Kyle Kellams
We're going to ask Michael Tilley with Talk Business and Politics to help us get caught up in the week. Hello, Michael.
Michael Tilley
How are you? Yeah, well, yeah. It's been an interesting week at first. If I can take a little liberty, we'd like to give a little shout-out a pre-Veterans Day. Shout out to all those veterans listening. So thanks. Thanks, all you folks, for putting your hand up and saying okay, 'I'll do this.'
Kyle Kellams
Just like Mr. Tilley did. Let's start with a big number that's associated with this ongoing consent decree capital improvement improvement plan. How big is the number?
Michael Tilley
Yeah, it's a it's a tad bit more than I think it's a tad bit more than you and I made a year. It's a little over $ 420 million over a 12-year period. And that's what's unfortunate. The utility Department estimates they're going to spend. Obviously, that number will change just going through inflation may not cost as much now, but that's the estimate now next year. Spend a little over $26.4 million. And by the way, a reminder this is something of a reminder since this is something that the federal government has told the city of Fort Smith you have to do back in 2014. They issued this consent decree because, essentially, the city of Fort Smith for decades had not been maintaining its water and sewer system, primarily the sewer system. And so you're having sewer backing up where where it shouldn't be? That is a problem. It's a health hazard. And frankly, it's no way around the city. The city's under it's still under this consent decree. You and so we kind of got a little clarity, and that's another point I'm gonna hit briefly, but through this capital improvement plan, we got a little clarity on the kind of what they think is going to be necessary, but it would be nice and I I've talked to a few city directors in the past, and I guess its influence I have, but I've asked him why is there not some kind of dashboard? I think we all remember during COVID, Johns Hopkins had a dashboard you could go to a website and see where cases were popping up or deaths. are happening in very detailed information around the country. And I've wondered why the city of Fort Smith can't have something like that letting the citizens know because it's the right payers, and those of us who pay taxes here so taxes, we're paying for this, it'd be nice if we could know on a regular basis on a consistent basis. How much is being spent, where it's being spent, how much has been spent, and so we could keep up with it and not have to wait for a capital improvement plan coming up every year? I don't know. Maybe, at some point, they'll do that. Obviously, the software is there to make it happen. I just don't think there's any will with the current city of Fort Smith to make it happen.
Kyle Kellams
Or in excess of $400 million. What does this mean for the city budget and all of that? ,
Michael Tilley
It'll just everything you know, the take everything that can from ratepayers, you know, we had when this first hit, we had significant increases in the rates. And then last, in May of 2022, voters renewed a sales tax. Three quarter-cent sales tax, in which a little over 80%, 83%, I think of that ghost in the federal consent decree work, and that's a 10-year tenure tax. So that generates around 20, I think, around $20 million a year, but it's just through rates through bonds that they've issued previously. But that's another point of having some kind of consistent messaging on what they spending so that we know, as citizens know, where the money is coming from to spend, and there will be a shortfall five years from now, six years from now what, you know, don't just show up in 2030 and say, Well, we're out of money, you know, we're gonna pass another tax. So that'd be another reason to have some good, consistent messaging on this consent decree.
Kyle Kellams
Let's move to something that more people are happy about. And that is some federal funding for a project that's been talked about and dreamed of for a while this Slackwater Harbor.
Michael Tilley
Yeah, Slackwater Harbor. I mean, to explain this, it'd be a good way to put somebody to sleep, but it is. It is important. It's been something I know that when I was at the enforcement chamber 1000 years ago, that it was something that folks were wanting for the area, and this is going to be it'll be built in, in Van Buren managed by five rivers distribution, which is owned by Marta shell. He also operates the port of Fort Smith. The best thing about this is it allows no matter what happens on river river flooding, that kind of thing. It provides a good place for barges to be offloaded. I think this was Slackwater Harbor. Their engineering will handle eight barges at a time. It's over. It's a $50 million project the feds are stepping up to provide or excuse me, it's the $80 million project, and the feds are stepping up to 50 million. So the local community won't come up with $3 million, but it's a more efficient way to load and unload barges. And again, I've said time and time again that river traffic is kind of a foundational part of the economy. That's where construction materials come in and raw materials for the manufacturing sector, raw materials for the agri sector in terms of fertilizer, and seed and even agri products going out. So, this is a tremendous asset. There are many, many communities around the country that would love to have something like this and don't, and in fact, of all the special funding announcements that were made last Friday, there are 41 port improvement projects in Arkansas, or Fort Smith was the only one in Arkansas to receive one from the US Department of Transportation. So, kudos to the folks at the Western Arkansas planning development district. They busted their tails for the last several months to pull this very complex application together, and they made it happen.
Kyle Kellams
Play ball. We may be with a baseball team in Fort Smith soon.
Michael Tilley
Yes. So, the Mid-America League was formed. They hope to start playing ball next May 6 teams they'll play from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. It kind of college kids primarily; it's called the development league. And so they'll get that started. They're gonna they're working with the University of Arkansas enforcement officials to use their baseball field for a year or two. But they hope I hope to have a stadium built. It would be built on the riverfront if it's what the thinking is now, downtown riverfront where y'all saw the Marshalls Museum and Creative School for the Arts. Maybe you have the four kids at Jones Museum at some point. So a lot of things going on down there, but I think one interesting thing is they're gonna get the public involved in a name and a mascot, so that can be fun. But yeah, so it's it's coming. They're supposed to have the big formal announcement on Monday. But yeah, as you said, play ball. I think you and I note it near, as you noted before we started this interview, to get a stadium downtown Fort Smith. You could also bring in other you could have, like the high school championships here in downtown Fort Smith, and so have it's not just a team, but it's hopefully it gets a stadium, and they want to build a multi-use stadium that can be used not just for football or football for baseball for other sports and for other events. So interesting announcement just continue to be pleasantly surprised at the moment I'm down on the river for decades. Nothing happened down there, and now it's just boom seems like every month, something new comes out.
Kyle Kellams
And you know, there's a history of baseball in Fort Smith. You had the Twins, who were later named the Giants, and of course, we all know Chick Hafey, a Hall of Fame member who played in Fort Smith in 1923.
Michael Tilley
Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Kyle. That's a name that frequently runs across my lips.
Kyle Kellams
Do you know who managed the Fort Smith Twins in 1909?
Michael Tilley
Probably somebody who's now dead, but no.
Kyle Kellams
Hugo Bezdek
Michael Tilley
A what? Really? Yes. Who would later coach?
Kyle Kellams
Yeah, yes. The man credited with calling the Razorbacks the Razorbacks. So yes, he was the manager in Fort Smith in 1909.
