The Fort Smith Board of Directors approved a proposal by police chief Nathaniel Clark to transfer funds from several line-item budget items — most notably from unused salaries from the police department — to pay for much needed vehicle acquisition and address some training issues.
The board approved by a 7-0 count the transfer, which will make approximately $774,000 available to fund the request by Clark. Clark originally sought the purchase of nine fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoe’s but the BOD put the matter on the agenda for the regular session on Tuesday with the caveat that lasing instead of outright purchasing would be considered for the vehicles.
Clark’s proposal also called for the purchase of three Harley Davidson motorcycles at $25,000 each, replacement Tazers,, critical incident equipment for $28,325 and another $23,000 in training for front line sergeants and middle level management lieutenants.
In other business, the board also voted 7-0 to allow rezoning of property located on the southwest corner of Highway 253 and Durham Avenue in order to facilitate a development by local property developer Benny Westfall. The first phase of that new development with include a Dollar General Store, which had drawn the ire of some residents in the area.
The BOD passed the rezoning after several conditions of concern about the appearance and lighting of the discount store was addressed by the developers.
