City of Fort Smith v. O'Loughlin

George Rose Smith, Justice.

This is a taxpayer’s suit brought by the appellee for a declaratory judgment to determine the validity of tax-exempt bonds to be issued by the Fort Smith Tourism Facilities Board for the construction of a nine-story 260-room hotel in downtown Fort Smith. Although the building is to be 100% financed by the bond issue, it will be a privately owned hotel, operated for profit. Apparently construction is under way, with the opening of the hotel scheduled for the spring of 1986. John Q. Hammonds, the chief developer of the project, testified that the hotel will be…