $2.2 million toward utility infrastructure to support an RV park on the riverfront.

At-large city director Kevin Settle put forward the motion to table the ordinances until the board's Sept. 7 meeting, asking administrators and the utility department to "explore all alternatives" to more cost-effective sewage infrastructure for the project. The project proposed to the board Tuesday costs $1.94 million for a water line extension, sewer line installation and a pump station near Riverfront Drive and P Street from Goodwin & Goodwin and $236,660 for additional engineering construction services from Hawkins-Weir Engineers, according to the meeting agenda.

Both items would be paid for through 2018 revenue bonds, according to meeting memos. They're proposed "to provide additional services for economic development along the river," the memos state. City Administrator Carl Geffken said the proposed RV park would be located north of P Street on the riverfront.

Settle specifically asked administrators and the utility department to find a more cost-effective solution to the proposed pump station.

The board unanimously voted to postpone the project. Ward 3 city director Lavon Morton was absent from the meeting.

"If there's no alternatives other than putting a pump station in, I'm fine with that," Settle said. Rick Griffin, who is overseeing the proposed project, said he is comfortable waiting three weeks before a vote.

When asked about alternatives to the pump station, utility director Lance McAvoy said his department has looked at the possibility of a "transfer station," which is similar to a pump station. He also said they are considering a holding area where sewage could be pumped out periodically.

"We can look at several different options that might be there and see what is cost-effective, what's viable and what isn't," he said.

In addition to the pump station, about 600 feet of sewer line would be installed in the project. A water line in the area would also be extended from P Street to Spradling Avenue, according to the memo for Hawkins-Weir's portion of the project.

The two ordinances were initially postponed from the Aug. 3 meeting after directors requested further discussion and information. Settle expressed concerns that Goodwin & Goodwin would overextend itself in combination with a pump station project they were approved to execute that meeting.

The pump station project approved at the Aug. 3 meeting was for the federal consent decree lodged against the city in 2015 for allowing untreated sewage to run into the Arkansas River for decades. The city is currently facing more than $600 million in remaining utility costs from the decree, according to McAvoy.

McAvoy said the money proposed for the riverfront utility project could be used for the consent decree. But he said the utility department also has to walk "a tight line" between adequately funding projects inside and outside the scope of the consent decree.

In the riverfront utility project, McAvoy argued the city needs to bring in money to purchase supplies, materials and contracts for consent decree projects. At the Aug. 3 meeting, he said he believes the RV park will increase the value of property taxes for the city's general fund and utility use for increased revenue in his own department. He also expects sales taxes and the city's economy will be helped through visitors to the park.

He also said the pump station could also be used for future developments on the riverfront.

"We invest to make it a better place, so then, people will come," Geffken said at the Aug. 3 meeting.

The board on Jan. 5 initially approved an agreement between Mayor George McGill and Hawkins-Weir to execute an agreement of $97,520 to design the utilities extension, according to board meeting minutes.