Funding concerns delay vote on River Valley Communications Center 911 radio tower

FORT SMITH, Ark. — Plans to consolidate Fort Smith and Sebastian County’s 911 dispatch centers are moving forward, but funding questions over a new radio tower have put the next step on hold.

The River Valley Communications Center — a new joint dispatch center combining both the city and county’s 911 operations — was created in response to Arkansas’ Public Safety Act of 2019, which requires counties to merge their emergency call centers to improve coordination and reduce response times.

At the River Valley Communications Center Board and Fort Smith Board of Directors meetings this week, members discussed a $5.3 million lease agreement with Motorola for a new 190-foot radio tower and 10 radio systems to support the center.

“This is the first big-ticket item toward the new building,” said Wes Milam, Director of the River Valley Communications Center. “The bulk of it is the new radio tower — the microwave uplinks to our statewide radio system for radio communications with police, fire, and EMS.”

Milam said the new tower and new location at  at 4501 Burrough Road in Fort Smith will make the system more reliable during emergencies, especially since both current dispatch centers are located downtown.

“You want the building to be resilient in an emergency,” Milam said. “It has to be a certain level of hardening.”

The total cost of the radio system is estimated at $5.33 million, with payments beginning in February 2027. According to city officials, the funding for 2026 will come from the Arkansas 911 Board, but after that, Fort Smith will be responsible for 70% of the costs, while Sebastian County will cover the remaining 30%.

City leaders, however, voiced concerns about the financial burden.

“We’ve waited six years. Now we’re up against a deadline. Now we’re operating in crisis mode. Let’s table it to next week study session,” said City Director Christina Catsavis. 

With construction of the new 911 center estimated at roughly $5 million, and the city’s annual contribution expected to reach $2.3 million starting in 2027, the board voted unanimously to table the tower agreement until more financial details can be reviewed.

“In terms of general fund cutting, cuts in the general fund, then add another $2.2 million on it in a couple years. I think that’s that’s pretty significant that we need to be aware of,” City Director Neal Martin said. 

Despite the financial concerns, Milam said the consolidation is essential to improving emergency response.

“When somebody calls 911 and needs emergency medical help, that call might have to be transferred between centers,” he said. “That is seconds — and I want to make sure those seconds are smaller.”

The Fort Smith Board of Directors plans to revisit the proposal at a special study session on Nov. 10.