Port of Fort Smith Receives $500,000 Grant for Warehouse

The Port of Fort Smith will receive $500,000 of the more than $3.475 million in grants recently approved by the Arkansas Waterways CommissionThe money will help Fort Smith officials continue to repair damage caused by record Arkansas River flooding in 2019.

Marty Shell, owner of Van Buren-based Five rivers distributionwhich manages the Port of Fort Smith, said the money will be used to help pay for a $1.7 million, 30,000-square-foot bulk storage shed. He said the shed is the last major piece of infrastructure to be rebuilt after the 2019 floods.

“You’re not going to score a touchdown every time you ask for these grants, but we’ve been moving the ball forward,” said Shell, who also chairs the Arkansas Waterways Commission. “We want to invest more in the Port of Fort Smith. We’re looking at other options for state or federal grants. They’re out there.”

Shell said about $6 million has been spent at the port to recover from 2019 flood damage. So far, all of the money has come from grants, insurance revenue and money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“The taxpayers of Fort Smith didn’t pay a cent for this,” Shell said.

POSSIBLE LAND EXPANSION
Shell said Fort Smith Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman’s presentation to commissioners helped secure the $500,000 grant. Shell also said he and Dingman are working to double the port’s footprint.

“We’re kind of stuck on land there now, but there are some opportunities,” Shell said. With more land, the port could one day build a transshipment yard and add more warehouses to meet growing storage demand from customers in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

The port, located on the Poteau River just south of its confluence with the Arkansas River, covers about 25 acres. Dingman said there are some “early looks” at possibly adding another 25 acres because the port “is consistently at capacity.”

“It depends on a lot of factors,” Dingman said when asked about a possible expansion. “Right now, it’s just an idea.”

GRANT AWARDS
Below are the subsidies recently approved by the Arkansas Waterways Commission. The money for the subsidies comes from an ad valorem tax paid on the value of vessels used on the Arkansas River.

Central Arkansas Intermodal Authority
wanted: $1.048 million
awarded: $187,425

Chicot-Desha Intermodal Authority
wanted: $607,277
awarded: $250,000

City of Fort Smith Port Authority
wanted: $1.5 million
awarded: $500,000

Little Rock Port Authority
wanted: $4.675 million
awarded: $500,000

Osceola Port Authority
wanted: $2.275 million
awarded: $1.038 million

Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority
wanted: $1.76 million
awarded: $1 million

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